2017 Indiana General Assembly Report, Week 13
The end of the 2017 Indiana General Assembly is finally in sight. This past week we saw the final, full week of committee meetings for this year’s session.
Senate Bill 309 remained at the forefront of CAC’s efforts in the Statehouse this week. On Monday the 27th, we distributed a legal analysis regarding the ambiguity of the bill which raised multiple concerns with the legal integrity of the language. The analysis was covered by The Indiana Lawyer.
In a follow-up hearing to the House Utilities Committee’s initial, six-and-a-half hour hearing on SB309, a final committee hearing was held on the bill to “amend and vote only.” Several amendments were adopted, neither of which address the concerns of consumers, schools, faith groups and farmers opposed to the bill.
SB309 was voted out of the House Committee by an 8-5 vote, with all four Democrats on the Committee and Republican Mike Speedy (R – Indy) voting no. Read more about the hearing from the Indianapolis Star here. The bill will be eligible for a floor vote in the House as early as Tuesday April 4th, but must be voted on no later than Thursday April 6th.
On Saturday April 1st, CAC led an anti-SB309, “Don’t Block the Sun” rally at the Statehouse with our allies and partners. We were joined by several hundred people and the speakers included former Survivor winner and Gubernatorial Candidate Rupert Boneham. The rally was covered by both WTHR Channel 13 and CNHI News.
CAC monitored joint committee meetings of The Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy, Homeland Security and Transportation Committee in addition to the House Utilities Committee and Senate Environmental Affairs Committees.
We saw bills move out of committee including the biennial state budget housed in House Bill 1001, transportation and infrastructure funding which is housed in House Bill 1002, and Senate Bill 309 which would end Indiana’s net metering program.
A Sen. Jim Merritt initiative, Senate Bill 154, changes asset limits for enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SB154 was amended in committee according to the Indiana Institute for Working Families: the asset limit was lowered from $10,000 to $5,000, it excludes the certificate of deposit, expands funeral and burial services covered, removes exemption for savings accounts in the name of a dependent child, and removes self-attestation. It passed the House Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee 7-0 with that amendment and will be on second reading this week.
We also learned that Senate Bill 9, also championed by Sen. Jim Merritt, will not receive a vote nor move out of the House Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee. SB 9 increases access to SNAP by allowing those with prior drug felonies who are complying with parole and probation to apply. CAC joins many organizations in the disappointment this important initiative died after passing the Senate.
After adopting contentious language regarding underground storage tanks in the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee, a technical amendment was adopted on the floor and the Senate unanimously passed House Bill 1495, which has been described by author Rep. Dave Wolkins (R-Winona Lake) as a Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) “clean-up” bill. A clean-up bill typically has a series of technical corrections that agency staff has identified throughout the interim. You may remember this bill originally contained harmful East Chicago landfill language in the introduced version but that has since been removed.
Upcoming this Week
We are watching legislation in the Senate Utilities Committee that was rescheduled for this week including House Bill 1519, dealing with water infrastructure. House Bill 1471, authored by Rep. Sally Siegrist (R-West Lafayette), will be heard on second reading, meaning it may be amended, on Monday. HB1471 would transfer the administration of the 211 Connect 2 Help dialing code from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.
Thursday marks a significant deadline in the legislature: third reading deadline is the day by which bills must be voted upon or they will fail to advance. After three months of hard work to either advance or defeat an issue, this point in the process is where the rubber meets the road and many issues’ fates will be dealt.
Follow our updates on Facebook and/or Twitter for announcements regarding SB309 and any other bills we’ve been following in these weekly reports.
A legislative process note:
A handful of bills are already making their way to Governor Eric Holcomb’s desk. Follow the process with the click of a mouse here. Once the legislation has been signed by both the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem of the Senate, it heads to the Governor for further action. Once officially received by the Governor, the bill receives up to ten days of consideration. He is allotted ten days to either veto or sign the bill. If the bill does not receive either action, it becomes law without the Governor’s signature after ten days has elapsed.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lindsay Shipps & Kerwin Olson
