2018 Legislative Session Expected To Be
Indianapolis – “Fast and furious”— these are the words used by Glenn Tebbe, executive director of the Indiana Catholic Conference, to describe what’s ahead for the less-than-three-month session of the 2018 Indiana General Assembly, which reconvened on Jan. 3 at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.
Two aspects of this year’s General Assembly make for a crazy few months of lawmaking according to Tebbe. First, the session is a short, non-budgetary session. Lawmakers do not need to create a biennial budget. They did that in 2017. The short session requires a lawmaker to adjourn by March 15. Second, 2018 is an election year. All 100 Indiana House members are up for reelection, and half of the 50 Indiana Senators are up for election.
“Lawmakers will be eager to hit the campaign trail as early as possible, while others may be eager to avoid controversial topics which may be used against them in an election year,” said Tebbe.
“Given this backdrop, the Indiana Catholic Conference plans to continue its work to advance the consistent-life ethic and promote the common good,” said Tebbe.
Tebbe explained the consistent-life ethic is the principle that every human person, created in the image and likeness of God, deserves dignity and respect from conception to natural death. Tebbe’s role is to ensure that respect for each person is voiced and promoted as laws are being created and public policy is implemented.
Standing up for the common good and advancing the consistent-life ethic takes many forms. “Sometimes the ICC must play offense and work to get certain bills passed, and other times we are playing a bit of defense to protect laws that are beneficial to people and the common good,” said Tebbe. As in previous years, Tebbe expects there to be a mix of issues that require an approach of offense and defense.
Education, pro-life, social issues and immigration top the general category list that the ICC monitors and promotes from a Catholic perspective year-round, but it does so in a more vigilant way during the legislative session as new laws form.
Tebbe expects opponents of school choice to offer legislation adding more restrictions to access the school-choice-scholarship program, which benefits lower-income students and families. The ICC supports the school-choice program because it allows parents the right to find the best setting for their children to attend school. The scholarships help economically disadvantaged families who have the least choice.
Bills promoting life and others that limit abortion crop up every year. Legal experts agree that until Roe v. Wade is overturned, attempts to outlaw abortion on the state level likely will prove to be ineffective due to constitutionality issues. Tebbe says Indiana Right to Life may offer legislation to tweak current Indiana law. Tebbe notes that Indiana has some of the most stringent abortion regulations in the country, which the ICC continues to support.
A pro-life bill to guarantee certain work accommodations for pregnant women may move this year according to Tebbe, and the ICC plans to support it. Attempts to legalize physician-assisted suicide are possible. The ICC is opposed to legalizing physician-assisted suicide, and the ICC continues to work to prevent a bill legalizing it.
Along the lines of economic justice, a bill dealing with payday lending is expected to resurface. The ICC has opposed payday-lending legislation that expands the practice to further exploit low wage earners. Testimony in previous years showed those with limited means who use payday-lending services get trapped in a debt cycle and pay exorbitant, unjust interest rates. Immigration legislation in Indiana has been aimed at revoking or preventing undocumented students from getting resident tuition rates. This issue may resurface. The ICC supports giving undocumented students who live in Indiana resident college tuition rates.
Tebbe said he expects Sunday sales of alcohol, legalization of medical marijuana and the ongoing opioid crisis to garner a lot of attention this session. These issues will likely overshadow some of the ICC efforts or issues. Regarding Sunday sales of alcohol and legalizing medical marijuana, the ICC will monitor both issues. The ICC supports efforts to prevent opioid addiction and treat those suffering from it.
More than 500 bills will be filed for consideration this year. Lawmakers only have three weeks to hold hearings before the bills cross over to the second chamber for another round of three weeks of hearings. While it depends on committee chairs, only a handful of bills will get a hearing in each committee each week, said Tebbe.
To follow ICC priority legislation, details and get updates, go to www.indianacc.org .
