Southern Indiana lawmakers discuss legislative priorities

Dec. 13—SOUTHERN INDIANA — Southern Indiana lawmakers are considering their priorities as they head into a short legislative session.

The session will begin Jan. 8 and end by mid-March. The News and Tribune spoke with local lawmakers about legislation they plan to introduce in 2024.

Most lawmakers are limited to filing five bills due to the short session.

State Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, was not available for an interview as of publication time, according to his press secretary.

The News and Tribune reached out to State Rep. Karen Engleman, R-Georgetown, and State Rep. Zach Payne, R-Charlestown, but did not receive a response as of publication time.

GARY BYRNE

State Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, is considering several pieces of legislation on education, including what he is calling the "student's right to know bill."

This legislation calls for the Indiana Department of Education to provide students with information before they pursue post-secondary education to help them choose the right pathway, Byrne said.

"[It would] tell them, how much does that degree pay when you graduate, is it worth taking if you don't make enough to pay off the degree — those kinds of things just to inform our students before they make that lifelong decision of moving onto education after high school and getting them valuable information before they make that decision."

Byrne is also working on legislation related to sex education in schools, which he said would offer more "local control" and create "more transparency for the parents on what's going on in our schools pertaining to sex ed."

"School boards would be involved with approving what's going on — when it's being taught, the materials being used," he said.

He is planning to introduce a bill involving reimbursements for police officer training.

"This is just going to be a bill that if an agency takes an officer from another agency, that agency taking [the officer] should reimburse for the training of that officer to the agency they took [the officer] from," Byrne said.

He is also looking at legislation that would target access to free public transportation on Election Day.

"That to me on the surface doesn't seem like something that should be going on," Byrne said. "For example, I can't have public transportation give free rides in the rural areas of our state...for me, it's no different than giving someone $10 worth of gas so they can go to the poll that day in a rural area versus a city. You can't do that — it would be illegal to do so."

Byrne said he aims to be "one of the most conservative senators in the state," emphasizing that his voting record will reflect that.

ED CLEREState Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, said he is still fine-tuning his legislative plans, noting the limits on the number of bills he can file.

He is planning to introduce a bill that would affect the new Highlander Fire Protection District, which involves the merger of the Lafayette and Greenville fire districts.

Clere's bill aims to address issues related to the district's eligibility for miscellaneous revenues distributed to local units.

"The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance has determined that the new fire district will not be eligible for a share of those revenues in its first year of existence because the share is based on the previous year's levy, and the new Highlander district doesn't have a previous year's levy because it didn't exist," he said.

Clere feels the district should "be eligible to receive a share based on the combined levies of the districts that have merged."

He is also drafting a bill that would specifically address "accountability issues for managed care entities" in response to the state's pivot to a managed care model for long-term care services.

He is concerned about the effect the transition will have on organizations such as LifeSpan in Southern Indiana. Under the new model, Medicaid beneficiaries receiving long-term care will choose between managed care entities, which consist of commercial insurance providers.

"There are a lot of concerns about what that will mean for Hoosiers who receive services and supports and the providers of those services and supports, including the area agencies on aging," Clere said.

One of Clere's bills would direct a task force to "study ways to eliminate barriers to employment for individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities."

Clere said plans to continue efforts to update state statutes to "destigmatize and decriminalize HIV." This includes targeting "criminal provisions that single out HIV for criminal enhancements."

He is also considering legislation to eliminate straight-ticket voting in Indiana. He introduced the bill last year with State Rep. Rita Fleming, D-Jeffersonville, but the bill did not receive a hearing.

He is also looking at legislation that would restrict "real estate wholesaling," which he describes as a "predatory practice."

RITA FLEMING

Fleming said although it is a short legislative session, she feels "there are some really meaningful things we can get accomplished."

One of her focuses will be supporting grandparents who are raising grandchildren.

"Much of this is an offshoot of the opioid epidemic," Fleming said. "It's certainly through no fault of their own that these children are left often without parents or have parents who are missing or incarcerated or have passed away, and these grandparents have stepped up to help. However, they get no assistance whatsoever except for a medical card."

The session ahead does not fall under a budget year, but she feels there are ways to provide extra support for these grandparents.

"If we could even start small and maybe help these grandparents with legal advice... it may be helpful that we take a small step this session and sort of bite around the edges — maybe look at funding outside of the state budget such as looking at the opioid settlement funds, and next year really do a comprehensive look at relatives raising these children," Fleming said.

She also wants to address issues related to children facing crises, including situations that "prevent them from going to school." She would like the state to identify "crisis days" that would apply to these situations.

"Sometimes these kids have been very distraught because they were emergently removed from the home or had a life episode that prevents them or makes it extremely difficult to go to school the next day or two," Fleming said.

"Unfortunately, these kids are counted absent, and that can lead then to some consequences such as in-school suspension or even being chronically truant, and it's through no fault of their own," she said.

These "crisis days" would involve a first responder, a social worker, a judge or another involved in the situation notifying the school about the reason the child is missing school.

"The school administrators that I talked to feel this would be very helpful, and it would not require a lot of bureaucracy," she said.

Fleming is also considering legislation that would help disabled veterans access outdoor activities in coordination with the Department of Natural Resources.

"We know that being out of doors, being able to enjoy nature can really be a good thing for anybody, but disabled veterans — particularly those who suffer from PTSD and those sort of things — really benefit from being outdoors, whether it be agriculture or hunting or fishing, hiking, whatever," Fleming said.