Leslie Bonilla Muñiz and Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle
Senate
Democrats maintained fierce opposition on Tuesday to legislation loosening
Indiana’s child labor laws, while their Republican colleagues took the
opportunity to shore up their conservative credentials.
The Senate
also approved proposals dealing with education, pensions, land purchases,
public access laws and birth control, just in time for a Tuesday
deadline. Senators altered all of those bills, so they head back to the
House for consent to the changes.
Sen. Brian
Buchanan, R-Lebanon, dubbed House Bill 1093, which he sponsored, a
“teenage workforce bill” aligning Indiana’s more stringent laws with federal
requirements.
It would
relax a variety of limits on the hours children aged 14-16 can work, including
for gigs “dangerous to life or limb.” It would also exempt 16- and 17-year-olds
working in agriculture from a ban on minors working in “hazardous” jobs.
The
legislation also would introduce labor law carveouts for children working as
actors, newspaper carriers, evergreen wreath producers, or for companies their
parents at least partially own. Another carveout caters to children
excused from compulsory school attendance, and largely applies to kids in Amish
communities.
Sen.
Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, called the changes “irresponsible and dystopian”
before chiding lawmakers for not strengthening punishments for problematic
employers.
“We
shouldn’t be solving our workforce problem on the backs of children,” she
added, suggesting that Indiana instead add to its work-based learning
initiatives.
Republicans
rebuffed those criticisms, emphasizing the value of work for young Hoosiers.
Sen.
Michael Crider, R-Greenfield, said he started working as a newspaper carrier at
10, and has held two jobs at a time for most of his working life since.
“What I
learned is: sleep is overrated. You can do what you decide you want to do,”
Crider said. He said he earned good grades and played sports while working.
Sen. Mike
Gaskill, R-Pendleton, said he was “disappointed in the rhetoric” espoused by
opponents.
“Work is
good. We’re not doing this to solve the employer’s problem. We’re doing this to
give kids opportunities,” he said.
“Please do
not for a second think that this is about the evil employers trying to
manipulate and take advantage of kids,” he added.
The
legislation passed on a 39-9 vote, along party lines.
Priority measures move
Also in
the Senate chamber, lawmakers voted Tuesday to advance House Bill 1001, a Republican priority
measure, in a 42-6 vote. The work-based learning proposal builds off a massive 2023 bill that
put in motion statewide career-centered education and training programs.
Multiple
House bills prevailed in final votes on Tuesday and now head to Gov. Eric
Holcomb, including:
·
House Bill 1133, which requires
disclaimers on political campaign communications that feature fabricated media
depicting a candidate that a reasonable person wouldn’t know was fake. It
passed 95-0.
·
House Bill 1135, a bill to establish a cosmetology apprenticeship program,
succeeded in a 66-27 vote, despite some bipartisan
opposition. Twenty-three Democrats and four Republicans voted in opposition.
·
House Bill 1235, a contentious measure
that intends to end an almost 25-year-old case brought
by the City of Gary by changing the legal rules on who can bring a firearms
regulation case to court retroactively. The bill advanced to the governor 64-27.
The new
legislation seeks to expand education scholarship accounts (ESAs) to siblings
of those who already qualify. Currently, ESAs are only available for students
who require special education services.
As of
November, the Indiana Treasurer of State reported that 431 students were
participating in the ESA program — up from 143 students in 2023. State
expenditures for those students is about $5 million, in addition to $500,000
used by the state office to administer the program. A legislative fiscal note predicts the
number of ESA students will likely increase over the next few years, but did
not provide a cost estimate for additional student participation.
Also
included in the bill are changes to applications for career scholarships
accounts (CSAs), which allow students to complete hands-on training like
apprenticeships, rather than traditional college degrees. GOP lawmakers said
they want to make the application process easier.
House Bill
1001 additionally creates a “Training Grant Program and Fund” to provide career
training grants to non-college bound students, but Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond,
noted state dollars would not “potentially” be appropriated until the 2025
budget session.
A debated
previous provision to allow high school graduates to use money from the 21st
Century Scholars program and Frank O’Bannon grants for work-based training was
deleted in the Senate, however.
Republican
lawmakers said another priority measure, House Bill 1003, will create a “more
efficient” and balanced administrative appeals process by making Indiana Office of Administrative Law the “ultimate authority” on disputes between
agencies and members of the public.
Currently,
those rulings are not final and still have to go back to the agency for
approval, placing them in limbo. The bill also eliminates judicial deference to
agencies on their interpretations of statutes.
Democrats,
however, worried the bill would weaken certain government rulings, such as
those from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. It passed 40-7.
A plan for government workers, retired and still serving
A proposal
offering Indiana’s public retirees a long-term plan to guarantee additional
benefits lost support from both Republicans and Democrats — but easily cleared
the Senate.
Some
lawmakers were disappointed it no longer includes financial help this year.
A Senate
committee last week stripped an immediate 13th check for all retirees out
of House Bill 1004 and replaced it with
a future mechanism offering public employees retired before July 1, 2025 annual
13th checks. Those retired after that date would get 1% cost-of-living
adjustments (COLAs).
Sen. David
Niezgodski, D-South Bend, said he liked that the plan addresses the concerns of
both long-retired and younger Hoosiers, who typically prefer different benefit
bonus types.
“It’s the
right step forward. But I’m sure that our retirees are going to be holding our
feet to the fire because we do have to provide them something,” Niezgoski said.
“I would hope that maybe there’s still another opportunity yet this session;
we’ll see.”
Although
some lawmakers wanted both the short- and long-term help, others wanted to
focus on paying off pension liabilities first.
“Until we
pay off $10 billion in debt, I can’t justify giving anybody anything above what
their pension requires – a 13th check, a COLA, any of that,” Sen. Aaron
Freeman, R-Indianapolis, told reporters Tuesday.
The
legislation, originally a House GOP priority bill, passed the Senate in a 42-6
vote.
Republican
Sens. Eric Bassler (Washington), Dan Dernulc (Highland), Freeman, Mark Messmer (Jasper) and Mike Young (Indianapolis) voted in
opposition, as did Democrat Sen. Lonnie Randolph (East Chicago).
Limiting certain land buys
Lawmakers
unanimously approved legislation protecting farmland and areas near some
military or Indiana National Guard facilities from lease or purchase by
“foreign adversaries.” That includes people and entities affiliated with six
countries: China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela.
“We’re
trying hard to keep Indiana safe,” said Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg.
She’s House Bill 1183‘s Senate sponsor.
The
widespread support from lawmakers came a day after several attempted to edit exceptions into the bill for
economic development projects in their communities. Eleven
Chinese companies are seeking projects in Indiana, according to Leising,
including one kicked out of North Dakota for what state officials characterized
as nefarious motivations.
The vote
was 48-0.
Public access chief limits advance
Legislation
meant to address “disruptive” public meeting attendees –
hijacked last week to impose new restrictions on the state’s public access chief –
passed the Senate with some pushback but retained bipartisan support, in a 40-8
vote.
House Bill 1338 allows a governor to
remove the state’s public access counselor at any time, instead of the current
four-year term with a “for cause” dismissal clause. It also requires that the
counselor consider only the “plain text” of the state’s public access laws and
“valid” court opinions when putting together non-binding advisory opinions.
The
legislation’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Scott Baldwin, said he’d received complaints
about Counselor Luke Britt’s advisory opinions, mostly regarding school board
meetings. He said “some argue” the opinions are “inconsistent” with the
counselor’s own handbook.
“This just
provides some oversight,” said Baldwin, R-Noblesville.
Baldwin
dismissed one Democrat’s fear the changes would be overly limiting, countering,
“I don’t believe that we’re restricting the public access counselor any more
than the intent of this bill.”
At issue
is a phrase repeated in the statutes setting up open meeting and public records access processes, instructing that they be
“liberally construed.” Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, suggested Republicans
remove that language instead of curtailing the counselor.
“Then we’d
be opening it up to courts … I don’t think we wanted to tell courts that they
should take anything other than a liberal interpretation of the code because
that, in fact, is their job, right?” Baldwin replied.
Pol pushed
that change as a compromise, prompting Baldwin to concede that he hadn’t
considered striking the language but was “not speaking against that
idea.”
Baldwin
also wasn’t able to answer a question from Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, on
how a “valid” opinion is defined and who defines the term.
Hotly debated contraceptive bill moves
Senators
spoke passionately on a proposal meant to help women on Medicaid access long-acting, reversible
contraceptives – specifically the subdermal implant. Hospitals
would be required to stock the implants, and to offer them to Hoosiers after
childbirth.
A House
committee removed intrauterine devices (IUDs) from House Bill 1426 after a dispute about
whether they’re abortifacients. Both hormonal and copper IUDs block sperm from
fertilizing an egg, thus preventing pregnancy, according to the Yale School of
Medicine’s clinical practice arm.
Sen.
Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said the bill became a “pawn to push the false
claims of some.” Yoder said she was disappointed in messaging to Hoosier women
that “something is better than nothing.”
She has
been one of the most outspoken critics of the amendment that removed IUDs,
in direct contrast to House Democrats,
who back whatever version of the bill can get support from the Republican
supermajorities in both chambers and eventually become law.
“If this
Legislature throws a few scraps – instead of the full spectrum of care – we’re
supposed to say ‘Thank you,’ sit down and be quiet. I am not going to do that,”
Yoder continued. “And I’m tired of women … not being treated as deserving of
all science and all medical care.”
Sen. Liz
Brown, R-Fort Wayne, forcefully rejected that argument, but said she’d still
vote in opposition because of the possible impact on Medicaid as the state
struggles to patch a $1 billion budget hole.
The
Legislation passed on a narrow 30-18 vote, with lawmakers of both parties
voting for and against it.