Lawmakers prepare for 2021 session
Lake, Porter state legislators gearing up to champion important bills
Indiana state representatives and senators will be back at the Statehouse in Indianapolis Monday to start the 2021 legislative session.
During the session, lawmakers will focus on passing a budget and redistricting maps, officials said. Legislators can file also 10 bills during the 2021 session, officials said.
The Post-Tribune reached out to some of the senators and representatives who represent Lake and Porter counties. The Republicans who responded are focusing on budget, government process and Medicaid. The Democrats who responded are focused on increasing teacher pay and helping communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
State representatives
Mike Andrade, D-Munster: In the 2020 general election, Andrade won the seat previously held by Mara Candelaria Reardon, who ran for the 1st Congressional District seat.
Andrade said he will file a bill to increase teacher pay and a bill to forgive state taxes that small businesses have to pay amid the pandemic.
“People forget that they still have to pay tax on the state level. So, I’m working on a bill that will forgive that state tax,” Andrade said.
Andrade said he will also file some environmental bills, including one to address greenhouse gas expansion. Additionally, Andrade said he will file an amendment to a bill to increase pensions for first responders.
As a freshman legislator, Andrade said he looks forward to working with his colleagues.
“I’m very optimistic, and I’m very excited,” Andrade said. “I’m excited because I’ll be that voice and push for my constituents.”
Hal Slager, R-15th: In the 2020 general election, Slager won his old seat back, defeating Rep. Chris Chyung, who won the 2018 race.
Slager said he ran because he “had some important unfinished work,” regarding access to pediat
ric care for Medicaid patients. During his time as a legislator, Slager said he focused on understanding Medicaid and health care funding and he watched Medicaid bills in the state legislature offer good starting points but ultimately didn’t pass.
“We’ve got some terrific pediatric facilities across the boarder in Illinois, and because it’s crossing state lines with Medicaid reimbursement we’ve had issues,” Slager said. “I needed to get back, I’d obviously developed relationships with the people at Indiana Medicaid, Family and Social Services Administration, and really understood this issue better than pretty much anybody.”
Julie Olthoff, R-19th: In the 2020 general election, Olthoff won the seat against former Rep. Lisa Beck. Olthoff is returning to the legislature.
After the Massachusetts case where a girlfriend encouraged her boyfriend, through text message, to commit suicide, Olthoff said she filed a bill that would define “inducing” in suicide cases.
“I hope we never have to use this, but in case that happens … this would put Indiana in better shape for prosecution if someone were to induce another person into dying by suicide,” Olthoff said.
She will also file a bill to address firearm transfers at gunshows “more secure with background checks,” Olthoff said.
She will also file a bill for the Hobart Food and Beverage Tax to go toward a sports center “to really try and preserve our U.S. 30 I-65 intersection.” The tax would offer “a little bit of money so that the City of Hobart can put in some
thing that’s going to maintain hotels and restaurants in the area.”
Senators
Eddie Melton, D-Gary:
Overall, his legislative agenda for the upcoming
session focuses on justice reform, public health, pandemic relief and economic growth and development, Melton said in a statement.
As the ranking minority member on the Appropriations Committee, Melton said he will work toward funding public schools “and advocate for reforming our existing funding formula to reflect the growing need for our schools.”
To address justice reform, Melton said he will file legislation that will ban the use of chokeholds and no-knock warrants.
“After the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and even deaths at the hands of police in our own state, we heard loud and clear from citizens that they demand reform in our justice system,” Melton said in the statement.
Specific to the Gary schools, Melton said he will seek a charter school moratorium within the city limits “to allow the district to address its fiscal needs and promote growth in its student population.”
Rick Niemeyer, RCedar Lake: Filed a bill focused on tax sales, which prohibits someone who is delinquent in personal or business property taxes from bidding on or purchasing a piece of property at a tax sale.
Niemeyer said county commissions have had issues with unqualified people purchasing property through tax sales.
“This cleans that up, so they should not have any problem with people trying to do something they should not be doing bidding on properties at commissioner’s tax sale or treasury sale,” Niemeyer said.
As a whole, Niemeyer said he hopes the legislature “comes up with a good two-year budget and hold the line on spending” because anticipated revenues are down.
“My major focus is finding out exactly how the budget is going to work out and flatlining a lot of stuff,” Niemeyer said.
Karen Tallian, D - Odgen Dunes: As ranking minority member of the Corrections and Criminal Law Committee, she will file a bill to address a variety of juvenile criminal justice issues. Another bill addresses good time credit.
In year’s past, the state had a one to one ratio of good time served, which meant a prisoner could see a 50% reduction in their sentence, Tallian said. But, the legislature changed the law so that prisoners only get a 25% reduction in their sentence for good time served.
Tallian said her bill would return to the one to one ratio, Tallian said.
Over the years, Tallian has proposed bills to decriminalize marijuana, but “they didn’t get a hearing,” Tallian said. So, this year, Tallian said she will file a bill to make marijuana possession legal, and another bill that would establish a regulatory agency for cannabis products.
“I’ve spent a decade doing this. As Indiana has sat around and done nothing, other states all over, including many of our neighbors, have made possession actually legal. You can sell it, and (those states) are making money,” Tallian said.
Lonnie Randolph, DEast Chicago: Filed a bill that would establish how police officers and motorists should interact during a traffic stop.
Randolph said he talked with officials from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles about this issue and it is addressed in the manual.
“They’ve got it in their driving manual now, but I want to make it law because what if you get another executive of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles who might decide they don’t want it in there,” Randolph said.
He also filed a handful of bills that relate to the Lake County judicial nominating commission, criminal court magistrate for Lake County and the election of Lake County Superior Court judges.