1/20/2023 Session Update
By: Anna White
The House and Senate reached the deadline for submitting bills late last week. As a result, hundreds more have been published. But don’t worry - we’ve got you covered. Here’s a rundown of all the bills that affect our four priority areas: Women’s Health, Women’s Economic Stability, Voting Access and Fair Elections, and Sexual Harassment, Assault, and Consent. This Legislative session, we’ve added an Equality category as well, which we believe supports our mission of making Indiana a better state for women.
As always, we’ll continue to update this list as the language changes.
Women’s Economic Stability:
SB 17: Urges the legislative council to create an interim paid family and medical leave study committee
SB 186: Provides a tax credit for employer-provided childcare
SB 255 & SB 238: Provides a refundable child and dependent care tax credit for taxpayers whose income is not more than 250% of the federal poverty level.
SB 259 & HB 1416: Both make feminine hygiene products sales-tax exempt; HB 1416 includes adult diapers as well
SB 364: Orders the Department of Workforce Development to create a paid family and medical leave program to supply payments for employees who take family and medical leave.
SB 392: creates funding for university housing for single mothers
SB 319: Allows labeling of a fetus as a dependent for tax purposes
SB 425: Provides that an employer must permit reasonable accommodation requests for pregnant employees; establishes a course of civil action for violation
HB 1009: Allows child support to start at conception
HB 1137: Makes it unlawful to engage in wage discrimination on the basis of sex, and provides that wage nondisclosure contracts or policies are also unlawful
HB 1243: Requires the Department of Workforce Development to institute a paid family and medical leave program
HB 1283: Funds lactation rooms in public buildings
HB 1393: Increases the income eligibility limit for On My Way to Pre-K program from 127% of the federal poverty level to 185%.
Women’s Health
SB 1: Requires the office of the secretary of family and social services to apply to the US Department of Health and Social Services to use Medicaid waivers or amendments to expand funding for community behavioral health clinic services, and to expand community mental health services demonstration programs
SB 206, SB 153, HB 1224, & HB 1568: Permits pharmacists to prescribe oral and patch hormonal birth control
SB 252: Allows LARCs (Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives) to be transferred between Medicare recipients
SB 256: Mandates licensing of pregnancy resource centers and requires full disclosure of certain information.
SB 311: Reestablishes licensure of abortion clinics, eliminates the 8-week limit on abortion-inducing medication, and allows removal of physician license for performing abortions instead of requiring it
HB 1058: Provides that a healthcare facility may transfer fetus remains to nonprofits for burial services
HB 1095: Specifies that an individual cannot be denied coverage from a state employee health care plan, Medicaid, the Healthy Indiana Plan, a policy of accident and sickness insurance, or health maintenance health care contract due to incarceration, hospitalization, or other temporary cessation in substance or chemical use. Also specifies rules for opioid treatment programs.
HB 1139: Prohibits healthcare providers from performing pelvic, prostate, or rectal exams on unconscious or anesthetized patients with some exceptions.
HB 1267: Amends provisions regarding testing of donated human sperm and eggs. Repeals current Indiana law regarding surrogacy agreements. Enacts the gestational surrogacy act.
HB 1285: Requires the medical education board to institute a program for first-year medical students that addresses implicit bias in medicine.
HB 1302: Changes the name of the doula advisory board to pregnancy support professions advisory board and adds a member appointed by the executive director of the professional licensing agency
HB 1593: Bans the state or political subdivision from (a) funding costs associated with abortion procurement, (B) permitting the use of funds or facilities controlled by a hospital or ambulatory surgical center for the performance or costs associated with abortion procurement, or (3) paying an organization that performs abortions, makes referrals for abortions, or funds abortions.
HB 1594: Protection of born alive infants: Provides that when a woman who is in premature labor presents to the hospital, the hospital must inform her of capability of treatment, and she must be given the opportunity to be admitted to the same hospital. Provides that if there is probable cause that a health care provider knowingly or intentionally violated the treatment of the infant or mother, the Indiana Attorney General can prosecute.
HB 1595: Holds pregnant person legally culpable for feticide if they have an abortion, removes all exceptions on the abortion ban (including for the life of the pregnant person), and repeals the defense to a crime involving injury or death to a fetus
HB 1596: Legally establishes that human life begins at fertilization, forces mother and fetus to be “equally valuable” as individual patients when receiving healthcare, and provides protection for an unborn fetus or fetus born alive
HB 1640: Allocates funds to the statewide maternal mortality review committee to promote greater diversity and community engagement in the review, conduct a comprehensive review on data collaboration process and quality measures, and conduct a study on mortality and morbidity in Native American pregnant and postpartum individuals
HB 1641: Develops a program that awards grants to community based programs in collaboration with the maternal mortality committee
Sexual Harassment, Consent, and Assault:
SB 22: Removes limitations on punitive damages if rape results in conception
SB 67: Adds a criminal offense to sex with a minor of at least 16 years of age
SB 89: Provides that definition of “credit-restricted felon” include those convicted of rape
SB 158: Specifies that certain offenses are domestic violence crimes if committed against family or household member, increases amount of time people arrested for domestic violence must be held before release of bail from 8 to 24 hours, and other changes related to stalking convictions and unlawful firearm possession
SB 173: Raises sex offender residential violations to a level 6 felony
HB 1066: Provides that if a school has instruction on human sexuality or STIs, then they must also have a comprehensive sexual health education program
HB 1070: Stipulates that if the director of a nonprofit for domestic violence is convicted of a domestic violence crime, the crime must be reported to the executive director of the nonprofit organization and every board member
HB 1234: Requires the superintendent of the state police department to adopt certain guidelines regarding rape kits, including providing certain information to the interim study committee on corrections and criminal code
HB 1364: Provides that a person commits rape if the other person submits to sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct under the belief that the person committing the act is someone the victim knows, and that belief is intentionally induced by artifice, pretense, or concealment
HB 1566: Requires that if instruction in state-accredited schools is provided on human sexuality or STIs, it must be medically and scientifically accurate and age-appropriate
HB 1642: Creates the rape-kit backlog fund to provide funding for law-enforcement assistance to eliminate the backlog of untested rape kits
Fair Voting and Voting Access:
SB 14: Prohibits firearms at voting precincts
SB 224: Makes it a level 6 felony to take certain actions for the purpose of influencing an election worker, allows counties to use electronic devices at precincts or voting centers to print sample ballots, and stipulates when a local public question or referendum can be placed on a ballot.
HB 1116: Various election matters, including a section stating that people convicted of voter fraud lose their right to suffrage for ten years following the date of conviction.
HB 1131: Establishes a redistricting commission (commission) to create, hold hearings on, take public comment about, and recommend plans to redraw general assembly districts and congressional districts.
HB 1247: Provides that a renewal of a motor vehicle’s driver’s license, permit, or identification card includes an automatic voter registration process unless the applicant expressly declines on the application to register to vote
HB 1302: Defines election worker and raises the charge of influencing election worker to Level 6 Felony
HB 1334: Requires the Secretary of State to create and adopt stricter procedures for absentee voting
HB 1336: Various election matters
HB 1383: Documents and procedures concerning elections, including that a person cannot provide an individual with more than one absentee ballot application
HB 1426: Provides that polls open at 7 AM and close at 7 PM instead of the current 6 AM to 6 PM
HB 1427 & HB 1482: Allows a voter to register at the polls by completing a voter registration form, affirming that that the person has not already voted elsewhere, and providing proof of residence. HB 1482 has a section that requires ballots of voters who register at the polls to be treated as a provisional ballot.
HB 1465: Provides that intimidating election workers is a level 5 felony.
HB 1505: Prohibits state from expanding voting time or absentee voting programs
HB 1632: Stipulates ballot access for major and minor parties
