The House made significant changes to a public health bill on Thursday. Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Whitney Downard
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Lawmakers finished the week Thursday, April 13, by finalizing a move to limit the right to bail, extend a gas tax increase and make several key changes to a public health bill.

Both the House and Senate had crucial deadlines and some bills saw significant changes in opposing chambers and some emerged unscathed.

Action in the House

A resolution amending language in the Indiana Constitution passed the House by a 38-9 margin, marking its final vote for the 2023 year.

The founding document makes nearly everyone eligible for bail, but the proposal would allow judges to deny bail to anyone they deem a “substantial risk.”

However, the bill must also pass in 2025, after a new General Assembly is elected, before appearing on the ballot in 2026.

House lawmakers voted to make significant changes to a bill reforming how Indiana pays for public health services.

Senate Bill 4 originates from a yearlong commission that determined Indiana’s public health funding per capita ranks near the bottom of the country. It allows counties to access additional funds in exchange for providing enhanced services.

But Republican House lawmakers decided that the bill could do more — from requiring vaccine disclosures to reviewing government action during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The former, authored by Rep. Becky Cash of Zionsville, requires that health departments disclose the federal vaccine adverse reporting system – which health experts emphasize relies on reported, not substantiated, health issues post-vaccination – and national adverse reaction compensation programs.

Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, authored the amendment to review legal authorityand determine if it was used excessively.

Both prevailed on a voice vote alongside two amendments from Rep. Jack Jordan, R-Bremen, to remove “extra” infrastructure and incentivize private partnerships with local health care entities.

Lawmakers of both parties offered amendments attempting to fund the measure with an increase in the state’s cigarette tax, but they ran afoul of rules prohibiting revenue-generating language in bills that originate in the Senate.

The full House chamber will vote on the measure before the Senate chooses whether or not to accept the changes or go to a conference committee to address outstanding conflicts.

House Democrat Leader Phil GiaQuinta said he didn’t agree with all of the amendments, but was relieved it had advanced at all.

“I wasn’t even really, frankly, sure it was going to — we’ll see what happens on on third reading,” GiaQuinta told reporters Thursday. “… Let’s hope it at least moves along, it gets to conference [committee] and see if we can iron out some of these differences.”

Action in the Senate

The Indiana Senate on Thursday extended a gas tax provision that could equate to a $30 million tax increase on Hoosiers.

The language was part of an amendment on House Bill 1050 and was not explained on the floor.

In 2017, lawmakers passed a comprehensive road funding bill that included a 10-cent increase on the state gas tax. It also tied the tax directly to inflation through July 1, 2024, capping an annual increase at one penny. That increase has occurred each of the last four years.