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XXXX, 2014 Page June 8, 2017 Page 7 raised with S.B. 350 author Sen. Doug Eckerty, R-Yorktown, a concern over confidentiality language con- cerning a property owner's complaint to the state Department of Local Government Finance about improper actions in the assessment process. Sen. Eckerty removed the offend- ing language during the bill's hear- ing before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Sen. Kenley. The Senate passed S.B. 350, 48-0, but it died in the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Rep. Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville. HSPA raised a concern over the level of transparency in a provision of an education bill (S.E.A. 108) with its author, Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn. The bill originally removed a require- ment for the state Department of Education to post school district com- pensation plans with salary ranges on its website. The final version of the bill keeps the posting requirement, but moves it to the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board's website – a location unlikely to be found by the public, according to HSPA's Key. Sen. Kruse filed a motion to concur on House changes to the bill, which was passed by the Senate 34-3. The House passed S.B. 108, 79-15. House sponsor was Rep. Bob Behning. Gov. Holcomb signed the bill on April 28. H.E.A. 1122, authored by Rep. Tim Wesco, R-Osceola, provides confidential- ity communications between emergency responders and critical incident stress manage- ment personnel. HSPA offered an amendment to clarify language that Rep. Wesco accepted. The Senate passed the bill 44-5 with Sen. Joe Zakas, R-Granger, as its sponsor. Wesco filed a motion to concur, which the House approved, 96-0. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Holcomb on April 24. H.E.A. 1189, supported by HSPA, requires local law enforcement agen- cies to provide criminal justice data to the Indiana state police. It also requires local law enforcement agen- cies to participate in a statewide uni- form crime report program with the National Incident Based Reporting System and requires the criminal jus- tice data division of the state police department to report crime statistics to the governor semiannually. The bill was authored by Reps David Ober, R-Albion, and Earl Harris, Jr., D-East Chicago. Sponsors were Sens. Ruckelshaus, R-Indianapolis, and Blake Doriot, R-Goshen. The House passed H.E.A. 1189 96-0 while the Senate passed it 50-0. The governor signed the bill on March 29. HSPA raised a concern about the level of confidentiality for applications for video-gaming licenses in H.B. 1262 to the author Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany. The bill would have authorized wagering on video gaming terminals in certain establishments and established a licensing structure for participants in video gaming. Rep. Clere was receptive to HSPA's concern, but the bill died for lack of a hearing in the House Public Policy Committee chaired by Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn. HSPA was prepared to support S.B. 431, authored by Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond, but the bill never received a hearing in the Senate Commerce and Technology Committee, chaired by Sen. Mark Messer, R-Jasper. The bill would have required that all records related to taxpayer funded economic develop- ment incentives must be disclosed under the Access to Public Records Act; required that the Indiana Economic Development Corporation's annual job creation incentives and compliance report be posted on the Indiana transparency portal Internet web site; and requires the IEDC and the state Department of Revenue to compile information on all job creation incentives granted, including the total amount of uncollected or diverted state tax revenues resulting from each incentive. HSPA monitored H.B. 1138, authored by Rep. Mike Braun, R-Jasper, which would have required a hospital to publish Medicare reim- bursement amounts for health care services provided by the hospital and Medicare quality rating information concerning the hospital. The bill failed to emerge from the House Public Health Committee, chaired by Rep. Cindy Kirchhofer, R-Beech Grove. Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne; and Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson were co- authors. HSPA also monitored H.B. 1140, authored by Rep. Braun, R-Jasper, which would have required a hospital or a physician practice that is owned by the hospital to make public con- tracts related to terms and conditions of third party payment for health care services. This bill also failed to emerge from the House Public Health Committee. Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, was the co-author. First Amendment HSPA worked with Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, and the Indiana High School Press Association and Indiana Collegiate Press Association on H.B. 1130, the New Voices student press freedom bill. Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis, was the second author. Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis and chair of the House Education Committee, gave the bill a hear- ing and it was approved 13-0. Reps. Shiela Klinker, D-Lafayette; and Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, joined as co- authors before the bill was passed by the House 88-4. Sens. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, and Eddie Melton, D-Merrillville, were the bill's origi- nal sponsors. The bill was assigned to Senate Education and Career Development Committee, chaired by Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn. Sen. Kruse gave the bill a hearing after Sen. Hershman agreed to an amendment pushed by the bill's oppo- nents, associations representing the school superintendents, principals and school boards. As amended it passed 10-0. Hershman restored the bill to its House form with a second reading amendment approved by voice vote. The bill died on the Senate floor when the state Department of Education joined the opposition on the last day for passage of House bills out of the Senate. There was no vote called by Sen. Hershman to preserve the language for possible inclusion in another bill's conference committee. Rep. Clere asked Rep. Thompson, R-Lizton, to consider the language as part of H.E.A. 1043. Thompson, who is a member of the House Education Committee, agreed. The DOE also agreed not to oppose the bill with an agreed upon amendment. It became clear that Senate leader- ship would not accept any student press freedom language not agreed upon by the superintendents, prin- cipals and school board, who unani- mously rejected overtures to reach a compromise. Clere then asked Thompson to remove the New Voices language so that H.E.A. 1043 could move forward. The student press freedom language then died as the session ended. HSPA also worked with Sen. Koch, R-Bedford, on S.E.A. 299, which con- cerns operation of drones. His original language passed First Amendment concerns with the ability to gather news. He agreed to amend the lan- guage to eliminate the constitutional question, but news operations must be aware of restrictions on filming pri- vate property, which could be deemed voyeurism if done secretly. The Senate passed the bill 50-0. Rep. Tom Washburne, R-Inglefield, was the sponsor. The House passed the bill, 89-0. Sen. Koch filed a motion to concur and the Senate passed the House version 47-1. Gov. Holcomb signed the bill April 21. HSPA testified against S.B. 285, authored By Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, which would have directed law enforcement to use any means necessary to clear roadways of unauthorized protesters. HSPA raised First Amendment concerns over the bill's impact on the right to assemble and right to petition government during the bill's hearing before the Senate Local Government Committee chaired by Rep. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo. The bill was changed to request a summer study committee on the issue before it was approved by the Senate, 34-16. House sponsor was Rep. Bruce Borders, R-Jasonville. The bill died in the House Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee, chaired by Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel. HSPA monitored H.B. 1021, authored by Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, which would have extended the anti-SLAPP protection to remonstrators who express an opinion relating to planning, zoning, land use, eminent domain even if mat- ter only effects private interests. The bill failed to emerge from the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Danville. Miscellaneous HSPA talked to Sen. Doug Eckerty, R-Yorktown, chair of the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee about S.B. 326, authored by Sen. Mark Stoops, D-Bloomington. The bill would have required every producer of a product or that resulted in waste packaging or printed paper to register with the state Department of Environmental Management to create a producer recycling pro- gram plan under which the producer or group of producers will provide finance the recycling of packaging and printed paper. This would have been a tremendous finan- cial burden for the state's newspaper industry. Sen. Eckerty assured HSPA that the bill would not get a hearing. H.B. 1014, authored by Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, would have created a commission to redraw district lines for statehouse districts and congressional districts. HSPA talked to Rep. Torr about the need for clari- fication on what type of notice (Open Door Law or Public Notice Advertising Law) was needed in the bill. The bill failed to emerge from the House Elections and Apportionment Committee, chaired by Rep. Milo Smith, R-Columbus. HSPA monitored H.B. 1314, authored by Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, which would have established an election ethics commission to investigate complaints alleging uneth- ical or false advertising by candidates. The bill may have adversely impacted newspapers or created a liability for newspapers, but the bill died without a hearing in the House Election and Apportionment Committee, chaired by Rep. Milo Smith, R-Columbus. Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, asked HSPA to support his S.B. 289, which was a legislative ethics bill includ- ing provisions relating to legislator's emails. HSPA executive director and general counsel Steve Key shared the bill information with Indiana editors, but felt HSPA couldn't commit to sup- porting the bill because it already had an agreement with Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, to work on the legislative email issue for the 2018 General Assembly. S.B. 289 was assigned to the Senate Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, chaired by President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, where it died without a hearing. Session Continued from Page 6 HSPA Executive Director & General Counsel, Steve Key, testifies before House Education Committee members Rep. Behning, R-Indianapolis, and Rep. Cook, R-Cicero. (Photo: Ruth Witmer)

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