By Paige Clark
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana could soon become the first state to require high school football coaches to take part in a player safety and concussion-training course.

Senate Bill 222 – authored Sen. Travis Holdman, R–Markle – would require the course every two years.

“We’d be very proud to do this since USA Football, an arm of the NFL and players union is basically housed now and based” in Indianapolis, Holdman said.

The bill would also parallel a Washington’s state law by requiring football players to wait 24 hours before returning to the field of play after a concussion.

Holdman said Indiana is the eighth state to copy Washington’s law, but the first state to add the coaches’ training course.

Currently, the bill only requires high school football coaches take part in the training course, but Holdman said he hopes to work with soccer programs in the future.

“We went with football because of the complexity of the sport and the fact that we have a certified program in place for safety purposes,” Holdman said. “We just don’t have that in place for other sports.”

He said he has support from all over the state.

“I haven’t heard one objection to the bill so far,” Holdman said.

Bobby Cox, commissioner of the Indiana High School Athletic Association said he doesn’t oppose the legislation, but doesn’t think it’s necessary.

“You don’t want the coach to be making that decision,” Cox said.

Current IHSAA protocol requires that if an athlete might have a concussion, the athlete must see a physician.

“We’ve had that protocol for over two years – before concussion language was written,” Cox said, “I think the protocols, as long as they’re executed, they’re appropriate.”

If athletes are cleared by a physician or an athletic trainer during the game and show no sign of concussion, they are allowed to re-enter. But if athletes are diagnosed with a concussion, they must wait 24 hours before returning to any athletic activity.

“In absence of a health professional, the official removes the athlete from the contest, and they cannot return until there is a written release forms a doctor,” Cox said.

Cox said parents or guardians receive the concussion protocol paper work before each sports season and must sign it for their children to participate.

“I think the (law) we have on the books right now is great,” said Dr. John Baldea, a sports medicine physician for IU Health. “I’d like to see the state law trimmed down a bit so that it exactly states that physicians only are allowed to do that.”

Baldea said other medical professionals – including chiropractors and podiatrists – can clear athletes with concussions to return to play under the current law

“We’re seeing some people who don’t know what they’re doing trying to clear athletes to return and play football,” said Baldea. “The IHSAA is very strict on that, but the state law is not very strict.”

Holdman said he does expect opposition, but expects it to pass.

“I think we have a great opportunity to put it into law,” he said.

Paige Clark is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

 

 State Sen. Vaneta Becker’s (R-Evansville) legislation to help protect children with severe allergies unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services today.

Senate Bill 245 would allow doctors and health-care providers to prescribe auto-injectable epinephrine, like EpiPens, to schools. Epinephrine is a form of adrenaline that reverses the effect of allergic reactions in as little as five seconds. The bill would also provide legal protections to school nurses and volunteer personnel who administer it in good faith to a suffering student.

“There is no higher priority than protecting young Hoosiers from danger, especially when they are away from their families and in the care of school officials,” Becker said. “Severe allergic reactions can be life-threatening, and schools must be equipped to immediately respond to these emergencies.”

Nearly one in 13 children throughout the United States suffers from food allergies, and an estimated three percent suffer from stinging-insect allergies. One study found that 25 percent of children have their first reaction to peanut or tree nuts in the school setting. Becker said her initiative would safeguard these children.

SB 245 now moves to the Senate floor for further consideration.

(Washington, DC) – On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2014 with a bipartisan vote of 359 to 67. Congressman Larry Bucshon, a physician from Southern Indiana, released the following statement regarding his vote to support the legislation:

“My goal as a public servant is to give everyone a fair shot to make it, provide for their family, and build a better life,” said Bucshon.  “Our vote today guarantees that the government will remain open giving the American people certainty for the future and making divided government work. This bill gets government out of the way so businesses can expand and create jobs, prevents new funding for ObamaCare, and protects the privacy and security of U.S. citizens.

 

“We cut spending for the fourth consecutive year, a first dating back to the Korean War. These reforms get rid of government waste and fund our priorities like national defense, transportation, and education. We protect our medically retired veterans and survivor benefit plans from pension reductions, while increasing pay to those currently serving our country. 

 

“By no means is this bill perfect, but it is certainly another step in the right direction to stop the reckless Washington spending habits that are unfair to American families. Moving forward, I remain committed to tackling the drivers of our debt and balancing our nation’s finances so that our children can have a more prosperous future.”

 

Highlights of the Bill:

 

Fiscally responsible with an overall spending reduction:

 

• $191 billion below President Obama’s vision for Fiscal Year 2014 in his first budget request.
• $27 billion below the level set in Paul Ryan’s original Path to Prosperity for Fiscal Year 2014.
• Passage will result in total discretionary savings of $165 billion since Fiscal Year 2010 and represents the first time since the Korean War that spending has been cut four consecutive years.

Protects our military and veterans:

• Amends the Ryan-Murray agreement to ensure that medically retired armed forces personnel and survivor benefits plan recipients receive their full pensions.
• Fully funds a 1% pay raise for the troops.
• Provides $286.9 billion and prevents the next found of sequester cuts from imperiling our military readiness and national security.
• Provides $43.6 billion to provide care for approximately 6.5 million VA patients estimated to be treated in 2014.
• Includes comprehensive initiative to reduce and end current VA disability claims backlog by 2015.

No new funding for ObamaCare:

• Holds the line on ObamaCare funding to postsequester levels– no new or additional funding in this bill for ObamaCare.
• Eliminates all funding ($10 million) for ObamaCare’s Independent Advisory Board (IPAB).
• Prevents the Secretary of HHS from siphoning off $1 billion from the Prevention and Public Health Fund (a popular slush fund) to support ObamaCare exchanges.

Protects and strengthens your security:

• Prohibits funds to acquire, store, or monitor the electronic communications of a U.S. person from a public service provider under section 501 of FISA.
• Increases funding for the FBI $232 million above Fiscal Year 2013, prioritizing counter-terrorism and cyber-security activities.
• DEA is increased by $21 million above Fiscal Year 2013 with special emphasis on prescription drug abuse and methamphetamine.

Holds government accountable:

• Includes a provision preventing any funding from being used to implement any future Fast and Furious type activity.
• Blocks a pay-raise for the Vice-President and senior political appointees.
• Government-wide prohibition on requiring businesses from having to disclose political contributions as part of the bid process for Federal contracts.
• Decreases funding for the IRS by $526 million below the Fiscal Year 2013 enacted level.
• Includes a provision prohibiting funds from being used to target groups for scrutiny based upon their political beliefs or to target citizens for exercising their 1^st Amendment rights.

Strengthens our national transportation infrastructure:

• Fully funds the MAP-21 level of $41 billion for Fiscal Year 2014 for the federal highway program.
• Blocks a Senate proposal to institute a new airline passenger fee.
• Fully funds air traffic control and aviation safety operations in the FAA while reducing overall department funding by $168 million.
• Increases funding for the Army Corps of Engineers by 10% above the Fiscal year 2013 enacted level focusing these funds on projects related to navigation and flood control, public safety, job creation, and U.S. waterways.
• Provides over $1 billion for activities related to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

Strengthens our borders and current immigration laws:

• Provides for 21,307 patrol agents and 24,800 CBP officers – the highest totals in the history of the agency to further their ability to combat illegal immigration and address issues surrounding our ports and borders.
• Includes statutory language requiring the Secretary to ensure enforcement of immigration laws and provide for a minimum daily average of 34,000 detention beds – the largest capacity ever.
• Fully funds E-verify.
• Blocks the Administration’s and Senate’s efforts to cut ICE enforcement increasing these activities by 4.5% above the request.

Holds the EPA accountable and promotes investments in energy:

• Decreases EPA funding by $143 million below the Fiscal Year 2013 enacted level. Overall EPA funding has been reduced by $2.1 billion or 20.4% since Fiscal Year 2010.
• Since Fiscal Year 2010, the EPA staffing has been reduced by 2,059 bringing staffing to the lowest levels since 1989.
• Provides additional resources to promote domestic onshore energy and minerals development.
• Strategically targets funds to ensure a balanced investment into nuclear, fossil, and renewable to improve our energy independence and fight higher energy prices.
• The bill prohibits the Department of Energy from forcing manufacturers to stop producing incandescent light bulbs.

Secures our embassies abroad and continues the Benghazi investigation:

• Boosts embassy security by providing $5.4 billion to ensure the protection of personnel and facilities – $25 million more than President Obama requested.
• Prohibits aid to Libya until the Secretary of State confirms Libyan cooperation in the Benghazi investigation.

Promotes health and disease prevention:

• Provides $6.9 billion for the Center for Disease Control.
• Provides $29.9 billion for the National Institutes of Health to support lifesaving research.
• Restores a FDA user fee revenue used to expedite the approval of life-saving drugs and medical devices that was lost due to sequestration.

Prioritizes critical research investments:

• Prioritizes National Science Foundation funding to programs that strengthen U.S. innovation and competitiveness.

Maintains protections of 2^nd Amendment rights:

• Maintains all important 2^nd Amendment policy provisions including prohibitions on various criteria related to the import and export of certain firearms.