Statehouse Update
March 3, 2023
The eighth week of the legislative session was a planned short week as the House and Senate reached third reading deadlines on Monday and Tuesday respectively. Bills must pass on third reading out of their originating chamber to still be eligible to become law in the second half of session. Of the 670bills filed in the House, only 178 or 26%, survived. The Senate passed even fewer bills—167 or 35%, of the484 filed. The 345 remaining bills will be assigned to the opposite chamber’s committees and will be eligible to be heard in committee beginning next week.
House Bills
HB 1511: Reservist tuition supplement program
Passed House 94-0
The bill establishes the reservist tuition supplement program and fund to be administered by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to administer the program and fund. It provides that an eligible applicant for a: (1) reservist tuition supplement program, (2) a national guard tuition supplement program, or (3) an educational costs exemption may apply a scholarship or exemption to a state educational institution or an approved postsecondary educational institution under certain conditions.
HB 1637: Teacher education programs
Passed House 89-1
The bill increases the annual Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship amount, from $7,500 to $10,000 and the Earline S. Rogers Student Teaching Scholarship for Minority Students, from $4,000 to $5,000. It creates the Next Generation Hoosier Minority Educators Scholarship for black and Hispanic students with similar requirements to the Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship and a $10,000 annual award amount. Finally, it removes the 200 new applicant per year limit on the Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship.
Senate Bills
SB 320: Brownfields inventory
Passed Senate 49-0
The bill authorizes the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) to create and maintain an inventory of brownfields located in Indiana. It allows IFA to: (1) to contract with one or more state supported colleges or universities for assistance in creating and maintaining the inventory; and (2) to pay costs arising from the creation and maintenance of the inventory with funds appropriated to the Indiana brownfields fund. Once the inventory is created, the bill requires IFA to report the contents of the inventory to the interim study committee on environmental affairs in 2024 and in each succeeding even-numbered calendar year.