Indiana legislators seem to add new rules every time they meet for the General Assembly. But this year, legislators freed up a few regulations that can benefit state residents.
Hoosiers have new ways to buy alcohol. State parks can get three-way alcohol permits without needing to go through county alcoholic beverage boards. Farm wineries are now able to refill growlers. And local distilleries will join breweries and wineries in being able to sell their products on Sundays. It may take decades for legislators to rescind the state’s Prohibition-era ban that prohibits carryout alcohol sales at other retail outlets Sundays.
Public access got a positive boost with new guidelines on police body and dashboard camera footage. Releasing the footage is up to an individual law enforcement agency. However, if a member of the public makes a request and is denied, he or she can appeal the decision to a judge. The police department would then have to make its case for why video should be kept private based on exceptions outlined in the law.
The above are good signs, if not on the most pressing of issues. A few others are quite questionable.
Hoosiers can now purchase pseudoephedrine — an ingredient found in cold and allergy tablets — if they have a relationship with their pharmacy. Pseudoephedrine is used in making methamphetamine, so its sale has been monitored in Indiana.
The new law allows pharmacists to sell to those who have prescriptions on file but they must make a determination of whether to sell the substance to those they do not know. If a sale is denied, the potential customer would need to obtain a doctor’s prescription. That turns pharmacists into drugstore police. Such a denial could lead to angry customers and trouble at some pharmacy counters.
Indiana law also now requires athletic coaches to take a certified course on concussion awareness and pass a test to prove they understood the content. Head coaches and assistant coaches must meet the requirements by next summer. This may go a long way in helping student athletes.
But the law that stings the most has already received a federal court block.
Legislators wanted to expand restrictions on abortion. The law that was to take effect July 1 would have prohibited abortions sought solely because a fetus had been diagnosed with a potential disability. It also would have restricted a woman from terminating her pregnancy solely because of the gender or race of the fetus.
But U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt suspended the law saying it would likely be found unconstitutional. Her forward-thinking ruling should send a message to legislators to not waste time on social issues that are bound to be tied up in court or bordering on politics.