Legislature Reaches Midpoint

The midpoint in the Indiana legislative session is marked by the "death" of more than half of the 870 bills introduced this year.

The House finished their third reading calendar on Monday and the Senate followed on Tuesday, ending a day earlier than scheduled allowing the Senators to leave Indianapolis before the arrival of inclement weather.

Looking ahead, there will be 2 ½ weeks for committees to take action on bills from the other chamber. March 3 is the House deadline for third reading action, with the Senate deadline taking place on March 4. Listed below are bills of interest to INARF members on which there has been recent action:

Senate Bills 
SB 44 - Directs Dept. of Health and the Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA) to establish a workgroup to study access to electronic health information. Sen. Breaux/Rep. Clere. Hearing set, House Health, 2-10 at 10:30 in the House Chamber. 
SB 51 - Directs Dept. of Health to adopt rules for facilities for TBI treatment. Sen. Pat Miller/Rep. Bacon. Assigned to House Health. 
SB 80 - Revises Interim and Standing Committee structure. Sen. Long/Rep. Bosma. Passed the Senate, 48-0. 
SB 142 - Names FSSA as the single state agency for Medicaid administration. Sen. Pat Miller/Rep. T. Brown. Referred to House Health. 
SB 176 - Central Indiana transit. Sen. Pat Miller/Rep. Torr. Passed Senate, 28-20. 
SB 180 - Requires Dept. of Health to make recommendations for program to treat veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries. Sen. Banks/Rep.Zent. Passed Senate, 48-0. 
SB 244 - Requires Professional Licensing Agency to recommend process to "certify" qualifications of individuals not otherwise required to be licensed. Sen. Pat Miller/Rep. T. Brown. Passed Senate, 48-0. 
SB 248 - Requires FSSA to study/report on issues relating to psychiatric crisis intervention services. Sen. Crider/Rep. Clere. Hearing set, House Health, 2-10 at 10:30 in the House Chamber. 
SB 406 - Amends Medicaid false claims provisions to conform with federal law. Sen. Mishler/Rep. Clere. Passed Senate, 48-0. 
SB 419 - Requires reporting diagnosis of autism at any age to birth problems registry. Sen. Pete Miller/Rep. Frizzell. Passed Senate, 48-0.

House Bills 
HB 1380 - Requires FSSA to report on benefits provided to persons whose income does not exceed 200% of federal poverty level. Rep. Turner/Sen. Hershman. Passed House, 94-0. 
HB 1391 - Reduces asset levels for CHOICE participation. Rep. Clere/Sen. Becker. Passed Senate, 96-0.

For the most recent information regarding these bills or any other legislation, please visit the General Assembly's bill tracking website.

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