INDIANAPOLIS — During this year’s legislative session, 172 bills were passed with many of them going into effect today. Here’s a look at some of the most harmful and beneficial new laws that Hoosiers will contend with moving forward:
Harmful
- House Enrolled Act 1264 (Rep. Timothy Wesco-R): Compares voter registration with credentials provided by the BMV or data from a credit agency. Anyone flagged will have 30 days to prove citizenship.
- Why it’s harmful: Data from the BMV or credit agencies is not always accurate, raising concerns that legal voters will be purged and along with it, their constitutional right to vote.
- Senate Enrolled Act 202 (Sen. Spencer Deery-R, Sen. Jeff Raatz-R, Sen. Tyler Johnson-R): Increases oversight in secondary education by requiring tenured professors to be reviewed every five years. The bill also requires educators to cater to various ideological frameworks.
- Why it’s harmful: By politicizing universities that present already controversial topics, the line between what’s objective reality and what’s up for debate becomes nonexistent, threatening academic integrity.
- House Enrolled Act 1383 (Rep. Alan Morrison-R): Narrows the definition of what is considered to be a wetland and limits wetland protections.
- Why it’s harmful: This bill will threaten the existence of many Indiana wetlands by allowing more to be destroyed for the purpose of development.
Beneficial
- House Enrolled Act 1021 (Rep. Mitch Gore-D): Like a “silver alert” or “amber alert,” the new “green alert” will notify people when an at-risk veteran is missing.
- Why it’s beneficial: The hope is this new measure will lower the high suicide rate among veterans by offering them extra protections.
- Senate Enrolled Act 253 (Sen. Rodney Pol-D, Sen. Susan Glick-R): Requires pier owners on Lake Michigan to install public rescue equipment such as life rings.
- Why it’s beneficial: This law aims to reduce drownings in lake Michigan by providing easily accessible tools that anyone can use.
“I think one of the most important take-aways from this session is that the most harmful and controversial bills were authored by Republicans, and Republicans alone,” said Indiana Democratic Chair Mike Schmuhl.
“The bills that will serve everyday Hoosiers were authored by Democrats, or by Democrats and Republicans working across the aisle. That’s because our priority is making our state as safe, healthy, and aware as possible. We are not interested in policing universities that know what’s best for themselves or destroying Indiana’s beautiful natural environment.”
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