2018 Legislative Session

Indiana University Office of Government Relations

 Final Statehouse Report

Introduction

The second regular session of the 120th Indiana General Assembly came to an end this past Wednesday evening. It ended up being a race against time as both the House and Senate worked up until their statutorily mandated midnight deadline. Upon adjournment, several noteworthy pieces of legislation from the session died without resolution.

Adjournment also marked the end of fifteen retiring legislators’ legislative careers.

Bills That Moved

Below is a summary of some of the bills IU tracked this legislative session that passed out of the General Assembly during the final week:

House Bills

HB 1002 – Reorganization of Workforce Funding and Programs: This bill was the House’s plan to address workforce development related issues. It was seen as a companion bill to SB 50, which is described below. This bill allows part-time students to participate in the EARN Indiana plan, allows certain individuals without master’s degrees to serve as nurse faculty members in associate degree programs, establishes a workforce training grant program, and makes several changes to the regional boards of Ivy Tech. It awaits action by the Governor.

HB 1074 – Various Higher Education Matters: This is the annual Commission for Higher Education agency bill. It makes changes to eligibility requirements for the 21st Century Scholars program, amends the Primary Care Shortage Area Scholarship, and modifies the procedure that universities must use to dispose of real estate. It awaits action by the Governor.

HB 1426 – Education Matters: Among other things, this bill changes the designation of Indiana high school diplomas for federal funding purposes, requires the State Board of Education to consider an alternative to Algebra II for math requirements, replaces the end of course assessment requirement with a requirement for statewide administration of a college entrance exam, and requests a summer study of school corporations’ ability to provide career counseling. This bill awaits action by the Governor.

Senate Bills

SB 50 – Governor’s Workforce Cabinet: This bill was the Senate’s plan to address workforce development related issues. It was seen as a companion bill to HB 1002, which is described above. This bill replaces the State Workforce Innovation Council with a new cabinet to serve as the state advisory body on workforce issues. It requires the cabinet to develop a comprehensive career navigation and coaching system for Indiana high schools by July 1, 2018 and conduct a college and career funding review by November 1, 2018. It awaits action by Governor Holcomb.

SB 419 – Professional and Occupational Licenses: Among other provisions, this bill will allow graduating DACA students to receive professional licenses, so long as they are in the United States legally and properly recognized by the federal government. It awaits action by Governor Holcomb.

Looking Ahead and Final Comments

During the coming days, the Governor must decide whether to sign, veto, or allow bills to become law without his signature. The General Assembly will also set a date for dealing with any necessary major technical corrections on bills, although it rarely convenes for this purpose. Most legislators will be turning their attention to upcoming primary and general elections with all 100 House members up for re-election along with 25 members of the Senate.

Almost immediately after the legislative session, IU’s Government Relations team will begin work on preparing IU’s operating and capital biennial budget request that will be considered during the 2019 legislative session. This is a collaborative process that includes many offices across the University. It is nearly a year-long process which will eventually end with the enactment of a new state budget no later than April 29, 2019.

All of us with the IU Government Relations team wish to thank IU’s nearly 100 expert bill reviewers, across 25 technical areas, who assist us with evaluating legislation. And we certainly want to thank the hundreds of subscribers to our weekly Statehouse Report for your interest in the legislative process. We look forward to providing weekly reports again for the 2019 legislative session beginning next January.