Church Blog - February 2012

Committees finished their work this week and many bills kept moving through the process on the floor. Next week the focus will be second and third reading. Differences between versions of the bills will be reconciled in conference committee and voting upon the agreements during the week of March 4. The intent is to adjourn on March 9.
 
The House Public Health Committee passed out SB 15, but Representative Tim Brown (R – Crawfordsville) did not move the amendment to include the Physician Scope of Treatment form. He was convinced that the health and hospital community would develop a form that the General Assembly could adopt next session.
 
The Public Health Committee also passed SB 201, Transfer of human organisms, 8 – 2. The bill will allow fertility clinics to legally reimburse donors for ova before freezing them and then using the ova in an IVF process for another. Current law only permits the recipient to reimburse (buy) the ova. However, the bill also contains a provision that prohibits the fertility clinic to use any of the ova for embryonic stem cell research. It also removes from current Indiana law the ability to do embryonic stem research using Federal guidelines. These provisions are positive but the IVF industry needs regulation. ICC attempted to have the bill amended to restrict the number of ova fertilized at any one time, but the issue required too much time to develop. This could be a topic for future sessions because one explanation of the purpose of the bill was to reduce the number of embryos created and the large number held in indefinite storage. The bill moves to the floor next week.
 
House Education Committee passed SB 296, Certified scholarship eligibility, but amended out the provision that would make students in grade 8 eligible for a tax credit scholarship. It also passed second reading. SB 296 now provides that a student who received a scholarship in an earlier year but not the preceding year to again qualify for the scholarship in a later year. ICC supports this provision and is hopeful that the grade 8 eligibility provision can be added back during conference committee.
 
As expected SB 72, dealing with chemical abortions, did not receive a hearing. The House leadership did not want to deal with this emotional topic after the emotional struggle over Right to Work.
 
Senator Luke Kenley (R - Noblesville) in Senate Appropriations Committee stripped out the language in HB 1134 which added language to clarify Indiana law that requires school districts to transport students to non-public schools. However, Representative Bob Behning (R – Indianapolis), in House Education Committee, added the transportation language in SB 384 which deals with school accreditation. Hence, it is still possible to clarify the law this session. We also have an option of including it in another bill to ensure that it is viable during the final days of the session. It will come down to conference committee discussions and final passage of the bill which contains it.
 
HB 1141, Home energy assistance, passed the Senate 50 – 0 and now returns to the House. The bill was amended to provide for funding of the sales tax through the home mortgage settlement. It is likely that the House will concur with the changes since the sales tax exemption has been extended through 2020.
 
Senator Jean Leising (R – Oldenburg) offered an amendment to HB 1326, Various education matters, in Senate Education Committee which removes the out of state tuition requirement for students who were enrolled in a university when the law changed last year. Last session, the General Assembly passed a bill that requires out of state tuition for resident students who are undocumented but have lived in Indiana most of their life and graduated from Indiana schools. The amendment passed 8 – 2. The amendment also included several other measures that had passed the Senate but did not receive a hearing in the House. The bill will be eligible for second reading amendments next week. We expect amendments to remove the provision dealing with undocumented students. ICC supports the amendment to remove this obstacle for students and opposes attempts to remove it. It will be difficult to maintain this provision when this returns to the House should it make it out of the Senate.
 
Local government reform continues but the bills have slowed down. SB 170 and HB 1005 both provide restrictions regarding nepotism and conflicts of interest for local office holders. Each is poised to pass next week. The bills have been amended but are identical. The HB 1093 dealing with public access of government documents did not receive a hearing in the Senate.  Unless sponsors can find a place for it in another bill during conference committee the issue will have to wait until next session.
 
In addition, HB 1250, State government nepotism passed the Senate 43 – 7. It contains many of same provisions as for local government. It was amended from the House version; it may end up in conference committee next week.
 
 
In addition to the Update, one can obtain more detailed information regarding the bills and detailed information about the legislative process through the ICC Legislative Action Center. Under “policy tools” click on “issues and legislation” and access the state or federal bills by clicking “current legislation”. Also, you can access the archived updates, ICC positions and other background information at the ICC website www.indianacc.org
 

Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) is the public policy voice of the Catholic bishops in Indiana regarding state and national matters.

Committees were active this week and several bills are moving through the process. Typically at this time each body makes changes in the other’s bills. Often changes are made by stripping out the original bill and inserting a bill that did not get a hearing in the other house or by adding a bill that did not move before cross-over. For example, SB 15 passed the Senate and deals with traumatic brain injury care; it essentially sets up a study committee to provide a path for this specialized care here in Indiana. Representative Tim Brown (R – Crawfordsville), Chairman of the House Public Health Committee, has proposed an amendment to SB 15 to add his HB 1114, Physician Scope of Treatment form, which was heard but not voted on in January. The amendment is still being worked on and is expected to be voted on next week. ICC is following HB 1114 and now the amendment, for it deals with ethical and moral actions for end of life care. Dr. Brown’s intent is to develop a form that can be reviewed at the next General Assembly. The current amendment establishes the form, but makes its use voluntary.   ICC, along with the medical community is following this closely.
 
Several bills ICC has supported are moving but are changing course and not always as we hoped.
HB 1134, which provides clarity regarding transportation to school of non-public school students, passed the Senate Education Committee but was reassigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee. This means that it must this committee before it can move to the Senate for consideration.   Because the bill also contains a provision regarding bus fleets and transfer of bus replacement funds, it raised some opposition. The transfer of the bill may be an attempt to remove or address these concerns. No one raised issues with the language clarifying transportation of our students but this delay provides another opportunity for problems to arise and for the bill to stall completely.
 
SB 296, which provided an opportunity for current non-public students to access the Scholarship Tax Credit Scholarship program for high school, will receive a hearing on Monday, February 20. However, it is expected that this provision will be removed. Apparently, the House Republican Caucus is unwilling to deal with the school choice issue in any substantive manner. We expect that the bill will be amended to allow for students who have received a scholarship but whose income later exceeds the limits to be eligible again when income drops and the family again qualifies. Under current law, eligibility continues only if the student continuously receives the scholarship after the student qualifies in kindergarten or as a transfer from a public school. ICC sponsored the amendment and supports the initial bill to provide access for our 8th grade students into the program. Keeping the bill moving is needed not only to change the current law, it will allow the 8th grade provision, which passed the Senate, to be eligible for conference committee and possible final passage before the session ends.
 
In some good news
HB 1141, Home energy assistance, passed the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee unanimously on Monday. It was amended to extend the exemption to 2020 rather than for only one year. The change came as proceeds generated from money that is received by the state under a multistate agreement related to litigation concerning mortgage foreclosure will reimburse the state general fund for the amount of state sales tax revenue that was not collected because of the sales tax exemption for home energy acquired through LIHEAP. The bill should pass the Senate next week.
 
SR 9 passed Senate Education Committee 6 – 3. The resolution addresses a problem created by passage of a bill last session that requires undocumented students who have graduated from Indiana schools to pay out of state tuition at state universities. The resolution calls for a study of the impact of this change in policy, not only for the people involved but the cost to the universities and long term costs of the policy. ICC supported the resolution sponsored by Senator Jean Leising (R- Oldenburg). Passage in the Senate will be difficult.
 
Next week is the last week for committees to move bills along. Leadership is proposing that the session end on March 9, a few days before the statutory deadline of Mach 14.
 
Bills that ICC is watching during this week include:
SB 201, Transfer of human organisms, will be heard on Wednesday in the House Public Health Committee. The bill provides for resale of ova for IVF. The bill contains provisions that curtail the use of embryonic stem cell research but the underlying premise of the bill promotes the IVF process which is illicit.
 
SB 72, Abortion matters, provides for regulations regarding chemical abortions. It is in the House Public Policy Committee and we do not expect it to receive a hearing. House leadership does not want another controversial topic. Although it passed the Senate, getting it through conference committee would be very difficult.
 

Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) is the public policy voice of the Catholic bishops in Indiana regarding state and national matters.

The atmosphere of the session has changed dramatically. Now that Right to Work issue is no longer being discussed, the Capitol almost seems empty. But the process on many other bills continues. The Senate has begun the committee process, while the House took this week to decide which committees will handle bills and what the leadership wanted to do with many controversial bills coming from the Senate. One can expect committees to be in action next week on both sides of the Statehouse.
 
Following cross-over legislators look to allies in the other chamber to support their bills and to find ways to provide for measures not passed during the first part of the session. Bills that did not pass either body during the first part of the session are dead, and generally, the topics each deals with are not given an opportunity to be inserted in bills that are still moving. However, there are ways to resurrect some topics into similar bills in the opposite chamber. Hence, legislators often shop for homes for some of their bills. Two such bills, supported by the Conference, are looking for a home. HB 1143, Child and dependent tax credit, authored by Representative John Day (D-Indianapolis) is one, and SB 102, Food stamp assistance after drug conviction, authored by Senator John Broden (D-South Bend), is another. The path is usually difficult and not always successful but the path to becoming law is not easy, and often not a straight line. We will keep you posted.
 
This week Wednesday the Senate Education Committee heard HB 1134 which deals with transportation issues. The bill as written now will clarify Indiana’s law regarding transportation of non-public students to school.  The committee will vote on the bill next week.  Testimony was positive regarding the bill and no questions were raised regarding the transportation of non-public students.
 
Bills expected to receive hearings
SB 72, Abortion matters, attempts to prohibit “telemed” abortions by requiring the doctor to do a physical exam before and after prescribing RU 486. In some states,  prescriptions for RU 486 are provided by doctors via a computer screen from a remote location. The House sponsor is Representative Sue Ellspemann (R-Ferdinand). The bill is in the House Public Policy Committee chaired by Representative Bill Davis (R-Portland).
 
HB 1141, Home energy assistance, exempts state sales tax  allowing all Federal funds to be used for energy assistance.  It is assigned to the Senate Tax and Fiscal Committee chaired by Senator Brandt Hershman (R-Buck Creek). Its sponsors are Senators Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville), John Broden (D-South Bend), and Vi Simpson (D-Bloomington).

Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) is the public policy voice of the Catholic bishops in Indiana regarding state and national matters.

The Federal government has taken actions that strike at the heart of Rights of Conscience and Religious Liberty in the U.S.
 
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services  (HHS) has issued a rule forcing nearly all private health plans to include coverage for all FDA-approved prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, as well as surgical sterilization. These are listed among "preventive services for women" that all health plans will have to cover without co-pays or other cost-sharing -- regardless of whether the insurer, the employer or other plan sponsor, or even the woman herself objects to such coverage.
 
The exemption provided for "religious employers" is so narrow that it fails to cover the vast majority of faith-based organizations, including Catholic hospitals, universities, and service organizations that help millions every year. Ironically, not even Jesus and his disciples would have qualified. During the public comment period last fall, the bishops' grassroots campaign alone generated over 57,000 comments to HHS opposing their mandate.
 
Now that the Administration has refused to recognize the Constitutional conscience rights of organizations and individuals who oppose the mandate, the bishops are now urging Catholics and others of good will to fight this unprecedented attack on conscience rights and religious liberty.
 
All are asked to inform themselves of the problem and to help other know about and understand it.  An action alert will be forthcoming as a first step but not the last.
 
We offer the following documents that provide background:   Preventive Services Background and Preventive Q & A ;  and  this link will provide further information.

Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) is the public policy voice of the Catholic bishops in Indiana regarding state and national matters.
 

Despite the delays and protests during the session, the General Assembly has completed its work on time for the first half. Fewer bills were considered in the House than might otherwise have been passed, but major issues such as Right to Work, smoking ban, local government reforms such as nepotism, conflict of interest and public access all passed the House. The Senate passed most of these and many others. With crossover complete, legislators are set to consider bills from the other Chamber beginning next week.
 
HB 1134, Various education matters, which includes the language to transport students attending a non-public school to a point where they can safely walk to school, passed the House 92 – 2.
 
HB 1141, Home energy assistance, passed the House 94 – 0. However, it is limited to restoring the sales tax exemption, which expired in 2009, for home energy acquired through LIHEAP after June 30, 2012, and before July 1, 2013. While the original bill would have extended this exemption indefinitely and provided funding for hook- up costs, this can be revived again during the regular budgetary session next year. The lost sales tax revenue is between 3.7 and 4.4 million; with the exemption this amount will be available to help elderly, disabled and young children in need of assistance. All funding comes from a Federal grant.
 
SB 72, Abortion matters, was amended on second reading to limit its effect to physicians who practice and prescribe RU486 at abortion clinics. It also made changes in keeping with the levels and dosages currently used by physicians, which are lower than authorized by FDA. The bill continues to provide for informed consent and follow-up care. The bill passed the Senate 36 – 0.
 
SB 296, Certified scholarship program eligibility, passed the Senate without amendment 34 - 16. The bill will provide eligibility for families currently enrolled in Catholic schools to access tax credit scholarship funds provided by a Scholarship Granting Organization. This program was created in 2009 to help lower income families access non-public schools. The bill will assist families in meeting tuition for high school by providing edibility for students enrolled in grade 8.
 
SB 201, Transfer of human organisms, passed the Senate 47 – 3 but was not amended to restrict the number of embryos created at one time for a woman. The bill does provide some restrictions on the use of the ova and prohibits the use of embryos for embryonic stem cell research. Thus, it has some positive features but it also supports the IVF process, which is morally illicit. The bill allows a fertility clinic to store and then resell ova to its clients.
 
Bills dealing with local government reform kept moving
SB 170 and HB 1105, both dealing with nepotism and conflict of interest, passed each body with wide margins. The bills prohibit direct supervision of relatives and prohibit employees from serving on governing bodies of the unit of government in which they are employed.
HB 1093 provides for public access to government information and provide for fines of officials who deliberately violate public access laws. It passed 90 – 4.
SB 174, Local government reorganization, passed 40 – 10. The bill makes changes in procedures that allow local people to change the structure of county/city government, including townships.
Bills dealing with specific township government reforms did not receive hearings and are dead for the session.
 
Other bills moving on in the process

HB 1107, Drug testing, will establish a pilot program in three counties to require drug testing of TANF recipients. It also will require legislators to be drug tested and provides for random tests of legislators during the session with some exemptions.
 
HB 1149, Smoking ban, passed 62 – 35; it provides for a ban on smoking in work places including bars but grants exemptions including private clubs and casinos.
 
SB 83, Cursive writing, will mandate cursive writing instruction on public schools and accredited non-public schools. It passed 45 – 5.
 
SB 89, Creation science, passed 28 – 22; it provides that a school corporation may require the teaching of various theories concerning the origin of life, including creation science, within the school corporation.
 
SB 344, State taxation, passed the Senate 28 – 20; it contains many tax issues relating to economic development and also a provision that all tax credits are to be studied during the interim of 2012 and 2013 sessions. ICC requested the study rather than the initial proposal to sun-set all tax credits in 2016.
 
Most of the bills introduced this session are now dead since they did not pass the first house. Among these are bills ICC supported or followed such as HB 1143, Child and dependent tax credit; HB 1114, physician scope of treatment form; SB 102, food stamp assistance after drug conviction; SB 198, Choice scholarship eligibility, SB 331, also dealing with eligibility for choice scholarships.
 

Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) is the public policy voice of the Catholic bishops

in Indiana regarding state and national matters.