At the Statehouse, lawmakers are entering into the final week of the 2021 session. In total, the Indiana House of Representatives sent 149 bills to the Senate for consideration and 37 of those bills have been signed into law. We are still working on several issues, including finalizing the state's next two-year state budget, and passing bills supporting broadband expansion and improving public health. Several pieces of legislation are heading to conference committees where lawmakers will make changes to the content in order for them to become laws, or the concepts could die.
Bills go to conference committees when amendments are made in the opposite chamber and the author disagrees with the changes. A pair of legislators from each chamber are appointed to a conference committee, which then meets and works out the differences. This session, Senate Bill 185, which I sponsored, is heading to a conference committee.
This legislation would open more avenues for home-based vendors to sell their products directly, online or through a third-party vendor like a delivery service. Vendors would be able to sell shelf-stable, non-hazardous goods and items such as baked goods, whole and uncut fruits and vegetables, tree nuts and legumes, and syrups. These changes would provide home-based vendors across the state more opportunities to connect with consumers, who are also demanding more locally sourced and produced goods.
For Senate Bill 185, legislators will debate if the legislation should go into effect in April 2022 or if it would simply establish a working group to provide lawmakers with recommendations for expanding where and what home-based vendors can sell. If the conference committee comes to an agreement on changes for the bill, a conference committee report will be created, which then needs a majority vote in both the House and the Senate before it can be sent to the governor for action. If no agreement is reached, the legislation dies.
I will work with my colleagues in both the House and the Senate toward passing a bill that is beneficial to the people who need it most. To learn more about this proposal and others heading to conference committees, visit iga.in.gov. To stay up-to-date on local and state news, sign up to begin receiving my e-newsletter updates at in.gov/h73.
-30-
State Rep. Steve Davisson (R-Salem) represents House District 73, which includes
Washington County, and portions of Jackson, Lawrence, Orange, Clark and Harrison counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
