Sen. Eddie Melton

Maddy summaryThis is a ceremonial Senate Resolution (SR 1) honoring Senator Brandt Hershman for his retirement after serving District 7 in the Indiana State Senate since 2000. The resolution formally expresses the Senate's gratitude for his service, highlighting his leadership roles (including Majority Floor Leader and Committee Chair) and his work on tax policy improvements. The key mechanism is directing the Senate Secretary to send a copy of the resolution to Senator Hershman and his wife. It does not create new laws or affect any policy, as it is purely a symbolic gesture of appreciation.

Provides that, subject to certain procedures and requirements, the office of the secretary of family and social services may apply to the United States Department of Health and Human Services: (1) for a Medicaid state plan amendment, a waiver, or an amendment to an existing waiver to require reimbursement for eligible certified community behavioral health clinic services; or (2) to participate in the expansion of a community mental health services demonstration program. Requires the division of mental health and addiction to establish and maintain a help line: (1) to provide confidential emotional support and referrals to certain resources to individuals who call the help line; and (2) that is accessible by calling a toll free telephone number. Establishes the Indiana behavioral health commission (commission) and sets forth the commission's membership. Changes the name of the "9-8-8 crisis hotline center" to "9-8-8 crisis response center". Makes conforming changes.

Provides that the commission for higher education shall do the following: (1) In cooperation with the department of education, identify students who meet the requirements to participate in the twenty-first century scholars program (program). (2) Notify the student and the custodial parent or guardian of the student, if the student is an unemancipated minor, that: (A) the student is eligible to participate in the program; (B) the student must agree to the conditions required to participate in the program; and (C) the student has the right to opt out of the program at any time.

Defines "core public health services" for purposes of public health laws. Adds members to the executive board of the Indiana department of health (state department). Removes a provision allowing the state department to establish branch offices. Provides that the state department may provide services to local health departments. Requires each local board of health to establish a local public health services fund to receive state funding. Provides a method of allocation of state funding to local boards of health, subject to state appropriations. Specifies the percentage of how additional funding may be expended on core public health services. Allows the local health department to enter into contracts or approve grants for core public health services. Allows the state department to issue guidance to local health departments. Requires the state department to make annual local health department reports available to the public. Changes the qualification requirements for a local health officer and requires certain training. Requires the state department to identify state level metrics and county level metrics and requires certain local health departments to report to the state department activities and metrics on the delivery of core public health services. Requires the state department to annually report on the metrics to the budget committee and publish information concerning the metrics on the Internet. Requires that a local health department post a position or contract for the provision or administration of core public health services for at least 30 days. Requires a local health department to provide certain education before administering a vaccine. Requires a multiple county health department to maintain at least one physical office in each represented county. Provides that a new city health department cannot be created after December 31, 2022, but allows current city health departments to continue to operate. Creates the Indiana trauma care commission. Allows a school corporation that cannot obtain an ophthalmologist or optometrist to perform the modified clinical technique vision test to conduct certain specified vision screenings. Requires the school to send to the parent of a student any recommendation for further testing by the vision screener. Allows for standing orders to be used for emergency stock medication in schools. Allows the state health commissioner or designee to issue a statewide standing order, prescription, or protocol for emergency stock medication for schools. Removes the distance requirement for an access practice dentist to provide communication with a dental hygienist. Repeals provisions concerning the Indiana local health department trust account.

Provides that discipline rules adopted by the governing body of a school corporation must include timetables for reporting bullying incidents to parents of both the targeted student and the alleged perpetrator in an expedited manner that is not later than five business days after the incident is reported. (Current law provides that discipline rules adopted by the governing body of a school corporation must include timetables for reporting bullying incidents to parents of both the targeted student and the bully in an expedited manner.) Provides that discipline rules adopted by the governing body of a school corporation: (1) must include provisions that require a school to prioritize the safety of the victim; (2) may include provisions to determine: (A) the severity of an incident of bullying; and (B) whether an incident of bullying may warrant the transfer of the victim or the alleged perpetrator to another school in the school corporation; and (3) must include policies to allow a parent of a child in the school corporation to review any materials used in any bullying prevention or suicide prevention program. Requires public schools to document acts of bullying and abusive behaviors against a victim and committed by a verified perpetrator.

Appropriates money for capital expenditures, the operation of the state, K-12 and higher education, the delivery of Medicaid and other services, and various other distributions and purposes. Requires a researcher to execute a data sharing agreement that is approved by the management performance hub to receive access to confidential records. Provides that the auditor of state is also known as the state comptroller. Provides that, after June 30, 2023, the auditor of state shall use the title "state comptroller" in conducting state business, in all contracts, on business cards, on stationery, and with other means of communication as necessary. Establishes the attorney general contingency fee fund. Establishes the: (1) state opioid settlement fund; and (2) local opioid settlement fund; into which funds received from opioid litigation settlements must be deposited. Provides that the office of the inspector general shall provide informal advisory opinions and that the opinions are confidential. Allows the budget committee to submit the budget report and budget bill or bills to the governor on or before the second Monday of January, or the third Monday of January in the year in which a gubernatorial election is held (instead of before that date). Requires the state personnel department to require a contractor, when contracting for health care coverage for state employees, to use value based coverage. Repeals a provision that makes a state general fund appropriation to the board of trustees of the Indiana public retirement system if the money available in the special death benefits fund is insufficient to pay death benefit claims. Allows the Indiana economic development corporation (IEDC) to certify an applicable tax credit that exceeds the maximum allowable amount after review by the budget committee. Provides that the regional economic acceleration and development initiative program expires June 30, 2026. Specifies that the county or municipality that did not approve the relocation of an outdoor advertising sign is responsible for compensation of the taking of the outdoor advertising sign. Provides that an owner may relocate an outdoor advertising sign that is subject to a pending eminent domain action. Allows an individual to claim an increased exemption amount for a dependent child in the first year in which the exemption amount may be claimed for the child. Reduces the individual income tax rate to 2.9% by 2027 and eliminates all trigger provisions in current law. Establishes the regional public safety training fund. Repeals provisions relating to the establishment of the: (1) Indiana homeland security foundation; (2) Indiana homeland security fund; and (3) fire training infrastructure fund. Allows certain members of the public employees' retirement fund or Indiana state teachers' retirement fund to file an election to begin receiving retirement benefits while holding a position. Changes the state police pre-1987 benefit and supplemental pension benefit calculation from being based on the sixth year of service to the fourth year of service. Repeals the public mass transportation fund. Repeals the financial responsibility compliance verification fund. Changes the number of years of service on which the salary matrix for state police employees is based to 15 years (instead of 20 years). Requires the department of correction to deposit the amount appropriated for the county misdemeanant fund by a county's multiplier. Requires the office of Medicaid policy and planning (office) to: (1) develop a schedule for the review of Medicaid reimbursement rates; and (2) provide a copy of the schedule to the budget committee; not later than November 1, 2023. Creates the residential water testing fund to test the water supply of an individual property owner of an eligible township. Requires the director of the state personnel department to submit a revision or adjustment to a pay plan developed for state employees to the state budget committee for review before the revision may take effect. Provides that the general assembly shall convene: (1) on the second Tuesday after the first Monday in June for the first regular technical session; and (2) on the second Tuesday after the first Monday in May for the second regular technical session. Provides that a technical session is not required to convene if the president pro tempore and the speaker jointly issue an order that convening is not necessary. Requires the general assembly to convene no later than the fourth Monday in January after organization day. Repeals provisions relating to emergency sessions and makes conforming amendments. Recouples the state earned income tax credit qualifications with the federal earned income tax credit qualifications under the Internal Revenue Code as in effect January 1, 2023. Requires a contractor that provides tangible personal property incorporated into real property in a project located in an innovation development district to maintain records of all state gross retail and use tax paid or collected during a state fiscal year. Adds state adjusted gross income taxes paid by an individual who is not an employee with respect to income received for services performed in an innovation development district for purposes of calculating income tax incremental amounts. Establishes the commission on improving the status of children fund to support the staffing and operations of the commission. Provides that a part of state user fees shall be deposited in the Indiana secured school fund. Repeals the distribution schedule for appropriations made for certain child development programs. Requires the department of local government finance to prepare an annual report and abstract concerning property tax data (instead of the auditor of state). Deletes reimbursement rate parameters for reimbursement of managed care organizations under the healthy Indiana plan. Extends the sunset of the collection of hospital assessment fees and health facility quality assessment fees from June 30, 2023, to June 30, 2025. Increases the total number of adult learner students at the Excel Centers for Adult Learners and Christel House DORS centers for whom the school may receive state funding. Establishes the Indiana education scholarship account donation fund to accept donations for administration of the Indiana education scholarship account program. Repeals the special education fund. Establishes a state tax credit for a taxpayer that makes certain qualified child care expenditures in providing child care to the taxpayer's employees. Extends provisions for the gasoline tax and the special fuel tax rates. Amends a statute concerning powers and duties of a regional water, sewage, or solid waste district established under prior law. Extends the sunset for the invasive species council and fund from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2031. Prohibits school corporations and charter schools from charging a fee for curricular materials to students. Provides that the parent of a student or an emancipated minor who attends an accredited nonpublic school and who meets financial eligibility requirements may request reimbursement of fees charged for curricular materials. Establishes the curricular materials fund. Requires a county auditor to distribute a portion of revenue received from an operations fund levy imposed by a school corporation located in certain counties to certain charter schools (excludes school corporations that are designated as a distressed political subdivision). Requires charter schools that receive a distribution of tax levy revenue to establish an operations fund and education fund under the same provisions that apply to school corporations. Provides that in order to receive a distribution of tax levy revenue, a charter school must adopt a budget for the school year following a public meeting. Provides funding amounts for schools. Establishes the credential completion grant. Removes pathways for choice scholarship eligibility. Increases the annual income maximum for choice scholarship eligibility. Provides that a school corporation is eligible for an academic performance grant. Provides that state user fees remaining after required distributions shall be distributed to the state general fund (instead of the court technology fund). Makes certain amendments to the juvenile diversion grant program, the juvenile community alternatives grant program, and the juvenile behavioral health competitive grant pilot program (programs). Requires grants for the programs to be administered by the Indiana criminal justice institute in consultation with the juvenile justice oversight committee (oversight committee) and the grant process workgroup created by the oversight committee, taking into consideration the grant program report prepared and submitted to the commission on improving the status of children in Indiana by the oversight committee. Requires the state comptroller to deposit distributions of pro bono legal services fees received from the: (1) clerk of a circuit court; (2) clerk of a city or town court; or (3) Marion County small claims court; in the pro bono legal services fund. Requires the commission for higher education to create a separate higher educational operating funding outcomes based formula (funding formula) for Ivy Tech Community College. Requires, on or before July 1, 2023, budget committee review of all of the funding formulas created and approved by the commission for higher education. Provides that state appropriations may not be used to pay for the administration, operation, or programs of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. Provides that the legislative body of a first class city may adopt an ordinance to establish a special assessment district known as an economic enhancement district. Provides certain requirements for the ordinance and imposition of a special assessment. Requires the legislative body of the first class city that establishes an economic enhancement district to establish an economic enhancement district board. Extends the judicial and legislative branch leave conversion pilot program through June 30, 2025. Establishes the northeast Indiana strategic development fund administered by the northeast Indiana strategic development commission. Provides that if the amount of excess combined reserves in 2024 or 2025 exceeds $3,000,000,000, the amount that exceeds $3,000,000,000 is transferred to the pre-1996 account. Establishes the regional economic acceleration and development initiative 2.0 fund (READI 2.0). Requires the IEDC to develop a policy for a READI 2.0 program. Provides that money in the READI 2.0 fund may be used to: (1) support the IEDC's READI 2.0 program; and (2) provide grants or loans to support proposals for economic development and regional economic acceleration and development. Establishes the attainable homeownership tax credit for a taxpayer who makes a contribution to an affordable housing organization. Establishes the Medicaid oversight committee. Requires the Medicaid oversight committee to review, consider, and make recommendations concerning all requests for new services and changes in existing services for the Medicaid program. Provides that unexpended and unencumbered amounts appropriated from the federal economic stimulus fund in the state fiscal year ending before July 1, 2023, do not revert to the state general fund. Provides that unexpended and unencumbered amounts appropriated to the legislative services agency in a state fiscal year ending before July 1, 2024, do not revert to the state general fund. Requires the state comptroller to transfer $85,000,000 from the tobacco master settlement agreement fund to the state construction fund on July 1, 2023. Appropriates money for various purposes for the state fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. Urges the legislative council to assign to an appropriate interim study committee the task of studying specific issues pertaining to the feasibility of the department of child services contracting with private attorneys to perform legal services and provide representation in certain cases instead of employing staff attorneys within the department of child services for those purposes. Requires the Indiana public retirement system to study and report and present on certain topics to the interim study committee on pension management oversight before November 1, 2023. Establishes the funding Indiana's roads for a stronger, safer tomorrow task force. Makes conforming changes.

Makes certain changes to the qualification requirements for the: (1) deduction for individuals who are at least 65 years of age; and (2) additional credit for certain homesteads. Increases the amount of the supplemental homestead deduction for property taxes first due and payable in 2024 and 2025. Provides that if a taxpayer presents an appraisal to the county property tax assessment board of appeals (county board) that meets specified requirements, the appraisal is presumed to be correct. Provides that if the county board disagrees with the taxpayer's appraisal, the county board may seek review of the appraisal or obtain an independent appraisal. Provides that after the assignment of value, the parties shall retain their rights to appeal to the Indiana board of tax review. Provides that, notwithstanding any increase in assessed value of property from the previous assessment date, the total amount of operating referendum tax that may be levied by a school corporation for taxes first due and payable in 2024 may not increase by more than 3% over the maximum operating referendum tax that could be levied by the school corporation in the previous year. Provides a calculation to be used in determining the maximum levy growth quotient in 2024 and 2025. Modifies, through December 31, 2024, the threshold amounts used for determining whether a political subdivision's project is a controlled project and whether the petition and remonstrance process or the referendum process applies based on the political subdivision's total debt service tax rate, but excludes certain projects for which a public hearing to issue bonds or enter into a lease has been conducted before July 1, 2023. Creates an exception, through December 31, 2024, to a provision subjecting a controlled project in a political subdivision with a total debt service rate of $0.80 per $100 of assessed valuation to the referendum process, if: (1) the political subdivision submits a request to the department of local government finance (DLGF) seeking a waiver of the provision; (2) the proposed controlled project is a response to a maintenance emergency; and (3) the DLGF determines that the maintenance emergency is sufficient to waive the provision. Amends an exclusion from the definition of "controlled project" for projects required by a court order. Authorizes a county fiscal body to adopt an ordinance to provide property tax relief for property tax liability attributable to homesteads for qualified individuals. Provides that a county may adopt a resolution to require a local income tax supplemental distribution to first be distributed and used to lower the county's levy freeze tax rate. Requires the DLGF to approve a county's request to decrease its levy freeze tax rate if the DLGF finds that the lower rate, in addition to the supplemental distribution amount determined under the resolution adopted by the county, would fund the levy freeze dollar amount. Requires the department of state revenue (department) to annually provide each resident individual taxpayer who paid adjusted gross income taxes in the immediately previous taxable year a taxpayer receipt statement in an electronic format explaining how the individual taxpayer's taxes are being used. Requires the department, in consultation with the budget agency, to create and administer an Internet web page on which individual taxpayers may access an estimate of the allocation of their adjusted gross income taxes to various expenditure categories for the most recent state fiscal year based on the adjusted gross income taxes paid by the taxpayer. Specifies the information that must be provided on the web page. Defines "maintenance emergency". Makes conforming changes.

Establishes the blighted property demolition fund (demolition fund). Provides that money in the demolition fund is to be used for costs associated with demolishing a qualified property located in the territory of a current or future transit development district or in the area surrounding the Gary Metro Center. Allows the Lake County fiscal body to adopt an increase in the county innkeeper's tax. Establishes the Lake County economic development and convention fund (convention fund). Provides that money in the convention fund may be used for purposes related to a convention center in Lake County. Establishes a local county fund known as the Lake County convention and event center reserve fund (reserve fund). Provides that the revenue received from an increase in the innkeeper's tax is deposited in the reserve fund. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2023, proposals may be submitted for construction and operation of a Lake County convention and event center to the Lake County board of commissioners. Provides minimum requirements for a proposal. Provides that if a proposal is approved, the Lake County convention center authority is established to provide general oversight. Establishes the Gary Metro Center station revitalization fund (metro center station fund). Establishes the Gary Metro Center station revitalization project board to provide oversight of the ongoing maintenance and operation of the Gary Metro Center station. Beginning after June 30, 2025, requires the department of state revenue to deposit certain amounts in each state fiscal year of the riverboat wagering tax revenue collected from a riverboat operating within the city of Gary in the demolition fund, the convention fund, and the metro center station fund.

Provides that a political subdivision may make advance payments to contractors to enable the contractors to purchase materials needed for a public works project of the political subdivision. Provides that a political subdivision may make advance payments for goods or services before the goods are delivered or services are completed if the fiscal body of the political subdivision authorizes advance payments.

Allows a long acting reversible contraceptive that is prescribed to and obtained for a Medicaid recipient to be transferred to another Medicaid recipient if certain requirements are met.