Indiana\u2019s top Republican senators said their caucus will largely prioritize health care and fiscal responsibility in the 2023 session, leaving out any education-related agenda items.<\/span><\/p>\n The plan was unveiled at the Statehouse on Monday as lawmakers reconvened for the first day of the legislative session. <\/span>The supermajority proposals include tax cuts, mental health care funding, a statewide overhaul of local health departments, pay increases for state troopers and a policy to increase Hoosier data privacy.<\/span><\/p>\n The caucus\u2019 main initiatives are laid out in eight senate bills, although some priorities are intended to be folded into the two two-year state budget that lawmakers must finalize before the end of the session in April.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Senate Bill 3<\/a>, filed by Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, seeks to form the State and Local Tax Review Commission to study the feasibility of ending Indiana\u2019s income tax and reforming property taxes for Hoosiers.<\/span><\/p>\n Holdman said the House and Senate chambers already passed a plan to cut Indiana\u2019s individual income tax rate from 3.23% to 2.9% by 2029.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs we look to our long-term future, I think the goal for Indiana should be to totally eliminate the individual income tax rates in years to come,\u201d he said. \u201cTo do that, we need to look at the entire tax system holistically instead of trying to make piecemeal changes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Republican Sen. Scott Baldwin, of Noblesville, additionally authored <\/span>Senate Bill 2<\/span><\/a>, which would change state tax law so LLCs and S Corps can deduct all state tax payments on federal tax returns.<\/span><\/p>\n Under federal law, individual taxpayers can get a federal tax deduction for the money they pay in state taxes, up to $10,000. But for companies that pay corporate tax, there\u2019s no such cap on deducting state tax payments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Baldwin said this change would level the playing field for businesses \u2013 especially small ones \u2013 and could result in $50 million in federal tax savings for Hoosier businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis change will have basically no fiscal impact on the state budget, but will help boost your business and reduce how much they have to pay in federal taxes,\u201d Baldwin said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mishawaka Republican Sen. Ryan Mishler said the caucus is also eager to further pay down the Pre-96 Teachers\u2019 Retirement Fund, which still has an outstanding liability of about $6 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n The state has paid down around $4 billion in recent years, Mishler noted, adding that \u201cwe can do something transformational with income taxes or property taxes,\u201d once the state fulfills its obligation to the pension fund.<\/span><\/p>\n Senate Bill 1<\/span><\/a>, authored by Sen. Mike Crider, R-Greenfield, would provide ongoing funding to build out a system of certified behavioral health clinics around Indiana.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Crider said the bill, as currently drafted, would direct $30 million to expand the level of mental health services across the state. He emphasized the need for more centers that provide 24\/7 access to care and post-crisis assistance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to give Hoosiers the mental health care that they need,\u201d Crider said.<\/span><\/p>\n Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, will carry three major health care bills, the largest being <\/span>Senate Bill 4<\/span><\/a>, which seeks to restructure the state\u2019s public health system and create \u201ca uniform set of standards\u201d that Hoosiers can expect when they go to a local health department.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the bill, the state will funnel money to Indiana\u2019s local health departments with an 80-20 match. Local governments can choose whether to participate or not. Local health departments that do accept the new funds will be required to provide core public health services determined by the state health department.<\/span><\/p>\n The Governor\u2019s Public Health Commission urged an infusion of funding for public health \u2013 originally recommending a minimum of $243 million annually. Holcomb dialed back the request in his own budget proposal, though, pursuing $120 million in fiscal year 2024 and another $227 million in fiscal year 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhere we end up going will be resolved as we go through the budget process,\u201d Charbonneau said about a final number.<\/span><\/p>\n Charbonneau\u2019s Senate Bill 6<\/a> would ensure that insurance claims are paid appropriately based on the location where service was provided. He said the measure would end practices that allow inaccurate billing, saving Hoosiers millions per year on medical bills.<\/span><\/p>\n This site of service provision would prohibit health care companies from charging higher \u201chospital\u201d rates for services that are part of a hospital system but not on a hospital campus.<\/p>\n His <\/span>Senate Bill 8<\/span><\/a> would additionally require pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to pass on the rebates they receive for prescriptions to the patients buying the medicines or to all plan members.<\/span><\/p>\n Many times, drug companies provide PBMs with a rebate for each time a person covered by their plan gets certain prescriptions. Charbonneau said his bill would ensure those savings go to the person or plan that bought the medicine.<\/span><\/p>\n Another priority bill, <\/span>Senate Bill 7<\/span><\/a>, would end anti-competitive noncompete clauses and referral incentives for doctors\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bill author Sen. Justin Busch, R-Fort Wayne, said the legislation would enable doctors to compete on their own terms, helping to promote competition in the healthcare marketplace and help lower prices.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThese incentive agreements limit competition in the healthcare marketplace and don\u2019t do anything to improve care for patients,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s time we ban this anti-competitive behavior for the good of Hoosier patients.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Republican Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, outlined a Senate plan to increase pay for Indiana State Police.<\/span><\/p>\n The governor said last week that he wants to earmark $30 million to raise state troopers\u2019 starting salary from roughly $56,000 to $70,000. GOP senators weren\u2019t clear on what type of pay increases they support, but Garten noted that state police recruiting \u201chas never been more challenging\u201d than it is now.<\/span><\/p>\n The state police agency\u2019s most recent recruitment class was the smallest since 1946, graduating just 23 candidates, Garten said. That\u2019s compared to nearly 300 graduates across two classes in 2006.<\/span><\/p>\n Separately, Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, proposed <\/span>an amendment to the Indiana Constitution<\/span><\/a> to allow judges to deny bail if a suspect \u201cclearly poses a substantial risk to the public.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Indiana constitution currently requires every criminal suspect to be offered bail, except in cases of murder and treason.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis has created a difficulty for some of our local courts when they\u2019re trying to set bail for dangerous criminal suspects who aren\u2019t charged with those two crimes,\u201d Koch said, though he noted that state law does allow judges to increase a suspect\u2019s bail if they pose a risk to the public.<\/span><\/p>\n If the bail is set too high, however, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that could be considered unconstitutional.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe think this is a tool the Indiana criminal justice system needs to have in its toolbox,\u201d Koch said.<\/span><\/p>\n Rounding out the Senate GOP\u2019s priorities, Sen, Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, filed <\/span>Senate Bill 5<\/span><\/a>, which creates a \u201cbill of rights\u201d for Hoosier data privacy that would allow consumers to monitor how their data is being used and have it deleted if they wish.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis legislation is a consumer empowerment bill, establishing valuable consumer rights, like the right to review what data has been collected about you, the right to correct that information, or even have it deleted,\u201d Brown said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The measure also includes a requirement for businesses to have annual data protection assessments and security checks.<\/span><\/p>\n If adopted, the bill will go into effect this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Businesses collecting sensitive data \u2014\u00a0like medical and biometric information or details about religious beliefs, race and ethnicity \u2014 would have a heightened requirement for receiving prior consent from the consumer before they process any of that information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To ensure compliance, Brown said the Indiana Attorney General would be authorized to investigate and seek penalties for suspected violations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis legislation will place Indiana on the cutting edge of protecting our Hoosiers, while ensuring their businesses clearly understand what is required of them if they operate in this state,\u201d Brown said.<\/span><\/p>\n None of the Senate GOP\u2019s priorities center around education, however. That\u2019s despite budget <\/span>requests from Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb<\/span><\/a> to inject billions more state dollars into schools.<\/span><\/p>\n Republican Senate Pro Tem Rodric Bray said education \u201cis the most important thing we do here in the state of Indiana,\u201d but pointed to previous education funding boosts in 2019 and 2021 budgets.<\/span><\/p>\n When asked about Holcomb\u2019s education priorities, Bray did not speak on the governor\u2019s proposal to increase tuition support and instead said the state has \u201csome limitations\u201d on spending due to inflation and a possible impending recession. He also did not comment on Holcomb\u2019s proposal to eliminate textbook and circular fees for Hoosier students. Pre-K expansion \u201cis certainly part of the conversation, but that\u2019s obviously an expensive process, as well,\u201d Bray continued.<\/span><\/p>\n House speaker Rep. Todd Huston additionally said his caucus would \u201ctake a look\u201d at Holcomb\u2019s textbook fee proposal and advocated for giving parents and schools more flexibility in spending, but declined to throw his support behind Holcomb\u2019s agenda priority.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ll look at what opportunities are out there \u2026 and how we give parents the flexibility to use those dollars to get the curricular materials they need for their kids,\u201d Huston said.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/indianacapitalchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Ryan-Mishler.jpeg\")
Equalizing public health statewide<\/h4>\n
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Reigning in health care costs<\/h4>\n
Boosts to state trooper salaries<\/h4>\n
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Protecting Hoosiers\u2019 personal data<\/h4>\n
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Education missing<\/h4>\n