Moving forward for Hoosier families Several positive steps forward have been taken to continue the work of the people at the Statehouse this week. Senate committees have started hearing House bills and House committees have started hearing Senate bills, as well. Without a quorum of legislators present we cannot vote on the Senate bills coming through, but we are able to take public testimony and discuss the bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee has begun holding public hearings to create a state budget. They started with the two year, $28 billion budget that was passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee. The House budget bill did not get a vote on the floor of the House due to a lack of a quorum. As Vice Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, I sat in on Tuesday's & Thursday's Senate Appropriations Committee meeting in order to follow changes the Senate is making to the budget bill. Eventually, the budget bill will have to come back to the House for final passage. Also, early this week a group of students and faculty researchers from Purdue University, my alma mater, visited the Statehouse. They were here to showcase more than two dozen projects, most having to do with alternative energy research. I was amazed by their enthusiasm and commitment to their research and am once again reassured that Indiana has the best and brightest minds leading us into the future. If you'd like to read more about their visit please go to my website www.in.gov/H78. On Wednesday morning I, along with other House Public Health Committee members, attended the Senate Health and Provider Services Committee meeting. We heard debate on Senate Bill 93, a bill to better observe high school student athletes for concussions. Senate Bill 93 would require the Indiana Department of Education to create and send guidelines, information sheets, and forms to schools across the state to be distributed to coaches, student athletes, and the parents of those athletes informing them of the causes and risks of head injuries and concussions. High school athletes that experience any type of head injury would also be removed from the game or practice immediately to prevent any further injuries until they can be examined by a doctor. While House members could not vote on the bills the Senate was hearing, it was beneficial to listen to public testimony and ask questions in order have a better understanding of the bills that may come before the House. Multiple House committees have met as well to discuss bills that have passed through the Senate. On Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of the passage of the federal Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA), the House Public Health Committee, of which I am a member, met to hear testimony on SB 461. This bill includes provisions Indiana must make in order to be in compliance with the federal health care bill. SB 461 will make it easier for Indiana to absorb the new recipients of Medicaid once AHCA goes into effect. The bill expands the age limit to 26 for individuals to be covered by their parent's health insurance. In addition, it prohibits insurance agencies from denying coverage to individuals who are under the age of 19 if they have a pre-existing condition. This week, one of my bills passed in the Senate with amendments. House Bill 1046 will give homebuilders a property tax deduction for newly built homes that have not sold. When you look at the news, you see homebuilders going out of business all over Indiana, leaving unfinished housing projects, half built neighborhoods not to mention many jobs. HB 1046 helps alleviate some of the financial burden on these already struggling builders. These homes are their income. Farmers receive tax deductions on their crops, auto dealers receive tax deductions on the cars in their lot, and this simply applies the same principle to our Hoosier homebuilders. When a quorum is established in the House, this bill will be ready for final approval before going to the governor's office to be signed into law. In addition, I have two bills that are scheduled to be heard next week in senate committees. HB 1083 is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, March 29, in the Senate Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters Committee. HB 1083 deals with child solicitation and child trafficking. This bill requires the criminal code evaluation commission to study child solicitation and child trafficking this summer and make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding increased penalties. The second bill I authored, HB 1047, is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, March 30, in the Senate Health and Provider Services Committee. HB 1047 would require the Family and Social Services Administration Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services to conduct a study to find ways to streamline their survey or audit processes. Currently, multiple audits are conducted every year on providers of services to the disabled. HB 1047's goal is to reduce government cost and regulations to providers thereby freeing up more money to serve the disabled. There are many bills that are at stake if the democratic process continues to be stalled by the minority walkout. The longer the walkout continues, the greater the likelihood that bills, helping Hoosier families, will die by the constitutional deadline of April 29. We have one month left to finish our work and meet our constitutional deadlines to adopt a state budget and redraw legislative districts. The clock is ticking and we are now working under tight deadlines. Many struggling families and businesses cannot wait another year for help, and I sincerely hope that this walkout ends and we can start working to help all Hoosiers in our great state. -30- State Rep. Suzanne Crouch (R-Evansville) |
