Eight locally created bills head to governor

INDIANAPOLIS — Local legislators got eight bills through the statehouse this session.

Four bills from State Sen. Travis Holdman, three from State Rep. Matt Lehman and one from State Rep. J.D. Prescott are headed to Gov. Eric Holcomb following the conclusion Friday of the 2024 Indiana General Assembly legislative session.

The governor may sign bills, veto them or file them without a signature.

The legislative session was still in the process of working through its final stages at press time Friday evening. It was expected to adjourn by the end of the night.

Below is a look at bills that passed, bills that moved forward but failed to make it to the governor and bills that did not receive a committee hearing.

Holdman

A rural Markle Republican who represents Jay, Blackford, Adams and Wells counties and part of Allen County, Holdman had the following bills make it through the legislative process. His legislation that advanced to the governor was:

•Senate Bill 20 to allow towns the opportunity to create riverfront districts. (The districts are currently limited to cities only.)

•Senate Bill 58 to exempt specialty or gourmet markets with a restaurant permit from income requirements to sell carry-out alcohol.

•Senate Bill 234 that limits a state of emergency declared by the governor to 60 days (an original 30 days with a 30-day extension possible). Any longer state of emergency would require approval from the legislature.

•Senate Bill 228 that addresses various tax issues, including amending the threshold for transactions that require retail merchants to collect sales tax and requiring sheriffs to collect and transfer funds they collect through tax sales electronically twice a month.

Holdman’s Senate Bill 4, which addresses a variety of tax issues, was still being debated as the legislative session was working through its final stages Friday night. It seemed likely to pass.

Prescott

The lone bill to make it through the process for Prescott (R-Union City), who represents Jay, Randolph and Blackford counties and part of Delaware and Henry counties, was House Bill 1338. Originally addressing security of property and meeting decorum, amendments were added in the Senate that change rules for the state’s Public Access Counselor and address Open Door Law regarding committees

 In its final version, the bill:

•Sets up a structure for local units of government to enact and enforce rules of decorum for public meetings

•Clarifies trespassing laws regarding areas that are locked or not publicly accessible

•Makes the Public Access Counselor an “at the pleasure of the governor” position as opposed to the current four-year term

•States that the Public Access Counselor can only consider “the plain text of the public access laws and valid Indiana court opinions” when issuing advisory opinions

•Says committees directly appointed by a governing body or its designee are not subject to Open Door Law under certain circumstances

Also making its was through the process was Prescott’s House Concurrent Resolution 3 urging the Indiana Department of Transportation to rename a section of Indiana 32 as Kyle Osgood Memorial Mile in honor of Osgood, a Farmland firefighter who died in May when his firetruck went off the road and flipped while responding to a call regarding a barn fire.

Lehman

A Berne Republican who represents the northern third of Jay County along with Adams and Wells counties, Lehman had three of the four bills he authored go the distance.

The most consequential of his approved bills for local residents is House Bill 1158, which lays out a process for county elected officials to enter into contracts in the name of the county in situations where they are allowed to by state law. That process includes commissioners being able to require standard contractual language that must be in all contracts entered into by the county, contracts being submitted to the county auditor’s office and then forwarded to commissioners and the county attorney, a 20-day review period, approval or rejection by commissioners and, if rejected, written comments to the originating elected official.

Lehman’s House Bill 1160 would ban foreign entities of concern from financing civil proceeding advance payment contracts. It also constrains parties of a lawsuit from sharing information subject to a court seal with a commercial litigation financier.

The easiest run for Lehman was on House Bill 1274, which provides for a semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) license plate and establishes a semiquincentennial trust fund. It initially passed the House 94-0, cleared the Senate with amendments 47-1 and then received a 92-0 vote on concurrence in the House.

Progressed, not passed

Holdman’s Senate Bill 147 regarding child care property tax exemptions used by for-profit  early childcare education providers cleared the Senate 39-9 and his Senate Bill 61 that would allow the creation of tourism improvement districts passed the Senate 47-1, but neither received a hearing in the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Died without a hearing

•Prescott’s House Bill 1096 regarding exempting 529 college savings distributions for retirement accounts from taxes, House Bill 1097 designating the state nickname as being in honor of Methodist preacher Harry Hoosier and House Bill 1234 limiting the property tax rate to 2% on agricultural buildings failed to move beyond their first reading.

•Holdman’s Senate Bill 21 extending “lemon law” protection to recreational vehicles, Senate Bill 51 regulating craft hemp flower products, Senate Bill 60 changing rules for how children left at Safe Haven “baby boxes” are handled and Senate Bill 227 regarding approval of vaping products

•Lehman's House Bill 1159 that would have made changes to worker’s compensation laws