Sen. Jack E. Sandlin

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 at least 65% of the funds distributed to a county containing a consolidated city from the motor vehicle highway account (MVHA) shall be used for the construction, reconstruction, and preservation of highways by the county and the consolidated city respectively. (Current law provides that at least 50% of the funds distributed to a county or a municipality from the MVHA is to be used for the construction, reconstruction, and preservation of the county or municipality's highways.) Provides that, for purposes of determining the right of the consolidated city to receive a distribution of money from the MVHA based on population, the population of all the territory of the consolidated city is considered its population. Provides that, beginning in calendar year 2024, the consolidated city must use: (1) the entire amount distributed to the consolidated city from the MVHA that is attributable to the consolidated city's population in Wayne, Pike, and Decatur townships not included in the population of the fire special service district; and (2) an appropriation that is the greater of $8,000,000 or the amount of the distribution from the MVHA that is attributable to the consolidated city's population in Wayne, Pike, and Decatur townships not included in the population of the fire special service district in the previous year; for the construction, reconstruction, and preservation of the consolidated city's local streets and alleys. Requires the Indiana department of transportation (department) to: (1) conduct a study, with advisement from the consolidated city, to determine the asset condition of the consolidated city's former state highways; (2) appear before the interim study committee on roads and transportation during the 2023 legislative interim to provide testimony on the department's findings and observations from the study; and (3) not later than November 1, 2023, report the department's findings and observations to the interim study committee on roads and transportation.

Allows a fire protection district or fire protection territory to establish a merit system. Provides that unless a resolution or ordinance to establish a merit system is rejected not later than December 31, 2024, a merit system is established on January 1, 2025, for eligible: (1) city and town police and fire departments and township fire departments; and (2) fire protection districts and fire protection territories. Provides that the merit system may be dissolved after January 1, 2025. Requires a unit, district, or territory to vote to either retain or dissolve the merit system after January 1, 2029, and before January 31, 2029. Repeals a provision containing definitions and moves the definitions to another location.

Provides that, beginning with the cohort of students who are expected to graduate from a public school, a charter school, or a state accredited nonpublic school in 2028, an individual must successfully complete a personal financial responsibility course (course) before the individual may graduate. Creates requirements for content that must be covered in a course. Provides that a public school, a charter school, or a state accredited nonpublic school must offer instruction on a course as a separate subject. Provides that the state board may allow a course to satisfy one or more diploma course requirements.

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.

Authorizes funds from the: (1) Indiana secured school fund; and (2) school corporation and charter school safety advance program; to be used for the purpose of providing specialized firearms instruction to certain teachers, school staff, and school employees, and for providing counseling services to students, teachers, school staff, and school employees in the event of a school shooting. Creates a specialized firearms safety, education, and training curriculum (curriculum) for teachers, school staff, and school employees. Specifies curriculum requirements. Requires a charter school, accredited nonpublic school, or school corporation to ensure that a teacher, school staff member, or school employee who receives training funded by a grant from the Indiana secured school fund complies with certain requirements. Provides that the identity of any person who: (1) enrolls in; (2) participates in; or (3) completes; the curriculum is confidential. Requires the department of education, in collaboration with the state police department, to identify a set of best practices and develop a set of educational materials concerning the safe possession and storage of a firearm in a home with a child. Provides that the department of education shall provide the best practices and educational materials to certain schools for annual distribution to parents of students. Provides that a public school or a state accredited nonpublic school may not conduct a training or drill for an employee of the school that includes, as any part of the training or drill, the expelling of any type of projectile at the employee unless: (1) the school informs the employee of the use of projectiles in the training or drill; and (2) the employee provides written consent. Provides that certain schools may not conduct or approve a training or drill for a student of the school that includes, as any part of the training or drill, the expelling of any type of projectile at a student. Provides that the prohibition on the possession of a firearm in or on school property or on a school bus does not apply to certain qualified law enforcement officers and qualified retired law enforcement officers. Makes conforming and technical amendments.

Repeals teacher training requirements regarding: (1) criminal gang organizations awareness; (2) certain information concerning homeless students; and (3) recognizing the signs and symptoms of seizures and the appropriate steps to be taken to respond to the symptoms; and requires that information concerning these subjects be included within the curriculum of teacher preparation programs. Provides that the department of education (department) may establish or license for use an online platform to provide information and training concerning these and other subjects. Removes certain requirements regarding annual performance evaluation plans for certificated employees, including: (1) certain content requirements; and (2) certain requirements that a plan be discussed. Amends requirements to be considered a probationary teacher and professional teacher. Provides that, after a school corporation has assigned an evaluator to perform a certificated employee's evaluation, the certificated employee may request the school corporation to assign another evaluator. Urges the legislative council to assign to an appropriate interim study committee the task of studying current school assessments in an effort to reduce and streamline assessments for Indiana students. Removes a provision that requires a school employer to discuss certain items with the exclusive representative of certificated employees and provides that a school employer may discuss: (1) with a certificated employee or group of certificated employees; or (2) at one or more meetings that are open to all certificated employees; any topic that significantly impacts a certificated employee's working conditions or impacts the educational quality of the school employer's students. Repeals provisions concerning: (1) requirements regarding the adoption of model evaluation plans and an approval process for the plans; (2) the obligation to discuss certain items not requiring either party to enter into a contract, agree to a proposal, or make a concession; and (3) the definition of "discuss" for purposes of the collective bargaining provisions.

Provides that a unit shall provide by ordinance the number of police reserve officers a law enforcement agency may appoint. Provides that the law enforcement training board may revoke, suspend, modify, or restrict a document showing compliance and qualifications for a unit's police reserve officer who has committed misconduct. Provides that a law enforcement agency hiring a police reserve officer must contact every other law enforcement agency that employed (or employs) the applicant and request the applicant's employment file and disciplinary record. Provides that a special law enforcement officer employed by the city of Indianapolis full time after June 30, 2023, to perform park ranger duties (park ranger) is subject to the same training requirements as regular law enforcement officers. Provides that the facilities of the Indiana law enforcement academy must be used to provide a park ranger with the required basic training.

Amends the definition of "onsite residential sewage discharging disposal system" to provide that the term includes a system that employs advanced treatment components to reduce the concentration of the pathogenic constituents of the effluent to an acceptable level before the effluent is discharged. Amends the law that prohibits the point source (i.e., above ground) discharge of treated sewage from a dwelling, which includes an exception to the prohibition for one particular county that has a onsite waste management district, to make the exception applicable to any onsite waste management district. Authorizes the adoption of rules or guidelines to provide guidance to a local health department that has jurisdiction in a county onsite waste management district and that is authorized to issue operating permits for onsite residential sewage discharging disposal systems that discharge effluent above ground. Provides that, if amending the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit issued by the department of environmental management (department) for the purposes of the county onsite waste management district law is necessary or advisable to enable new county onsite waste management districts to function properly and effectively, the department shall amend the general permit as soon as reasonably possible after June 30, 2023. Provides that septage that originates from a residential or commercial source may be held in one or more holding tanks of not more than 10,000 gallons until removed and transported from the site. Establishes requirements for septage holding tanks. Requires a permit from the local health department for the operation of a septage holding tank. Requires a septage tank owner to: (1) enter into a written contract with a septage management vehicle operator for regular removal of septage from the tank; (2) provide a copy of the contract to the local health department; and (3) provide proof to the local health department that the tank owner is regularly paying for the removal of septage from the holding tank. Requires a local health department to report to the department concerning the septage tanks in its jurisdiction, and authorizes the adoption of rules or guidelines concerning the reports.

Makes it organized retail theft, a Level 6 felony, for a person to exercise unauthorized control over the property of a retail merchant with the intent to directly or indirectly distribute the property for resale, and increases the penalty to a Level 5 felony if certain circumstances exist. Permits a person to petition for expungement of an arrest if no charges have been filed within one year of the arrest. (Under current law, the arrest is expunged without a petition after 180 days.) Requires a court, in granting a petition for expungement, to include in the order statutory language specifying that the person's civil rights are restored. Allows disclosure of expunged records to a school in connection with the employment of a person likely to have contact with a student. Specifies that an expunged record may not be destroyed or deleted. Repeals the requirement that certain acts taken by a prosecuting attorney are invalid without a seal. Makes conforming amendments and a technical correction.