Halftime at the Senate

Halftime at the Senate

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Last week the Indiana General Assembly hit the halfway point of the 2018 legislative session. At this time, the Senate and House of Representatives will now consider legislation passed by the opposite chamber.

Listed below are some of the Senate’s notable bills moving to the House of Representatives.

  • Senate Bill 1 would allow package liquor, grocery, convenience and drug stores to sell alcohol for carryout on Sunday from noon until 8 p.m.

  • Senate Bill 50 would help skill up Indiana’s workforce by expanding financial aid for job-training programs and streamlining the state’s workforce-development efforts.

  • Senate Bill 99 would improve our civil forfeiture laws by modifying them to create a better balance between law-enforcement needs and property owners’ Constitutional rights.

  • Senate Bill 172 would require reach Indiana K-12 school to offer a computer science course to its students by 2021.

  • Senate Bill 221 would require doctors to check INSPECT, Indiana’s prescription monitoring service, when prescribing opioids to patients.

The Senate will now hear legislation passed by the House of Representatives and go through the same legislative process before going to the governor’s desk.

Listed below are some of the House of Representative’s notable bills moving to the Senate.

  • House Bill 1001 would allow the budget agency to use K-12 state reserve funds to cover the K-12 funding amount when it exceeds the appropriated amount.

  • House Bill 1341 would create a regulatory framework to allow for the testing of self-driving cars.

  • House Bill 1359 would increase the penalty for drug dealing that results in a person’s death.

  • House Bill 1035 would protect homeowners’ property rights by preempting local ans on short term rentals like Airbnb.

We have made a lot of progress in the first half of the 2018 legislative session, and have plenty left to consider as 130 House bills will be considered.

Click here to see a list of bills in both chambers.