Bascom: Halftime at the Statehouse

The first-time legislator gives a recap on happenings from the first half of the legislative session

As a new legislator, it's hard to believe the first half of the 2025 legislative session is already here.  

During the past two months, Indiana House Republicans worked to judiciously review legislation, including the first draft of Indiana's next two-year budget. Out of the 713 House bills that were filed, 179 bills passed out of the House and now head to the Indiana Senate for their review. Any bill that has not passed a chamber of the General assembly at this point in the session is now dead. 

During the first half of session, three of my bills made it through the process and passed the House of Representatives.

The first, House Bill 1393, would require individuals who are arrested for a misdemeanor or felony offense to be reported to ICE if the arresting officer has probable cause to believe the individual was here unlawfully. This common-sense bill would require our local law enforcement agencies to help our federal government root out bad actors that have been arrested for crimes.

The second, House Bill 1385, helps ensure that recovery coaches, who are assets in the field of addiction recovery and mental health are allowed to work in healthcare facilities by removing prohibitive disqualifications. 

The third, House Bill 1554, would address a gap in the state's habitual traffic violator law by making it a Level 6 felony for anyone who drives after their license has been permanently revoked. This is a small correction to our code to bring this statute up to date with the 2015 criminal code reform.

I was the coauthor of 10 additional bills that passed covering topics such as criminal justice reform, the creation of a pediatric cancer research grant fund and other bills to ensure efficient governance. 

During the second half of session, House bills that passed our chamber will move to the Senate for review, and the House will begin considering Senate bills that passed their chamber. 

While I am excited to watch my bills move through the process, I am also ready to work on Senate legislation with my peers to find more paths forward to help Hoosiers.

As we begin the next half, I encourage Hoosiers in House District 68 to follow along. At iga.in.gov, constituents can watch livestreams of session and committees and track legislation throughout the process.

Those interested can also visit in.gov/h68 and sign up for my e-newsletter, which covers important bills and other state news.

This has been a productive start to my time as your state representative, and I'm excited to continue being your voice at the Statehouse.