2018 Legislative Session

Indiana University Office of Government Relations

 Statehouse Report 4

Introduction

Things were moving quickly this week at the Statehouse. All of the bills for this session have now been introduced and the committee report deadline is on the horizon. Legislators spent a lot of time this week in committees hearing bills and trying to get their bills through committee before the upcoming deadline.

IU South Bend hosted their lunch this week with South Bend-area legislators. We had a great dialogue with the legislators about issues and legislation affecting higher education.

Bills That Moved

House

HB 1003 – Streamlining Agency Reporting Requirements: This bill would, among other things, change the public notice requirements for public colleges and universities making changes to historic structures. This bill passed its third reading early this week and was referred to the Senate.

HB 1016 – Student Journalism: This bill would codify free speech provisions for student journalists, while also providing civil immunity to state educational institutions for actions born out of student journalist activities. This bill passed out of the House Education Committee and is now eligible for second reading in the House.

HB 1426 – Education Matters: This bill would establish a single Indiana high school diploma with different designations for general, Core 40, Core 40 with Academic Honors, and Core 40 with Technical Honors. This bill passed out of the House Education Committee and forwarded to the House Ways and Means Committee for further fiscal consideration.

Senate

SB 28 – Nursing Faculty Loan Repayment Grant Program: This bill would establish a loan repayment grant program for nursing faculty, with the intent of increasing the number of nursing faculty members in Indiana. This bill was heard and passed in the Senate Health and Provider Services Committee this week and has been reassigned to the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee for a hearing at the beginning of next week.

SB 143 – Study of Student Performance Grades: This bill would require the department of education and the commission for higher education to study potential effects on admissions caused by the use of different grading scales by public high schools. It passed through third reading early this week and will now move over to the House of Representatives.

Looking Ahead to Next Week

With the deadline for committee reports coming late next week and the second and third reading deadlines on the docket for the week after that, the General Assembly will have plenty to keep them busy. The legislators will spend a lot of time next week continuing to try to get their bills through committee before the deadline, which will also result in an increase in second and third reading activity on the House and Senate floors.

On Monday, our second Regional Campus lunch will take place with IUK and the Kokomo-area legislators.