The 2024 Indiana legislative session finished earlier this month, and the bills that passed are being sent to the Governor Eric Holcomb’s desk for signature.
The 100-member Indiana House of Representatives and 50-member Senate discuss approximately 1,000 bills that are filed by Indiana lawmakers each year.
RELATED: 2024 Indiana legislative bills that affect minorities
Only about one-fifth of all bills are ever signed into law. Here are a few interesting bills that survived and died the 2024 legislative session:
House Bill 1325 would charge adults with failing to secure a firearm if a child were to get ahold of their loaded, unsecured gun and enact injury or death.
Even with the rise in accidental shootings among youth last year, the bill failed to advance.
Weeks after it died in session, two-year-old Jarel Miles died from a gunshot wound to the head Feb. 27.
Senate Bill 282 would require all schools to create a “truancy prevention policy” that must include meetings with parents, a plan of action for the student and reporting parents to the county prosecutor, which would enable parents to face prosecution.
This bill to address chronic absenteeism amongst students in school is being sent to the governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 98 would allow pregnant mothers to claim their unborn fetuses as dependents for income tax purposes.
The bill received a hearing but was ultimately voted against.
Senate Bill 146 would allow 18-year-olds to ring up alcohol purchases and serve them at restaurants and hotels.
Senate Bill 1093 would allow businesses to expand hours for employees ages 16-18. The bill repeals the current state law that restricts the number of hours youth can work during the week while in school.
Both bills that would affect teens are being sent to the governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 291 would allow elderly and or terminally ill Indiana inmates who meet certain criteria to petition courts for early release to spend their last days outside of prison.
It excludes those found guilty of violent or sexual offenses, which means the bill would currently affect 32 inmates.
It did not advance, since that is a small portion of Indiana’s incarcerated population.
House Bill 1086, which would legalize happy hour, is going to the governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 256 contained a section that would remove the tax on period products. On the last day of the legislative session – notably, International Women’s Day – lawmakers eliminated this portion of the bill.
House Bill 1047 discusses AI revenge porn and would add “computer generated images” including images created by artificial intelligence into the current law against distributing pornographic images.
This bill is going to the governor’s desk.
Contact staff writer Jade Jackson at (317) 762-7853 or by email JadeJ@IndyRecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
I’ll give the state credit that their getting tougher on this porn crap especially when it dealing with children which is extremely disgusting. Junk like this give me reason why I miss living in Indy. Too bad since I’m now living in Georgia the last 14 years a chunk of their laws not as near tough as Indiana law.