Good morning!

I'm watching the Senate Elections Committee today, which is hearing SB188.

SB188 forces school board candidates to declare a political party (or run as an independent).
beta.iga.in.gov/legislative/20… Last year, a similar bill got a hearing in a House committee. But it never received a vote and quietly died.

There's a renewed effort to pass such a bill this year.

Today, I'm watching the first meeting of the Indiana Housing Task Force.

The group was created in legislation earlier this year. It's made up of legislators and people who represent home builders, realtors, bankers, landlords, local gov't leaders and renter/homeowners. You can watch the meeting for yourself here: iga.in.gov/legislative/20…

The Indiana Auditor's Office says it has printed and mailed all of the state's taxpayer refund checks.

"Most Hoosiers who filed a 2020 tax return in 2021 should have received their automatic taxpayer refund via direct deposit or mailed check by now," Auditor Tera Klutz says. If you haven't gotten a check or direct deposit yet, the state still urges you to wait until Nov. 1 to contact the Indiana Department of Revenue.

The state says that gives it time to process returned mail.

Good morning from the Indiana Senate.

Lawmakers are back today to consider amendments on one bill and pass another. First up: amendments to SB3 (ss), the Senate's inflation relief bill.

Looks like the Indiana Senate is finally about to gavel into session today. Republicans have finished their private caucus and are gathering on the floor. On the schedule for the Senate today: consideration of floor amendments to be added to SB1 (ss), SB2 (ss) and SB3 (ss).

That's the abortion ban, the financial supports for children, pregnant people and families, and inflation relief.

New committee hearing, new thread.

The Senate Appropriations Committee will begin a hearing in a few moments on SB 2 (ss) and SB 3 (ss). Let's start with SB2 (ss): iga.in.gov/legislative/20…

Today's Senate Rules committee hearing is getting underway.

A reminder: 3 more hours of testimony before the committee considers amendments and votes on the bill.

The vote on the bill would send it to the full Senate for consideration later this week. Around 300 people signed up to testimony across yesterday and today.

The committee got through 39 people in four hours yesterday.

Good morning from Day 2 of Indiana's special legislative session.

There are three committee hearings happening today, as well as the first committee votes on legislation. Up first is the continuation of the Senate Rules Committee on SB 1 (ss), the abortion ban.

That hearing starts at 9am. Sen. Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) said yesterday he'll take three hours of further testimony before the committee considers amendments and votes on the bill.

We are minutes away from the start of the Senate Rules Committee, which is hearing SB 1 (ss), the abortion ban bill.

A reminder of what's currently in the bill (though that could change as early as tomorrow):
wboi.org/2022-07-20/ind… There are almost 300 people signed up to testify on the bill.

The committee currently plans to end today's hearing at 5pm. The hearing will resume tomorrow morning at 9am.

(That plan could also change)

The Indiana House is currently debating passage of HB1581, the redistricting bill.

It will go to the Senate after this. Rep. Greg Steuerwald (R-Danville), the bill’s author, is presenting the measure.

As he began, he jokingly thanked the “12 people who didn’t complain about their district”

The Indiana House is scheduled to meet in a few minutes to consider amendments to the redistricting bill (HB1581, for anyone interested). The House Democrats will propose an alternative state House district map, which was drawn by a Hoosier citizen as part of the independent redistricting commission.

Indiana Senate Republicans unveiling their proposed Senate redistricting map. A closer view of the map:

The House Elections Committee is meeting to approve the redistricting bill and send it to the full House.

But first, they’re making a few changes. The changes to the state House map unveiled last week would adjust House districts in Fort Wayne so that an apartment complex isn’t split in two.

That was a concern raised last week in public testimony.

The Senate has now taken up debate on final passage of the new state budget. Sen. Eddie Melton (D-Gary) says his caucus’s focus this year was to fight for all Hoosiers, particularly vulnerable Hoosiers.

He says that mission is accomplished in this budget.

Now up for passage in the House: HB1001, a new, two-year, $37 billion state budget.

Rep. Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville): what a difference a few months make You can read about some one-time spending in the new budget here: wfyi.org/news/articles/…

First up on the House floor this morning is HB1405, a massive insurance/health care bill.

Lawmakers put language into this yesterday that bans state and local governments from issuing or requiring COVID-19 passports. Rep. Martin Carbaugh (R-Ft. Wayne) says state law already protects people from having to get a vaccine.

He says the vax passport language just builds on that protection for Hoosiers’ private information.

COVID-19 vaccine passport language has popped up.

It's in HB1405. It says state and local governments can't issue a vaccination passport or require proof of COVID-19 vaccine status. The language does NOT prevent state/local gov't from:

-Maintaining, creating, or storing a medical record of a person's immunization status.
-Providing a medical record of a person's immunization status to their medical provider in accordance with HIPAA
(cont'd)

Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Eric Holcomb are about to unveil what are likely to be the final details of a new, $37.4 billion state budget.

You can watch here: vimeo.com/event/198050/e… Gov. Holcomb begins by saying that this budget opportunity is extraordinary, considering where many thought we'd be during the pandemic.

It "funds our shared priorities," he says.

The House Elections Committee is hearing SB353 this morning, a measure which has drawn some controversy. The bill does two primary things:

First, it bans the Indiana Election Commission and the governor from changing the time, place and manner of an election in an emergency.

It also blocks the Election Commission from expanding vote-by-mail.

The House is now considering a final vote on HB1123.

It allows the General Assembly to call itself into special session during a statewide public emergency. And it gives lawmakers a little more oversight on federal economic stimulus dollars that come to Indiana. HB1123 is a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Eric Holcomb already announced he will veto the bill. He believes (and so do some legal experts) that the bill is unconstitutional.

The Indiana Senate is considering amendments to HB1577, an anti-abortion bill. The first amendment is from Sen. Shelli Yoder (D-Bloomington), which would remove from the bill the requirement that parental consent for an abortion must be notarized.