Halftime at the legislature: Where key bills stand

While the most contentious issue is effectively dead, plenty of others remain unresolved at the midpoint of the 2016 legislative session.

The effort to protect gay Hoosiers from discrimination failed, but lawmakers are still working on proposals to boost road funding, ditch the state’s ISTEP student assessment test and crack down on meth labs before finishing their work in mid-March.

Here are where some key issues stand:

Highway funding

The Senate and House have passed competing proposals to fund Indiana’s roads and bridges. Taking its cue from Gov. Mike Pence, the Republican-led Senate plan would add about $1 billion over four years through a combination of dipping into state reserves, borrowing money and setting aside additional money in future budgets. It’s a short-term solution, but it avoids tax increases in a year when Pence and many senators are facing potentially tough re-election bids.

Across the hallway, the Republican-controlled House wants to increase gas and cigarette taxes to add about $500 million a year, while also gradually cutting personal income taxes. Anti-tax groups have slammed the plan, and Pence has said taxes don’t need to be raised, but House Speaker Brian Bosma has argued it would provide a sustainable, long-term funding solution. Expect the rhetoric to heat up as each chamber takes up the other’s proposal in the coming weeks.

Education

Responding to problems with the state’s ISTEP test has become the dominant education issue during this year’s legislative session. Lawmakers moved quickly to pass relief for teachers and schools to bar results from the 2015 test from hurting performance pay and A-F accountability grades after a 20 percentage point drop in student scores from the previous school year. Eyeing a more permanent solution, the House voted to repeal the ISTEP in 2017.

Both the House and Senate have passed bills that would create panels to make recommendations on the future of testing for Hoosier students. Whether the review will lead to substantive changes in standardized testing or a rebranding of the state’s current high-stakes pass/fail exam remains to be seen.

As lawmakers focus on setting the stage for an ISTEP alternative, the Indiana State Board of Education also would have the authority to look back and launch a further review of the 2015 test. The House passed a bill to allow the state board to call for a rescore of the 2015 test after an IndyStar investigation revealed a computer glitch might have inadvertently given students incorrect scores on the exam.

Lawmakers make ISTEP rescore optional

Lawmakers also pledged to respond to a shortage of certified personnel in the state’s classrooms this year. So far, they’ve passed a scholarship program for prospective educators, which is contingent on lawmakers dedicating funding next year.

Under a House bill, superintendents would have the ability to provide supplemental pay to educators in hard-to-fill subject matters. Those payments would not be held to the school district’s union contract, and the proposal has faced sharp criticism from the Indiana State Teachers Association.

A bill backed by Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz to set up a mentoring program for beginning teachers died in the House, but her department is hoping to revive the language during the second half of the session.

Meth

The House and Senate have passed a series of measures to crack down on methamphetamine production in the state.

They amount to the most meaningful responses to date by the General Assembly as lawmakers work to curb meth cooks from obtaining pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the meth-making process. However, they stop short of requiring all Hoosiers to obtain a prescription to access products containing pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed and other cold and allergy tablets.

Indiana lawmakers advance bills to give pharmacists discretion on cold medicines

The House passed a compromise measure last week designed to give a majority of Hoosiers options to obtain pseudoephedrine without a prescription. Under the proposal, a person with a relationship with a pharmacy could still access the medicine without a prescription, and others would have the option of receiving tamper-resistant medication or a limited amount of pseudoephedrine product. Only Hoosiers who don’t agree with those options would need to obtain a prescription.

The House and Senate also have passed measures to require drug-related felons to obtain a prescription to purchase pseudoephedrine products.

Police body cameras

The House passed a bill that would let law enforcement agencies decide whether to release police video footage to the general public. House Bill 1019 has drawn criticism from the Hoosier State Press Association and other government transparency advocates, who argue the bill could undermine efforts to increase police transparency and allow the public to hold law enforcement accountable. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Abortion

For the second year in a row, a controversial proposal has advanced to ban abortions that are sought because of a fetus’s diagnosis of a disability such as Down syndrome. The House didn’t take up the Senate-approved measure last year but now has another opportunity to consider it. Another proposal heading to the Senate would require aborted fetuses to be buried or cremated.

Guns

A bill that would have let employees of the General Assembly carry handguns into the Indiana Statehouse was shelved after a House committee didn’t take action. Several other controversial gun measures are effectively dead. A bill that would have made it easier for repeat alcohol offenders to get a handgun license was withdrawn. Another that would have allowed guns at public universities and all other state-owned properties failed to get a hearing before a deadline. So, too, did a measure that would have repealed an Indiana law requiring a license to carry a handgun.

Senate passes bill to allow more guns at the Statehouse

Transgender bathroom access

Lawmakers declined to take up two attempts to legislate transgender people’s access to public bathrooms and school locker rooms. But the concerns over those issues resonated strongly enough with Republicans, including Senate President Pro Tem David Long, to contribute to the quick demise of the debate over civil rights protections for gay and transgender Hoosiers.

BMV fees

A 400-page overhaul of BMV fees passed the House and was sent to the Senate. The bill would eliminate more than 100 fees and put a cap on so-called "convenience fees" that third-party title and registration processors charge. The proposed changes come after the BMV admitted to overcharging Hoosier motorists about $100 million.

Alcohol

For yet another year, lawmakers failed to work out a compromise that would allow consumers to purchase alcohol on Sundays at grocery, drug, convenience and liquor stores. The measure was voted down in a House committee. It faced stiff opposition from liquor stores, which fear losing market share to big-box grocery stores.

A proposal to allow reduced prices on drinks during happy hour also failed to advance. Several other measures that could increase alcohol access incrementally passed the House and were sent to the Senate. They include bills to allow Sunday alcohol sales at artisan distilleries, to allow mead and cider growler refills at farm wineries and to increase the number of alcohol permits in Hamilton and Boone counties.

Increased alcohol permits, Sunday sales for artisan distilleries passes Senate committee

Fantasy sports

A bill authorizing fantasy sports wagering in Indiana passed the Senate, but only after lawmakers made a notable change — the exclusion of college sports. Indiana — home of the NCAA — became the first state to have a bill specifically prohibiting the games from using college sports. The measure now moves to the House.

College games taken out of bill authorizing daily fantasy sports wagering

Call IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.

Call IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @indystarchelsea. 

Call IndyStar reporter Stephanie Wang at (317) 444-6184. Follow her on Twitter: @stephaniewang.