3/3/2023 Session Update

By: Anna White

We’re officially halfway through the legislative process. The deadline for third readings was Monday, February 27 for the House and Tuesday, February 28 for the Senate. That means that all the bills that didn’t make it to their third hearing are officially dead.

We lost some great pieces of legislation this year. SB 311, for example, would have relicensed abortion clinics and allowed women to take the abortion bill past 8 weeks of pregnancy. SB 259 would have created a sales tax exemption for feminine hygiene products. HB 1364, elements of rape, 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 they are intentionally misleading the other person. None of these bills even saw a committee hearing, let alone a third reading. We hope to see these bills in upcoming sessions.

The surviving bills are now entering the crossover phase. Bills that were written by House Representatives were referred to House committees, and voted on by the House in second and third readings. It’s the same for the Senate. At this point, bills will crossover to the other chamber to undergo the same process they went through with their house of origin. Senate bills are referred to the House, and House bills are referred to the Senate. 

The bill tracker has 3 sections this week. First, the dead bills. Second, the surviving bills that we support, and the last section includes bills that have made it thus far, but go against our mission statement and sensibilities.

Dead: 

  • SB 259: Provides a sales tax exemption for feminine hygiene products

    • Status: Dead, committee hearing never scheduled

  • SB 311: Reestablishes the licensure of abortion clinics, changes statutes regarding when abortions may be performed; removes eight-week limitation for abortion-inducing drug

    • Status: Dead, committee hearing never scheduled

  • SB 425: Pregnancy Accommodations: Requires an employer to grant an employee’s reasonable request for a known limitation related to the pregnancy absent undue hardship to the employer’s business. Provides that an employer may not require an employee to take leave under a leave law or a business policy if there is another reasonable accommodation possible. Establishes civil action for violation.

    • Status: Dead, committee hearing never scheduled

  • HB 1066: Provides that if schools provide education on human sexuality or sexually transmitted infections, the school must provide comprehensive sexual education, using appropriate instructors. 

    • Status: Dead, committee hearing never scheduled

  • HB 1131: Redistricting Commission: Establishes a redistricting commission to create, hold hearings on, receive public comment on, and recommend plans to re-draw general assembly districts and congressional districts. Provides appointment of 4 commission members by legislative leadership. 

    • Status: Dead, committee hearing never scheduled

  • HB 1137: Provides that it is unlawful practice to: (a) discriminate pay based on sex; (b) discipline or interfere with any employee or other person who inquired about, disclosed, or discussed the employee’s wages; (c) require wage nondisclosure as a condition for employment, or (d) require an employee to sign a waiver or other document denying them the right to disclose wage information. 

    • Status: Dead, committee hearing never scheduled

  • HB 1364: Elements of Rape: 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, other than the person committing the act, and the belief is intentionally induced by artifice, pretense, or concealment. 

    • Status: Dead, committee hearing never scheduled

Survived:

  • SB 252: Allows for LARCS to be transferred between Medicaid recipients. The aim of this bill is to eliminate medical waste for LARCs that were prescribed for one patient but never actually used (IUDs and arm implants). Missouri, which has less Medicaid recipients than Indiana, has saved $1.8 million from a similar bill. 

    • Status: First reading: referred to Committee on Health and Provider Services on 01/11

    • Adopted and passed by Health Provider Services Committee on 02/02

    • Second reading; ordered engrossed on 02/06

    • Third reading; passed unanimously on 02/07

    • Referred to the House on 02/09

    • 02/28: First Reading: Referred to Committee on Public Health

  • SB 376: Provides Medicaid eligibility for certain individuals who have immigrated and are lawfully residing in the United States and meet other Medicaid eligibility requirements. Specifies eligibility for the children’s health insurance program (CHIP) for lawfully residing individuals under 19 years of age. 

    • First Reading: referred to Committee on Family and Children Services on 01/19

    • Passed and Adopted by Committee on 02/06; reassigned to Committee on Appropriations

    • Passed & Adopted by Committee on Appropriations 02/23

    • Second Reading: ordered engrossed 02.28

    • Third Reading: Passed 02/28

    • Referred to House: 03/01

  • HB 1568: Allows pharmacists to prescribe and dispense oral and patch hormonal contraceptives. Provides that pharmacists who oppose contraceptives on moral or religious grounds are exempt from prescribing them.

    • Status: First Reading: referred to Committee on Health and Provider Services on 01/19

    • The Committee hearing for this bill began on 02/07 but did not close with a decision until the hearing continued on 02/14.

    • It passed its hearing on 02/14, but with an amendment that prohibited pharmacists from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs.

    • Second Reading: Amended, ordered engrossed 02/16

    • Third Reading : Passed, 02/20

    • Referred to the Senate on 02/21

    • 02/16: Second reading: ordered engrossed

    • 02/21: Third Reading, passed, referred to Senate

    • 03/01: First Reading, referred to Committee on Health and Provider Services

    • First reading, referred to committee on elections 03/06

Watching:

Here are a few bills to keep an eye on during the second half of the legislative session. This includes a bill that makes voting less accessible in the name of “voting security” and some of this legislative session’s anti-LGBTQ+ bills that we reported on last week.

  • SB 480: Gender transition procedures for minors; Prohibits a physician or other practitioner from (1) knowingly providing gender transition procedures to an individual who is less than 18 years of age, and (2) aiding or abetting another physician or practitioner in the provision of gender transition procedures to a minor. This includes surgical procedures and the provision of hormone therapies. Establishes civil enforcement actions.

    • First Reading; referred to Committee on Health and Provider Services on 01/19

    • Passed and Adopted in Committee 02/23

    • Second reading, amended, ordered engrossed 02/27

    • Third Reading, passed: 02/28

    • Referred to House: 03/01

  • HB 1334: Absentee Voting: Provides that an agency of the state or a political subdivision may not provide an individual with an application for an absentee ballot unless requested by the individual or member of the individual’s family. Provides that an absentee ballot must include: (1) certain identification numbers, or (2) a photocopy of: (A) the applicant’s Indiana’s driver’s license , (B) the applicant’s Indiana identification card number for nondrivers, or (C) other specified proof of identification. 

    • Status: First Reading: Referred to Committee on Elections and Apportionment on 01/12

    • Amended and Passed by Committee on 02/16

    • Second Reading: Amended, Ordered Engrossed on 02/21

    • Third Reading: Passed 02/22

    • Referred to Senate on 02/23

  • HB 1608: Human Sexuality Instruction: Bans human sexuality instruction in Kindergarten through Third Grade; bans teachers from using names, titles, or pronouns inconsistent with a student’s biological sex unless the student’s parents file a request at the beginning of the school year stating otherwise, or if the student is an emancipated minor or 18 years of age. Ensures that staff cannot get in trouble for using only names, pronouns, and titles consistent with a student’s biological sex. 

    • Status: First Reading: referred to Committee on Education 01/19

    • Passed & Adopted by Committee on 02/20

    • Second Reading: Ordered Engrossed on 02/22

    • Third Reading: Passed on 02/23

    • Referred to Senate: 02/24

    • First Reading, referred to committee on education and career development 03/06

W4C