INDIANAPOLIS — The clock is ticking precariously toward halftime of the 2022 session of the Indiana General Assembly.
State lawmakers are scrambling to grab the ball and run with their bills, hoping to cross next week’s goal line to keep them alive for half No. 2.
The House passed two of its most controversial bills this week.
House Bill 1134 is aimed the teaching of Critical Race Theory in K-12 schools. Critical Race Theory is not taught in K-12 schools, but it has become a catchall phrase for anything dealing with race.
Among other things, it bars teachers from teaching things that make students uncomfortable. We don’t know whether that applies only to history or subjects like calculus, which probably makes a lot of students uncomfortable.
House Bill 1041 also passed. That’s the ban on transgender girls playing girls sports in grades 12 and below — something else that isn’t get happening in Indiana.
Both bills could face an uphill climb in the Senate.
RELATED | Controversial House education bill passes, heads to Senate | Indiana is one step closer to banning transgender girls from playing high school sports
There’s always something at the Statehouse that flies under the radar, but one bill in particular is quite important.
The Senate this week passed Senate Bill 3, which contains administrative procedures that Gov. Eric Holcomb says are needed for him to finally lift the statewide pandemic health emergency. It now goes to the House, which already passed some of those procedures.
However, House Republicans also attached a ban on the ability of private businesses to enforce COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Senate Republicans didn’t seem keen to go that far.
This week, several groups called on lawmakers to give a key right to tenants when it comes to dealing with their landlords. Those groups are going to be left waiting longer for those rights. Senate Bill 320 is dead for the session and will instead go to a summer study committee.
The bill would have given tenants the right to not pay rent if their landlords failed to make repairs to their homes.
Indiana is one of only five states that do not have that type of law on the books.
-
Raymond Park Middle School band director to march in Rose Parade
One local band director will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in one of the country's biggest traditions.
Local towing companies work overtime as icy conditions hit across Indianapolis
Local tow companies worked overtime on Friday as rain and freezing cold led to icy conditions on many Indianapolis roadways
Marijuana shift at federal level could impact Indiana CBD, hemp products
The order was signed as hemp products face a possible federal ban. That ban has potential consequences for shops like The Health Club in Indianapolis.
Hoosier fans rush to Memorial Stadium for free Rose Bowl rally towel
IU prepared 10,000 Rose Bowl rally towels for fans at Memorial Stadium on Friday afternoon. The towels are the same design that Hoosier fans will receive if they attend the game in Pasadena.
