INDIANAPOLIS – With the end of the 2022 legislative session quickly approaching, Indiana lawmakers are still debating the fates of several controversial bills, while trying to find a path forward for others.
Senators recently heard several hours of testimony on House Bill 1077, which would have originally eliminated handgun permits altogether. It received a mixed reaction from the Senate Judiciary Committee and was ultimately “watered down” after lawmakers added several key amendments. Although HB 1077 has no future in the General Assembly, Republicans could still add the language into another piece of legislation.
The controversial bill was met with a strong response from Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter, who criticized Republican lawmakers for pushing a measure largely opposed by Indiana police organizations.
“This is the problem with the supermajority. It stifles, prohibits and oftentimes limits public debate,” Supt. Carter said to the committee, while also questioning whether lawmakers were prioritizing their own political fates instead.
House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) said he was ‘disappointed’ by Carter’s comments.
Meanwhile, lawmakers continue to debate HB 1134, addressing curriculum in Indiana schools.
The bill in its current amended form still limits what teachers can say about race, gender, or ethnicity in the classroom. After passing the Senate Education Committee 8-5, mostly along party lines, the bill now heads to the full Senate floor. Governor Eric Holcomb recently spoke with reporters, expressing approval for the Senate’s changes.
“I think the bill where it is now is a vast improvement on where it started, with the emphasis rightly so on transparency and parental engagement,” Gov. Holcomb said.
The Senate’s version will need to be negotiated with House lawmakers before possibly heading to the Governor’s desk. Gov. Holcomb stressed he wants to take a look at the version that reaches his desk before deciding on if he’ll sign it into law.
“Education represents not just a big part of our budget, but a big part of our state’s destiny,” Gov. Holcomb said. “However, I will be watching every word, and every day, until we run through the tape on that bill.”
Gov. Holcomb also spoke to Statehouse reporter Kristen Eskow on HB 1041, which would ban transgender athletes from playing on the girls team. He wants to make sure lawmakers craft a bill that still supports the IHSAA. That bill could be up for a vote before the full Senate later this week.
Also this week, Attorney General Todd Rokita is again facing criticism from medical experts, after sharing legal guidance to doctors and patients requesting off-label drugs to treat COVID-19. The comments relate to the prescribing of Ivermectin, which has not been FDA-approved to treat the virus.
Former state health commissioner Dr. Richard Feldman called Rokita’s comments ‘pandering’ and underscored how the drugs were not accepted in the mainstream medical community for treatment of COVID-19.
