Statehouse Update
February 25, 2022
The eighth week of session marked a significant milestone as Thursday was the final day for bills to be heard in committee. Bills that did not receive a hearing or pass a committee are no longer eligible to move forward. By the middle of next week, IU State Relations will know which bills passed through the chamber opposite their origination and are still eligible to become law.
House Bills
HB 1003: Nursing programs and licensing matters
House concurred with Senate amendments 88-2
The bill provides flexibility for nursing schools in Indiana in an effort to allow additional students to enter the nursing workforce pipeline.
HB 1075: Commissions and committees
Passed Senate 49-0
The bill eliminates several commissions and boards, including the Indiana Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations which is staffed by the IU Public Policy Institute (PPI). In its place, the bill establishes a more modernized Indiana Policy Research Center, also to be staffed by PPI, to conduct and support research efforts assigned by either the Legislative Council or the Legislative Services Agency.
HB 1134: Education matters
Passed Senate Education and Career Development 8-5
The bill was amended in the Senate Education and Career Development committee. The amendment removed provisions in the bill requiring classroom materials to be posted online and vetted by parent review committees. Instead, the amended bill now gives parents access to their school’s learning management system and allows parents to review learning materials used in their child’s classroom upon request. Parents could also request a school board to adopt a parent committee to review curriculum, though it would not be required. Other provisions that would have restricted teaching about racism and politics were also substantially modified.
HB 1190: Free speech at state educational institutions
Passed Senate Judiciary 11-0. Indiana University testified in support of the bill to reaffirm the university’s commitment to the First Amendment protections.
The bill codifies protections afforded by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and existing federal case law into Indiana Code for state educational institutions.
Senate Bills
SB 89: Higher education scholarships
Passed House 93-0 and returned to Senate with amendments
This is the annual agency bill from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE). The bill removes “expected family contribution” from Indiana Code and replaces it with “federal needs calculation” and changes student teaching stipends for eligible students to traditional scholarships.
SB 91: Accreditation of teacher preparation programs
Passed House 93-0 with amendments and Senate concurred with House amendments 47-0
The bill allows a teacher preparation program to report the program's admission practices in accordance with the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) and requires the Indiana Department of Education to approve at least two accreditors to accredit teacher preparation programs in Indiana.
SB 278: Indiana geological and water survey advisory council
Passed House Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications 12-0 and engrossed on 2nd Reading
The Indiana Geological and Water Survey is a state institution embedded with IU and is funded through a special line item in the state’s biennial budget. This bill modifies the structure of the Survey’s advisory council to, in part, require various state agency department heads to serve on, or appoint members to, the council. This change will better integrate the Survey with the state agencies they already partner with. Additionally, the bill would establish new centers within the Survey for energy and water research, positioning them for better external funding opportunities in the future. Both structure changes were recommended by an IU internal five-year review of the Survey.
SB 361: Economic development
Passed House Ways and Means 14-8 and engrossed on 2nd Reading
This is the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s (IEDC) agenda bill. The bill provides IEDC several new economic development incentives and programs, such as the ability for IEDC to award tax credits for media production expenses for certain media productions in Indiana beginning July 1, 2023.
SB 388: Foreign gifts and ownership of agricultural land
Passed House Education 7-2 and engrossed on 2nd Reading. Indiana University testified in committee to help explain current federal reporting requirements.
The bill requires a postsecondary educational institution to file a disclosure report to the Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education of gifts and contracts of at least $50,000 from a foreign source. This is similar to existing federal reporting requirements.