Statehouse Update 2
Introduction
The General Assembly continued to introduce bills and hold committee hearings this week. Based on statements from legislative leaders, we believe that all of the bills that will be introduced by the General Assembly have now been introduced and assigned to committees. The legislature has introduced approximately 900 pieces of legislation, and the Office of Governmental Relations is tracking 220 pieces of legislation on a range of topics. If you have questions about the bills listed below (or any other pieces of legislation), please reach out to our office at gov@bsu.edu.
President Mearns attended the State of the State Address on January 14 as a guest of Governor Eric Holcomb. In addition, he spent the afternoon in meetings with legislators, providing updates on a number of Ball State initiatives and the Ball State/Muncie Community Schools partnership. It was another opportunity to highlight that in Serving Indiana, WE FLY!
On January 16, the Office of Governmental Relations hosted current and former Ball State students who are serving as interns for the General Assembly during the current legislative session. These Cardinals are serving in a variety of capacities, and serving in all four caucuses of the legislature. We are extraordinarily proud of these students for their service to Indiana, and for the excellent job they do as ambassadors for Ball State during their time at the Statehouse.
Introduced Bills
House Bills
HB 1025: Resident tuition for eligible individuals – The bill provides that an individual who meets certain conditions is eligible for the resident tuition rate as determined by the state educational institution. Requires such an individual to verify that the individual meets the criteria to receive the resident tuition rate.
HB 1026: Tuition caps – The bill requires that the tuition rate and mandatory fees at specified postsecondary educational institutions may not increase from the time the student initially enrolls until the student graduates for an undergraduate student who is an Indiana resident.
HB 1321: Twenty-first century scholars program – The bill allows a qualified early college student to apply to the commission for higher education for a twenty-first century scholarship to pay for postsecondary tuition costs associated with up to 30 postsecondary credit hours for dual credit or concurrent enrollment courses.
HB 1396: Hazing – The bill requires higher education institutions and national organizations that sponsor local affiliates to develop and conduct comprehensive training and education programs concerning hazing. The bill also changes reporting requirements for higher education institutions and organizations concerning incidents of hazing that result in bodily injury or which carry the risk of bodily injury. The bill also makes changes to criminal definitions of and penalties for hazing.
HB 1419: Governor’s workforce cabinet – The bill makes changes to the membership of the governor's workforce cabinet and requires the governor's workforce cabinet to work with stakeholders from prekindergarten through grade 20 and representatives of the workforce to establish alignment and coordination between the early learning advisory committee, state board of education, commission for higher education, and department of workforce development.
Senate Bills
SB 339: Education governance framework – The bill would overhaul appointment procedures for members of the State Board of Education and Commission for Higher Education and proposes new reporting and accountability requirements for postsecondary and workforce development programs.
SB 383: Reporting on MBE and WBE contracting goals – The bill requires presidents (or their designees) of state higher education institutions to attend hearings before the State Budget Committee each year to provide updates on progress toward achieving MBW/WBE contracting goals and to provide information on plans to meet those goals.
SB 412: 21st century scholars program – The bill provides that the commission for higher education may allow a twenty-first century scholars program student who fulfills the observance of a religious discipline or call to mission to delay enrollment in a college or university or to meet course completion requirements for a period of up to two years.
SB 445: Micro-credentialing – The bill requires the state board of education to establish a micro-credential program to supplement current teacher renewal requirements or that allows a micro-credential to be obtained as part of a professional growth plan and provides that the state board shall prioritize certain criteria in establishing a micro-credential program. Requires the commission for higher education to study whether a micro-credential program can be used toward a master's degree.
SB 456: Indiana career explorer program – The bill requires the Department of Education to implement a new career explorer program.
Bills that Moved
House Bills
HB 1007: Fiscal matters – The bill adds several standard provisions to the sports wagering fund. Repeals a provision requiring review by the budget committee of certain agreements or extensions of agreements entered into by the Indiana finance authority or the state. Appropriates money from the state general fund for various projects of Indiana's state educational institutions. The bill was heard and voted out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, where Ball State provided testimony supporting the change to cash funding for the partial renovation and partial demolition of Cooper Science Building, which was funded by bonds in the last biennial budget. The bill is now eligible for 2nd reading amendments on the Senate floor.
HB 1082: Various higher education matters – The bill is the Commission for Higher Education’s legislative agenda bill. It makes changes to the employment aid readiness network (EARN) Indiana program, changes the name of the "return and complete" project to the "You Can. Go Back." project and makes changes to the definitions regarding the project, including repealing definitions regarding the return and complete project. Provides that money in the graduate medical education fund does not revert to any other fund. Repeals provisions that do the following: (1) Require state educational institutions to report annually to the commission regarding return and complete students. (2) Expire the return and complete project provisions. Ball State provided testimony on the bill, which was heard in the House Education Committee and is eligible for amendments and a final committee vote next week.
HB 1153: Governor’s workforce cabinet – The bill provides that the governor's workforce cabinet shall, on or before December 1, 2020, create a comprehensive strategic plan to ensure alignment of Indiana's primary, secondary, and postsecondary education systems with Indiana's workforce training programs and employer needs. The bill had an initial hearing in the House Education Committee and is eligible for amendment and vote next week.
Senate Bills
SB 12: Resident tuition rate for active duty personnel – The bill makes changes to provisions concerning resident tuition rate eligibility for active duty armed forces personnel and dependents of active duty armed forces personnel and provides that spouses of active duty armed forces personnel are eligible for the resident tuition rate. Clarifies that a dependent or spouse of a person who serves on active duty in the armed forces is eligible for the resident tuition rate for the duration of the spouse's or dependent's continuous enrollment at a state educational institution. The bill was amended in the Senate Education and Career Development Committee to change the effective date of residency from the first term attended to acceptance into the program. It was approved unanimously by the committee and is now eligible for a 2nd reading.
SB 266: Teacher training – The bill requires the department of education to do the following: (1) Evaluate teacher training requirements in Indiana. (2) Prepare a report that includes recommendations for: (A) streamlining, combining, and reducing, as applicable, the teacher training requirements in Indiana; (B) the possibility of including teacher training requirements in teacher preparation programs; and (C) requiring, as appropriate, the completion of teacher training requirements in conjunction with the renewal of teacher licenses. (3) Not later than October 1, 2020, submit the report to the general assembly. Ball State provided testimony on behalf of all state supported universities on the bill, which had an initial hearing the the Senate Education and Career Development Committee and will be eligible for amendments and a committee vote next week.
Looking Ahead
Next week the General Assembly will continue to hear bills in committee, and we expect to see an uptick in floor actions regarding bills as they move out of committee. As a reminder, in order to continue their progress toward becoming law, bills must pass their chamber of origin by the third reading deadline (February 3 for the House and February 4 for the Senate).
