10 bills to know from the 2015 legislative session

But numerous laws will impact residents of Madison County.

The Herald Bulletin has compiled some Madison County residents should be aware of that have been signed or are awaiting the signature of Gov. Mike Pence.

1. Live dealer proposal folds

After years of discussion, legislators provided some relief for Indiana's gaming industry with House Bill 1540. Co-authored by Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, the bill allows Indiana's riverboat casinos to move gaming onto existing footprints, extends the Free Game Play tax credit indefinitely for all casinos and eliminates the admission tax for French Lick Casino.

The one thing the bill did not do: allow live dealers in the state's two racinos in Anderson and Shelbyville. The racinos have table games, such as Blackjack, which are operated by computers rather than human dealers. Centaur Gaming, which operates both racinos, said live dealers would help the two properties from a competition standpoint and create new jobs.

Ultimately, the live dealers were pushed back to 2021 to allow time for French Lick and Indiana's three southeastern Indiana casinos to adjust to the in-state competition. Pence's office also said the governor wouldn't sign anything allowing live dealers in racinos.

2. Involuntary annexation no longer an option

Like gaming, annexation was a topic for a 2014 summer study committee after lawmakers agreed enough was enough when it came to municipalities making land grabs via involuntary annexation. Legislators sat through hours of testimony from local residents saying they were forced into city and town limits. Previously, the only option to fight was through the remonstrance process which can be lengthy and costly. 

Senate Bill 330 was an answer to the annexation dilemma. The bill provides a way for residents to automatically kill an annexation without going to court. If 65 percent of the landowners or owners of 80 percent of the assessed land value sign a remonstrance petition, the annexation cannot move forward. A municipality can't start the annexation process unless it receives approval from at least 51 percent of the homeowners in the annexation area.

The new annexation rules will apply to any annexation started on or after July 1.

3. No power for municipal utilities

In another effort intended to discourage rampant annexation, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 309 which doesn't allow a municipal-owned utility from taking over land it acquires through annexation.

Previously, if a territory under the control of a larger utility provider, such as Duke Energy or a Rural Electric Membership Corporation, was annexed, the municipality had the rights to take over as the utility provider, as long as it paid the former provider. That will no longer be allowed after July 1.

Local utilities such as Pendleton and Anderson, said local control allowed for faster response times and better service that was not possible with larger companies. The larger utilities getting booted out and losing customers said it wasn't fair for local utility companies to be able to add to their coverage area.

Sen. Doug Eckerty, R-Yorktown, was a co-author of the bill and said he joined to even the playing field.

"Taking over utility service from an REMC during an annexation is completely unnecessary and inappropriate," Eckerty said. "There is no real way to appropriately compensate an REMC for all of their up front costs of permitting, infrastructure build out and operation."

4. Additional tax break for teachers

Education funding surfaced as the biggest and most hotly debated portion of the two-year budget. Hundreds of millions of dollars were earmarked for schools, with some districts seeing an increase in funding and others seeing a decrease.

Large numbers aside, all teachers will be able to get some additional money back after a tax break for school supplies. Added to the budget on the final day of session, teachers will be able to deduct up to $100 for school supplies. The Indiana House's budget set the number at $200 and the Senate didn't include any tax break, so $100 was a natural compromise. 

5. Right to try

One of the very first bills signed by Pence this year was the Right to Try bill. House Bill 1065, which received unanimous approval in both chambers, gives terminally ill patients more freedom to try experimental drugs and treatment options.

The patient's doctor must sign off on the treatment and agree there is no other option. The patient must be diagnosed with a terminal illness and the medication must have passed at least the first stage of government approval.

6. Indiana passes on powdered alcohol

Much has been made over the last couple years concerning ways to regulate the increasingly available powdered alcohol. Senate Bill 6 bans the powdered alcohol from Indiana while a summer study committee discusses how to handle it.

Austin, a co-sponsor of the bill, said lawmakers are worried about how easily minors might be able to acquire powdered alcohol. 

"When we started the process, powdered alcohol hadn't even received approval yet from the federal government," Austin said. "So we wanted to know more about it before allowing it here."

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has since approved powdered alcohol but it is still illegal in Indiana for now. SB 6 makes possession, purchase, sale or use of powdered alcohol a Class B infraction, which is similar to a speeding ticket.

7. Ritz stays for now

After a session-long debate over who should serve as the chair of the Indiana State Board of Education, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz was allowed to remain as chair until her term is up in 2016. After that, the board will vote on its chair.

After Ritz, the only Democrat in a statewide elected office in Indiana, and Pence butted heads repeatedly over education funding and school testing, Senate Bill 1 was enacted to allow the education board to elect its own chair. On the last day, the bill was changed to allow Ritz to stay as chair for now but the board will elect a vice-chair who will have similar authority to Ritz. Ritz will remain as head of the Department of Education, which implements education board-approved policies.

8. Statue of limitations on rape extended

In a direct response to an Indiana case earlier this year, lawmakers approved extending the state's statute of limitations on rape.

Earlier this year, Carmel resident Bart Bareither admitted to raping a IUPUI student in 2005 but wasn't charged because the statute of limitations had expired. Senate Bill 94 adds five years to the statute of limitations if new evidence is discovered in regards. Regardless of when the crime may have occurred, law enforcement will have five years to press charges if new DNA evidence is discovered, a recording that provides evidence is discovered or a person confesses to committing the crime.

Before SB 94, Indiana law enforcement could only prosecute rapes that had occurred within five years.

State Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, said the new law makes sense, especially with advances in technology and DNA collection.

9. Needle exchange

A breakout of HIV in southern Indiana prompted lawmakers to approve a needle exchange program late in the session. Pence said he would sign the measure that allows high-risk counties, with state approval, to start a needle exchange program. Under most exchange programs, people can just come in and pick up sterile needles.

The HIV epidemic originated in Scott County and is being spread by intravenous drug users sharing needles.

Under the new law, only at-risk counties with a high percentage of HIV or Hepatitis C can apply for approval.

Because of Madison County's high level of residents with Hepatitis C, Austin said she worries this could be one of the at-risk counties. Although there are some reported cases of HIV in Madison County, health officials have said the numbers are not going up.

"We are seeing a growing heroin epidemic in Indiana, and that's extremely frightening," Austin said. "As a state I think we have to use any and all recommended practices to fight this, a needle exchange is one of those."

10. New ethics guidelines for lawmakers

Changing the General Assembly's ethics policy was one of House Speaker Brian Bosma's (R-Indianapolis) main agenda items from the start of the 2015 session. That goal was accomplished last Monday when lawmakers approved a more rigorous ethics policy.

Lanane, one of the co-authors, said the bill increases the amount of disclosure in terms of legislators' business interests and their familiy business interests. Locally, former Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero, whose district took in a part of Madison County, was embroiled in an ethics controversy involving business ties.

"This is really more about revealing to the public any potential conflict of interest," Lanane said. "It does make improvements but I'll be the first to say we need to continue to make it stronger."

The bill will require lawmakers to disclose active business investments of at least $5,000. Currently, disclosure is only required for investments at $10,000 or more. It lessens lawmakers' ability to gain a lobbying or consulting job immediately after being an elected representative.