SENATE REPUBLICANS ACHIEVE LEGISLATIVE GOALS – Straight From The Senate

The Indiana General Assembly concluded the 2018 legislative session earlier this month, passing 210 bills, 99 percent of which received bipartisan report.

Among these bills are those that accomplish our legislative agenda. At the beginning of the year, my colleagues and I considered the issues facing Indiana and set five agenda items aimed at making our state an even better place to live and work.

Fight the Opioid Epidemic
To continue to prevent opioid abuse, Senate Enrolled Act 221 phases in a requirement for doctors to check INSPECT, Indiana’s prescription-monitoring service, when prescribing opioids to a patient.

Improve Workforce Development
Senate Enrolled Act 50 and House Enrolled Act 1002 work together to help advance Hoosiers’ skills by expanding and improving job-training programs, creating a Workforce Cabinet to streamline the state’s workforce development efforts, and increasing students’ access to career coaches, who can help them identify career paths. Senate Enrolled Act 172 helps prepare our students for the jobs of the future by requiring K-12 schools in Indiana to offer a computer science class to its students by 2021.

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Support Indiana Schools
To ensure our students have access to a quality education, House Enrolled Act 1001 increases per-student school funding to account for higher-than-expected enrollment in Indiana public schools, and House Enrolled Act 1426 adjusts Indiana’s diploma system to provide high-school graduates with a better, more effective pathway into college or the workforce by increasing the ways in which a student can earn a diploma, ensuring they are on an education path that benefits their future.

Reform Civil Forfeiture Laws
To improve Indiana’s civil forfeiture laws, which are an important crime-fighting tool, Senate Enrolled Act 99 creates a better balance between law-enforcement needs and property owners’ Constitutional rights.

Allow Sunday Alcohol Sales
To begin updating Indiana’s alcohol laws, Senate Enrolled Act 1 acts on the recommendation of the Alcohol Code Revision Commission and allows the carryout sale of alcohol on Sundays in Indiana.

Each of these agenda items, which have now been signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb, were set with Hoosiers in mind. I look forward to the positive effects they will have on our residents, communities and state.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding this or other topics, contact my office by phone at 800-382-9467 or by email at Senator.Long@iga.in.gov.