Bill roundup: Lawmakers ease back into session after week off
Committee dockets weren’t too packed during the largely slow week, but the House Ways and Means Committee heard Senate Bill 1, which drew hours of testimony.
Committee dockets weren’t too packed during the largely slow week, but the House Ways and Means Committee heard Senate Bill 1, which drew hours of testimony.
Lawmakers on the Indiana Senate Local Government Committee voted unanimously Thursday in favor of legislation that would exempt the east-side town of Cumberland from Indianapolis-Marion County consolidated government.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said Tuesday that he will continue to fight for broader property-tax relief after a Senate fiscal committee scaled back his plan for ambitious tax cuts.
Depending on whom you ask, such bills are a solution in search of a problem or an important tool in combatting property problems caused by scammers and the homeless.
But House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, has said repeatedly that Indiana lawmakers don’t make policy simply to raise money.
Lawmakers spent hours in session this week passing several dozen lingering bills, including the budget and property tax reform, before the first-half deadline Thursday.
The bill allows the state to revoke the nonprofit status of a health system or hospital that charges especially high fees.
Lawmakers have less to spend due to slowing growth in state tax revenue and ballooning Medicaid costs—both residual effects of the pandemic.
The Indiana Legislature would have to approve moving any existing gaming licenses or creating new ones.
Senate Bill 1, which previously carried Gov. Mike Braun’s ambitious property tax relief plan, was pared down significantly in committee following outcry from local government leaders.
With the committee deadline over, lawmakers are now working with fewer bills in the 2025 session.
The Senate-approved tax bill would limit total growth in property tax revenue, which could reduce individual bills. But the Republican governor said the legislation lacks “meaningful tax cuts.”
Next week, the chambers will be busy hearing bills for second and third readings ahead of their Thursday deadline.
Senate Bill 377 introduces a new framework and requirements for regional development funding, shifting the focus from place-aligned projects to more industry-focused development.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30% of private-sector workers do not have access to a defined-contribution retirement plan through their employer.
Out of the over a dozen immigration-related bills filed this session, lawmakers ultimately have supported legislation that aids in the enforcement and detainment of people who are in the country illegally.
While many chairs are winding down hearings on the bills assigned to their committees, one of the most anticipated pieces of legislation for the 2025 session had its first committee hearing this week.
The measure aligns with a similar effort outside the Indiana Statehouse to expand the ecosystem of apprenticeship opportunities.
House Bill 1073 would provide regulations for bare-knuckle fighting, professional wrestling, boxing and sparring through the Indiana Gaming Association.
Advocates say the legislation will help reduce the harm eviction filings can have on renters seeking housing, particularly in Marion County where the eviction rate is high.