Legislative Session Ends; Lawmakers Pass Historic State Budget

Friday, April 23, 2021 at 11:19 AM

In addition, Gov. Holcomb signed 16 bills into law on Thursday.

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(Indianapolis, Ind.) – The legislative session has come to an end.

State lawmakers approved Indiana’s new two-year $37 billion budget on Thursday. The Republican-written budget plan received bipartisan support.

Only five state lawmakers voted against the budget, which dedicates $1.9 billion to K-12 education, fully funds a $600 million investment in teacher pay, and invests in law enforcement training, helps small businesses recover from COVID-19, Next Level Trails, broadband expansion, and future state infrastructure projects.

Governor Eric Holcomb released the following statement:

“This has been a historic legislative session and I’m grateful for all the support my Next Level Agenda achieved. Indiana will be in an even stronger position with this new budget which prioritizes investing in Hoosiers.

“The Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative will lead the nation in encouraging community collaboration to improve quality of place and advance industry sector development. The raises for educators, increased education funding, expanded broadband access and workforce development grants are all game changers.

“Indiana will remain on a roll thanks to the teamwork of all those involved throughout this legislative session.”

The governor ended the legislative session by signing 16 bills into law on Thursday. Some of the highlights included:

House Bill 1479

Early voting. Provides that the county election board may adopt a resolution authorizing the circuit court clerk to use the office of the circuit court clerk or establish a satellite office to permit voters to cast absentee ballots for at least four hours on the third Saturday preceding election day.

House Bill 1230

Safe haven 911. Provides that due to extenuating circumstances, if a child's parent or a person is unable to give up custody of a child under the procedure set forth in Indiana's safe haven law, the child's parent or the person may request that an emergency medical services provider take custody of the child by: (1) dialing the 911 emergency call number; and (2) staying with the child until a provider arrives to take custody of the child. Provides that a provider, shall, without a court order, take custody of a child who is, or who appears to be, not more than 30 days of age if the child is voluntarily left: (1) in a newborn safety device that is located at an emergency medical services station; or (2) with medical staff after delivery in a hospital or other medical facility when the child's parent notifies the medical staff that the parent is voluntarily relinquishing the child. Allows a child's parent to remain anonymous.

For more information, visit www.in.gov.

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