ICAN Report 2.19.22
February 19, 2022
The Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) is the public policy voice of the Catholic bishops in Indiana
regarding state and national matters.
To act on these bills via action alert or by directly contacting your legislator, visit indianacc.org and click “Take Action” in the top right corner of the page. Advocacy tip: personalized messages are more effective than unedited messages.
Listed below are the bills the ICC is monitoring most closely. The list is not exhaustive yet highlights the issues of greatest priority and relevance within the legislative process.
Respect Life
1217 Coerced Abortion (Rep. King)
This bill requires that a woman seeking an abortion should receive information stating that a coerced abortion is illegal. The bill also includes provisions for providing resources and an alternate exit from the facility if necessary.
ICC supports this bill.
Status:
Passed House, now moves to Senate floor after passing Senate committee.
1077 Firearms Matters (Lawful Carry) (Rep. Smaltz)
This bill repeals the law which requires handgun owners to obtain a license before carrying a handgun. Last year, the ICC raised concerns that this bill would eliminate important community safeguards by removing a useful tool for law enforcement officers. The bill’s supporters argue that this measure furthers the constitutional right to bear arms. In contrast, the ICC and other bill opponents believe that the licensing requirement does not place an undue burden on gun owners and therefore should be preserved.
ICC opposes this bill.
Status:
This bill has already passed the House, and now moves to the Senate. 1077 is not yet scheduled for a hearing in the Senate.
Solidarity
352 Supervised Consumer Loans (Sen. Zay)
SB 352 caps interest rates for subprime loans at 36 percent, but still allows for monthly maintenance fees and other fees that exceed 75-100 percent of the principal of the loan.
This bill is being presented as an alternative loan product to drive down costs in the subprime lending industry through competition. The bill, in reality, would give lenders the flexibility to charge high rates for another product. Here are some examples of what the bill would do:
Allows lenders to charge significantly higher interest for loans over $1,500.
Example: Under current law, the total cost of a $6,000 car loan would be $7,071.29 for a 12 month term.
Under SB352, the total cost of the same loan would be $11,725.00.
Lenders offer these loans to a population that is usually seeking a loan out of desperation (and without credit scores to qualify for conventional loans). Desperation will motivate borrowers to accept unjust and usurious terms.
There are several more just proposals to regulate payday and other subprime loans, including HB 1159 and SB 253. Tell your Senators and Representatives that you oppose SB 352.
ICC opposes this bill.
Status:
This bill narrowly passed the Senate, and now moves to the House. 352 is not yet scheduled for a hearing in the House.
1361 TANF (Rep. Goodrich)
HB 1361 allows TANF recipients a higher threshold of value of motor vehicles and other assets for program eligibility. The Church's concern for the wellbeing of the poor and emphasis on solidarity provides firm ground for supporting these bills.
ICC supports these bills.
Status:
This bill has already passed the House, and now moves to the Senate. Passed Senate committee, and reassigned to Appropriations.
1214 Residential Eviction Actions (Rep. Manning)
HB 1214 allows eviction records to be removed and sealed if the eviction is filed but does not occur. In current law, eviction filings remain on the record even if the eviction does not occur, which affects tenants’ future housing prospects. The Indiana Catholic Conference supports this legislation as it will contribute, in part, to a fairer housing application process for Hoosiers.
ICC supports this bill.
Status:
This bill has already passed the House. Passed Senate committee and now heads to Senate floor.
Family Life
1122 Regulation of Sexually Oriented Businesses (Rep. Speedy)
HB 1122 requires that sexually oriented businesses, such as strip clubs and adult bookstores, cannot be located within 1,000 feet of a location that caters to children. This bill helps to strengthen preexisting local ordinances of the same topic. The ICC believes that this extra buffer is good for families and children.
ICC supports this bill.
Status:
This bill has already passed the House, and now moves to the Senate. Not yet scheduled for a hearing.
1354 Requirements for SNAP Participants
HB 1354 restricts access to the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) in two ways: 1) it requires parents to comply with child support orders to be eligible for SNAP and 2) requires require all adults up to age 60 to participate in 'Education & Training' programs to be eligible for SNAP benefits, regardless of whether they're already working, are caring for dependents, or are in other 'non-approved' training programs. These changes in the law could put certain families at greater risk of losing SNAP and could be very costly for the state to implement.
ICC opposes this bill.
Status:
This bill has already passed the House. Now scheduled for a Senate hearing on 2/21.
Dead Bills:
In this second half of the 2022 Indiana General Assembly, many bills are now officially “dead” meaning they did not make it past the committee hearing stage. Although these bills are dead, there is always the potential for the language in these bills to end up in an amendment in the second half of the session.
Here is a list of dead bills the ICC was following:
200 and 1195 Driving Cards (support)
327 TANF (support)
1159 and 253 Lending Caps (support)
1136, 1304, 248, 313 Net Metering (support)
255 Climate Task Force (support)
14 Firearms (oppose)