Of the 1,154 bills filed in the 2023 Indiana Legislative Session, 252 passed and were signed by the Governor. More than half of those bills, 143, were amended and went to conference committee for consensus before final votes in both chambers.
The League actively supported some of those bills and just as actively opposed others, testifying before committees and contacting legislators to make our positions known.
Bills signed by Governor Holcomb that LWVIN supported (through our advocates and/or our coalition partners):
HB 1568 – Pharmacist prescribed birth control
SB 252 – Long-acting reversible contraceptives
SB 4 – Public Health Commission
SB 265 -- TANF Eligibility
HB 1091 - Continuous eligibility under Medicaid and CHIP
SB 177 – school board filing after primary election—Public Law 34
Bills signed by Governor Holcomb that LWVIN opposed:
SB 480 - banned gender-affirming procedures and medication for minors. (ACLU LAWSUIT within hours)
HB 1608 bans human sexuality instruction to the youngest Hoosier students & mandates that Indiana schools notify parents when a student asks for name or pronoun changes
HB 1008 forces the Indiana retirement system to divest from “ESG” investing (when environmental, social and governmental factors are considered in investment decisions).
HB 1447– bans material deemed “obscene” or “harmful to minors” (already banned by state law) & makes sharing it a felony
HEA 1623 -- “No more stringent than”—coal ash
SB 242 – floodplain mapping (SEE HEC)
HB 1334 – absentee ballot ID requirements
Other victories:
SB 414–language weakening protections for wetlands was removed from the bill
HB 1428 – partisan school boards died (and SB candidates will remain nonpartisan per HB 1335)