Blue Line, shrooms and other bills that didn't make the cut at the Statehouse

Even the most simple and bipartisan of bills can ultimately wither away beneath the large pile of other priorities Indiana lawmakers have in a given legislative session.

Take House Bill 1019, which would have let children operate a lemonade stand in their neighborhood without needing a permit from the state. It passed the House unanimously. It would have been the first bill authored solely by Rep. Blake Johnson, D-Indianapolis, to make it across the finish line.

But it didn’t get out of a Senate committee.

“We’ve squeezed all the juice we could out of it,” Johnson told reporters on the House floor Thursday, smiling. “I’m not that sour about it.”

Here are other bills that, though they passed one chamber, didn’t meet the deadlines set in the opposite chamber to move forward. Though the bills themselves are dead, the language can still pop up through the amendment process on other bills.

Session is expected to wrap up as soon as this week.

The big one: Blue Line

No other bill had a more climactic death.

It seemed likely Senate Bill 52 would go the distance and ban dedicated bus lanes, risking federal funding on the line for IndyGo’s Blue Line. Negotiations behind the scenes ultimately resulted in a lifeline for the Washington Street mass transit project.

IndyGo Blue Line: Why dedicated lanes was such a battle at the Indiana Statehouse

In exchange for killing the bill minutes before the deadline Thursday, Speaker Todd Huston said IndyGo agreed to adjust its plans to maintain two lanes of general traffic flow in each direction “whenever possible.”

IndyGo hasn't yet publicized what that compromise looks like, though one map obtained by IndyStar shows dedicated bus lanes restricted to Irvington and a small section on the near west side.

IEDC oversight bill dies

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation, which often receives credit for the multi-million businesses that invest in the state, has also been the subject of heated criticism over the last year from both the public, and several Republican candidates for governor, tied to development of the LEAP manufacturing district planned in Boone County.

Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon, introduced a bill this session to require more accountability and transparency from the quasi-public agency, which received $1 billion from state lawmakers for the 2024 fiscal year.

Senate Bill 295 would have added two nonvoting members from the Indiana General Assembly to the IEDC board and require the organization to give 30-day public public notice before purchasing 100 acres or more for business development.

2024 legislative session: Indiana lawmakers recently funneled $1B to the IEDC, but now debate its powers

The bill passed the Senate in early February but died after not receiving a hearing from the Ways and Means committee in the House.

Senate Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, told reporters Thursday that he is not sure if any of the IEDC language will be “resurrected’ in other bills in the final weeks of session.

No PFAS definition change

Hoosiers might remember when PFAS was a topic of discussion last session. That was because State Rep. Maureen Bauer, D-South Bend, passed two bills to protect firefighters from the toxic “forever chemicals” that take thousands of years to break down.

The General Assembly went the opposite direction this year by considering House Bill 1399, a bill letting manufacturers put PFAS in more products.

PFAS chemicals: Indiana bill cutting protections from toxic PFAS chemicals appears to die in committee

There was outcry from scientists and state environmental management officials. The opposition far outweighed those in support, namely, the chemical manufacturing industry.

After one hearing, the chair of the Senate environmental affairs committee killed the bill by not voting on it before the deadline.

State officers gun rights in the Statehouse

Lawmakers can already carry guns in the Statehouse, but Senate Bill 14 would have extended that ability to more elected officials and state employees.

The bill added the secretary of state, attorney general, state comptroller, state treasurer and their employees to those who could carry guns at the capitol building as well as General Assembly employees and members of the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission.

While it shot off to a quick start and passed the Senate in January, the bill , carried by Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, died in the House.

No fund for magic mushrooms

Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, said he wanted to “elevate the discussion” about the medical benefits of magic mushrooms in authoring Senate Bill 139. And that’s about as far as the General Assembly got this session.

The bill would establish a state fund for researching the clinical use of psilocybin, so-called shrooms, a schedule I drug that the U.S. Food and Drug administration has given "breakthrough therapy" status to enable clinical research.

For people with the most stubborn, chronic illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder, psilocybin has been proven an effective treatment in many mainstream journals.

The bill passed the Senate nearly unanimously but did not clear a House committee in time.

Fentanyl test strip bill

A bipartisan bill to decriminalize drug test strips sailed through the House with near unanimous support, but never got its day in the Senate.

As the fentanyl overdose crisis has soared in recent years, a movement to legalize these test strips, which can detect the presence of the deadly synthetic drug, has gained momentum.

While opponents liken them to drug paraphernalia, advocates consider them a life-saving harm reduction measure for people who are addicted or recovering from addiction.

“None of us should die in our dilemmas,” Rep. Victoria Garcia-Wilburn, D-Fishers, said at a Hoosier Action rally at the Statehouse Wednesday, after it became clear her House Bill 1053 would not be heard in the Senate. Her bill has two Republican co-authors, Jennifer Meltzer of Shelbyville and Sharon Negele of Attica.

Other bills that won't advance

• Senate Bill 240 would have made “spinning” ― as in doing donuts recklessly in a parking lot or public street ― a misdemeanor offense.

• Senate Bill 128 would have given school boards authority to approve "human sexuality" courses and materials. Representatives of education organizations across the state told senators earlier this month that state law already allows school boards to approve any curriculum.

• Senate Bill 287 would have addressed internet safety instruction in schools, but Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, also saw her annual cursive writing mandate attached to this bill prior to it leaving the Senate in February.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.

Contact IndyStar's state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana General Assembly: More bills died in the 2024 session