State legislators discuss bills from current session

State Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington, and Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, gave a legislative update to the public Saturday at the City Council Chambers in the Showers Building.

About 20 Bloomington residents attended.

It was the third and final legislative update coordinated by the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County for the current Indiana Legislative Session.
All of the bills that are going to be considered by Gov. Mitch Daniels have been approved by the House and Senate for the current session, which ends March 14.

Simpson said the controversial right-to-work bill was divisive and bipartisan, and she said she didn’t know how it would affect the rest of the session.

“People would actually put those bad feelings aside and get to work and do something that is really important for the people of Indiana,” Simpson said.

The first bill that was signed by Daniels just before the Super Bowl will provide greater legal protection for victims of human trafficking who are younger than 16, but Simpson said more needs to be done to address domestic servitude. 

Other bills Simpson said would have the greatest public effect include HB 1376, which allows $6 million for the victims of the stage collapse at the State Fair last August. That same bill also allows $80 million to be appropriated for school corporations that charge parents for kindergarten tuition.

Simpson also said a bill that will tighten regulations on the chemicals used in bath salts was an important part of the session, as well as the lifeline legislation and the statewide smoking ban, which Simpson sponsored.

Amendments for bills that would regulate church day-care facilities and tweak the way public schools are funded were turned down, Simpson said.

“I think we had an opportunity to do something really good for children this year,” she said. “Children were totally left out of this process.”

Pierce said the biggest issue that the Indiana House Democratic Caucus contested last week was whether the Department of Child Services was doing an effective job. A hotline was created to receive calls for cases of child neglect and abuse, but Democratic legislators have questioned whether that measure is enough.

Republican legislators agreed to a study committee to investigate reports of
child abuse.

“We at least made some progress there, very little,” Pierce said. “And I am hoping that maybe more can be done before we adjourn.”

Audience members were given one minute to ask questions or make comments.

Sue Wanzer, a member with the Board of Trustees for the Monroe County Community School Corporation, thanked the legislators and the Indiana General Assembly for their work to improve public education.

“I feel like it’s an uphill battle,” Wanzer said. “It at times gets frustrating, but it’s very gratifying to have you two support us and help us figure out what we need
to do.”