Lawmakers Let Controversial Attorney General And IndyGo Bills Die

By Victoria Ratliff 
and Haley Carney
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS—Two controversial bills died in the final minutes of the 2020 session of the General Assembly Wednesday – one that could have resulted in Attorney General Curtis Hill’s removal from office and one that forced IndyGo bus service to raise private funds.

After weeks of negotiations, the Senate refused to vote on the attorney general measure and, after it passed easily in the Senate, the House refused to take up the IndyGo bill.

Senate Bill 178 had been amended in the House to include a provision that would have forced Hill to step aside if the Supreme Court suspends his license to practice law for at least 30 days, with no automatic reinstatement. In addition he would be barred from running for re-election. The bill was never called for a vote in either chamber.

Hill faces discipline from the state Supreme Court on charges stemming from an incident at an end-of-legislative-session party two years ago. A hearing officer has recommended his law license be suspended for 60 days for his actions that night when he grabbed and groped four women—one lawmaker and three legislative staff members.

The IndyGo bill, House Bill 1279, had started as a bill affecting only mass transit in northwestern Indiana, but was amended in the Senate to force the Indianapolis bus system to raise 10 percent of their operating funds from private donors. That had been included in the law passed a few years ago that allowed the creation of the Blue Line rapid transit, thought it contained no penalty for not raising the funds. IndyGo didn’t – and two Republican senators from Indianapolis pushed a provision requiring them to raise the donations this year or face having the state withhold 10% of the operating funds for the Blue Line while barring them from future expansion.

The House and Senate negotiated a version that gave IndyGo more time to raise the funds, but while it easily passed the Senate 46-3, the House killed it.

Among the bills that cleared the House and Senate Wednesday and are now on the way to Gov. Eric Holcomb are:

Senate Bill 148: Landlord-tenant relationships

What it does: SB 148 would override local municipal ordinances, including those in Indianapolis and Bloomington, that regulate how landlords must deal with their tenants. The proposed law covers security deposits, the terms of the lease and other issues.

What happened: SB 148 passed both chambers of the General Assembly—29-19 in the Senate and 64-32 in the House—despite strong objections from Democrats who argued that lawmakers are more like a city council. Furthermore, they argued that the language was inserted in SB 148 at the end of the session without taking time for committee hearings and feedback from local communities.

“This body believes in local rule until it doesn’t believe in local rule, and I find that very hypocritical,” said Sen. Jean Breaux, D-Indianapolis, in urging a no vote on the bill because the state shouldn’t be regulating local governments.

Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, noted that the legislation protects tenants against retaliation if they file a complaint against their landlord.

In the House, Rep. Robin Shackleford, D-Indianapolis, read one by one the names of 300 organizations who rallied in opposition to the landlord-tenant bill, which could strip leases of language informing tenants of their rights. The state law came as Indianapolis adopted new regulations to protect tenants from predatory landlords.

“I ask, ‘who are we really representing? Who is this legislation for?’” Shackleford asked her fellow lawmakers late Wednesday.

What’s next: The bill will now head to Holcomb’s desk to possibly be signed into law.

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Senate Bill 1: Smoking and vaping age

What it does: SB 1 raises the minimum age to buy tobacco and nicotine products to 21 and provides penalties for youth and businesses who violate the age restrictions.

What happened: SB 1, authored by Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, passed the Senate with a 37-11 vote and the House with a 75-16 vote. Throughout the 2020 session, Senate and House versions of the anti-smoking and vaping bill worked their way through the legislative process before lawmakers decided on the Senate version.

What’s next: The bill now goes to Holcomb who will decide whether to sign it.

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House Bill 1022: Regulates panhandling

What it does: HB 1022 originally addressed technical issues in the state’s notary laws but through a legislative process call strip and insert became a bill to regulate when and where people can panhandle. The bill prohibits panhandling with 50 feet of the entrance to a bank, business or restaurant; a place where financial transactions occur; or a public monument. Violations are a Class C misdemeanor.

What happened: The legislation, which is the last bill of retiring former House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, easily passed both the House and the Senate Tuesday. The House vote was 84-10 with six members excused and the Senate vote was 35-14 with one member excused. Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, had taken ill earlier in the day.

What’s next: The bill now goes to Holcomb for his possible signature.

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Senate Bill 299: Disposal of fetal remains

What it does: SB 299, authored by Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, says that a woman who has an abortion that has been induced by a drug has the right to take the fetal remains back to their health care facility or abortion clinic to be disposed of by cremation or burial.

What happened: The bill passed in the House 78-15 on Wednesday and in the Senate 39-10 on Tuesday.

What’s next: The bill will head to Holcomb’s desk for his signature before it becomes law.

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House Bill 1006: Legal age to marry

What it does: This bill was previously the regulation of tobacco and vaping bill that got moved to Senate Bill 1. It now changes the legal minimum age to marry from 15 to 16-years-old. Also states that the intended spouse must not be more than four years of age older than the minor.

What happened: The bill passed in the Senate 47-2 and 93-0 in the House. Vice president of Frost Brown Todd LLC Lindsay Lux spoke in support of the bill during the House conference committee saying that initially the language of the bill said that a minor must be 17 years of age to legally marry, but since the legal age of consent in Indiana is 16, they had to lower it but would like to see it rise to 17 in the future.

What’s next: The bill will head to Gov. Holcomb’s desk for his signature before it becomes a law.

Victoria Ratliff and Haley Carney are reporters for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.