Indiana lawmakers wrap up the 2024 session with a compromise on a bill banning antisemitism in higher education. Final language does little for attendant care. And retirees will get a 13th check.
Here’s what you might have missed this week at the Statehouse.
HB 1002: Enforcement of equal educational opportunity
The debate over the antisemitism bill was whether to use a definition from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and its examples, some of which include criticism of Israel. The compromise references the IHRA definition but leaves out the examples — a middle ground that garnered HB 1002 near unanimous approval.
HB 1120: State and local administration
Some lawmakers’ efforts to stop cuts to a Medicaid program that serves families with medically complex children did not make it to the finish line. Provisions that were approved in HB 1120 require more transparency from the state on the $1 billion Medicaid shortfall that prompted the proposed cuts, and compel the state to set a minimum percentage of money given to caregivers from providers.
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And after two sessions of wrangling between the House and Senate, around 100,000 public pension recipients will receive a 13th check this year, an additional benefit between $150 and $450. HB 1004 also establishes a long-term solution to the annual benefit enhancement debate.
Find all the bills our statewide team covered this session in our bill tracker at ipbs.org/2024billtracker/ .
Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5 .
