2019 Legislative Session

Indiana University Office of Government Relations

 Statehouse Report 17 

Introduction 

The first regular session of the 121st Indiana General Assembly came to an end late-Wednesday evening as the legislature adjourned sine die. The final hours of this session saw a few major pieces of legislation passed, including the biennial budget.

Budget Update

The biennial budget bill was the last bill passed by the House and Senate. As with the previous versions, the final budget includes operating and capital funding for state educational institutions. For the IU system, operating funds will increase over the FY 2019 base appropriation level by 1.7% in FY 2020 and 3.2% in FY 2021.  Capital funding in the budget totals about $98.8M to IU, which includes IU’s first priority capital project for Bicentennial R&R funded at $62M, regional campus deferred maintenance funded at $8.1M in FY 2021, and state R&R funding through the R&R formula funded at $28.7M for the biennium.

Bills That Moved

Below is a summary of some of the bills that IU tracked this session that were acted upon this week:

HEA 1002 – Career & Technical Education: Among other provisions, this bill allows workforce ready grants to be used for programs approved by the Commission for Higher Education, including programs offered by IU. The bill requires the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet to conduct a systematic and comprehensive review, analysis, and evaluation of whether Indiana's primary, secondary, and postsecondary education systems are aligned with employer needs and whether Indiana's students and workforce are prepared for success in the twenty-first century economy. The bill also requires the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet to create a comprehensive strategic plan to ensure alignment between Indiana's primary, secondary, and postsecondary education systems with Indiana's workforce training programs and employer needs. The bill also includes the Let Indiana Work for You Program, which was originally in SB 93. The House and Senate adopted the conference committee report on Tuesday. It will now go to the Governor for his final action.

HEA 1009 – Teacher Residency Grant Pilot Program: This bill establishes a teacher residency grant pilot program and fund. Under the program, the Commission for Higher Education may award grants to school corporations and charter schools to partner with postsecondary education institutions to establish a teacher residency program that provides stipends to program participants and teachers who serve as mentors. The grant award may also be used to pay the approved postsecondary educational institution the school corporation or charter school has partnered with for administrative costs incurred in developing and implementing the program. Funding for this bill was included in the final version of the budget. The Governor signed the bill on Wednesday.

HEA 1245 – Various Higher Education Matters: This bill contains a number of provisions related to higher education, including changes in status or name for various universities. It also requires the Commission for Higher Education to provide each high school in Indiana with names of students who have filed for financial aid, and requires high schools to enter into an agreement with the Commission to allow for this information to be shared. The Governor signed the bill on Wednesday.

Looking Ahead

While the legislature has concluded its work, many of the bills passed by the General Assembly still have one more hurdle to clear before coming law. Over the next two weeks, the Governor will decide whether to sign, veto, or allow bills to become law without his signature.

The IU Government Relations team extends our thanks to the nearly 100 expert bill reviewers who assisted us in evaluating legislation this session. We are also grateful to our Statehouse Report subscribers for your interest in the legislative process. We look forward to providing weekly reports again for the 2020 legislative session beginning next January.