Legislators talk 2024 bills at first Legislative Breakfast

Senator Mark Messmer and State Representative Shane Lindauer briefly discussed bills they had sponsored or cowrote for the 2024 short session at the first 2024 Legislative Breakfast. State Representative Steve Bartels was unable to attend due to a previous commitment.

The Jasper Chamber of Commerce hosts local legislators for the special event annually, allowing the public to hear from and submit questions to those representing them at the state level.

Rep. Lindauer spoke first at Saturday’s event. He stated the House of Representatives legislators were limited to five bills during the short session.

House Bill 1397 is a bill limiting the emergency powers of the governor. In discussing a similar bill in the Senate (Senate Bill 234), Messmer stated the Supreme Court struck a previous bill for violating the state’s constitution regarding the governor’s power to call a legislative session.

House Bill 1397 limits emergency orders to 30-day increments with renewals allowed for up to 12 months if it impacts more than a third of the state population or 31 counties. If it impacts a smaller number of counties or a lower population, it automatically expires after 30 days.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Holcomb’s emergency order for the state began on March 6, 2020, and officially ended at the beginning of March 2022. He issued 23 monthly extensions of the order.

Under Lindauer’s new bill, the general assembly would also have the ability to terminate an emergency order.

Additionally, the bill allows residents to seek judicial relief if an agency order during an emergency declaration impacts them in a prejudiced manner/unequally.

House Bill 1398 is a bill addressing the shortage of childcare. According to Lindauer, he was involved in a meeting with childcare providers and local legislators in which several regulatory issues impacting licensed daycare operations were discussed. “They had a list of seven or eight ideas that they thought … would help in that space,” Lindauer said. “I was kind of lazy. I just took those seven or eight things and gave it to our attorneys and said, ‘Do this.'”

Those include the requirement for multiple background checks for employees working in facilities that operate in more than one location, allowing someone 18 years of age to work without supervision if they pass a background check, and redefining the ages for toddlers and infants (infants count more heavily against the number of allowable children in a facility).

Lindauer added that other bills are being filed to address the daycare shortage, and his bill or components of the bill might get wrapped up in one of them.

House Bill 1399 provides for regulation of PFAS–per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of chemicals used to make fluoropolymer coatings and products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease, and water. Fluoropolymer coatings can be in a variety of products.

Lindauer’s bill clarifies which PFAS materials can and cannot be used. Some are necessary and less harmful than others.

House Bill 1400 addresses the use of gold and silver to pay for things. According to Lindauer, an application that allows users to purchase items on a debit card with gold and silver stored in Switzerland is available now. House Bill 1400 would allow the creation of a similar service with the precious metals stored in Indiana and address the capital gains tax from selling precious metals.

House Bill 1401 regulates DNR activities as they impact landowners. Among other things, it eases the bureaucratic burden on landowners to put up fencing in floodways; requires the county auditor to notify landowners of oil or gas interests eligible for sale; increases the dry weight of recreational off-highway vehicles; eases log jam removal requirements; and other issues.

“…Several things in there came out of a drainage task force that happened this summer,” Lindauer said. He noted that the task forces typically include legislators, members of the regulatory department, and those impacted by the regulations.

Senator Messmer stated the Senate was also limited to five bills this session.

Senate Bill 222 would require the completion of a training course before an independent auto dealer license is issued by the state. According to Messmer, the majority of complaints against auto dealers occur in the first three years of their operations. The training course is designed to help alleviate those complaints and ensure dealers are knowledgeable about the applicable laws.

Senate Bill 223 is designed to pull together a construction trades taskforce comprised of educators in high school and higher education and members of the construction trades to address the employment needs of the construction industry and how to meet those needs.

Senate Bill 237 addressed prior authorizations for health care services. Specifically, it creates a standard to determine whether a health care service is medically necessary and then requires the health care plan to be governed by this requirement. It also establishes that insurance providers must have an individual to oversee the health plan’s policies on requests for prior authorizations.

Senator Messmer pointed to an issue he experienced regarding a prior authorization for a partial knee replacement surgery as an example for what this bill is designed to address.

Prior to going through the surgery, he underwent steroid shots, physical therapy and other non-surgical treatments. Despite these steps, he received a notice from his insurance company two days before the surgery.

“Before my surgery, I got a letter from the insurance company stating, “You are denied your prior authorization because you have to get physical therapy, you have to try steroids,'” Messmer said.

He called them to point out that he had done those things, and they were paid for by the insurance company. After which, they told him to proceed with the surgery.

Messmer posited this was due to the insurance company attempting to push his surgery into the next fiscal year when he hadn’t met his deductible. “I would have had to pay a lot more out of pocket,” he said.

The additional requirements in Messmer’s bill would hopefully curtail this frustrating process with insurance companies.

He added that his bill is also covered by another bill, Senate Bill 3, so he is now coauthoring that bill.

Senate Bill 281 relieves the requirement for a child properly restrained in a child safety seat to have to wear a helmet in an off-road vehicle like a side-by-side. If a child is in a child safety seat, you can’t get a helmet on them, Messmer said.

“I called DNR and talked about it,” he said about not requiring helmets for kids in a safety seat. “They said, ‘Yeah, we’d be okay with that.'”

Senate Joint Resolution 19 adds a new provision to the Constitution of the State of Indiana, allowing legislative members on boards or commissions to be able to vote.

He is also co-sponsoring several bills, including:

Senate Bill 2 addressing childcare affordability.

Senate Bill 14 allows a state officer or employee to carry a handgun in the capitol. Defines “state officer or employee” as an individual who holds the elected office of attorney general, secretary of state, state comptroller, or treasurer of state or who is a full-time employee of the office.

Senate Bill 181 regarding sanctuary cities.

Senate Bill 1 regarding literacy rates in the State of Indiana. “One in five Hoosiers cannot pass the current third-grade reading assessment,” Messmer said. “That’s just not acceptable.”

During the question and answer session, Messmer and Lindauer were asked about taxation for electric vehicles to support infrastructure. Since electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles require no or less gasoline, they are not subject to the gas taxes other vehicle owners pay, though they use the same roads supported by those taxes.

Messmer said that currently, EV owners have added vehicle registration and licensing fees, but the state would have to continue to investigate how to charge them to support infrastructure.

Lindauer added they are trying to work out how to add charges for out-of-state drivers using Indiana roads since EV operators don’t stop for gas either. According to Lindauer, adding taxes to the charging stations has proven “clunky,” so they are seeking other mechanisms to tax EVs.

Another attendee asked Messmer to support Senate Bill 241 to establish bobcat hunting guidelines. “I’ve been trying to get DNR to pass a bobcat rule for the past four or five years,” Messmer said in affirmation. He is a co-author of the bill.

Another question requested information on the possible repaving of U.S. 231 between Huntingburg and Jasper and the widening of the Division Road intersection in Jasper. According to INDOT’s project map, neither is on the docket for the foreseeable future.

A major concern from several attendees was the Family Social Services Administration’s decision to stop payments to caregivers, or Legally Responsible Individuals, of medically complex children due to a $1 billion budget shortfall. The decision is one of eight cost-cutting measures the FSSA announced recently.

Lindauer stated he has met with families affected by this decision in his district. He also has a meeting with the FSSA set for this week.

In closing, Messmer said he expects this year’s legislative session to wrap up by March 8th.

The next legislative breakfast is set to be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at VUJ’s CTIM building.

Editor’s note: Information regarding the FSSA decision was added after the publication of this story. It was left out by oversight and has been corrected with further clarification of the issue.