SR25 a resolution to study paid family leave was introduced by Senator Tallian in the Senate Pensions and Labor Committee. In the 2017 session, the legislature passed SB253 and it was signed into law by Governor Holcomb. SB253 called for study of paid family leave. In spite of this, leadership in the House and Senate did not assign paid leave as a topic to be studied over the summer. SR25 once again calls on the legislature to study this topic. The resolution passed by a vote of 7-1. See the Institute's research and recommendations for paid leave here.

HB1245 reforms background checks for occupational licencing and calls for licensing restrictions based upon criminal histories to be applicable to the crime. The bill takes into consideration factors such as length of time passed from conviction, and would provide individuals the opportunity to provide evidence of mitigation and rehabilitation. A section contained in HB1245 preempted the authority of local county government to require county issued occupational licencing. This section created a divide among those who otherwise supported the sections of the bill which would make licensing options available to more people. Chairman Senator Phillip Boots called for an amendment to remove Section II, the controversial section of the bill, which passed 5-4. The amended HB1245 then passed out of the Pensions and Labor committee 9-0.

SB142 Maternal Mortality Review Passed 3rd reading in the House 194-0. This bill will enable us to better understand why women are dying during and following the childbirth.

SB416 A consumer credit code bill that would have allowed for banks, credit unions, and non-traditional lenders to skirt our criminal loansharking statute and raise interest rates and fees on many types of consumer credit products was not heard as scheduled by the House Financial Institutions Committee. Chairman Burton stated his intent to contact the Legislative Council to be sure the issue was studied over the summer.

We are continuing to work to defeat HB1319, the payday lending expansion bill. Thank you to everyone who has called their legislators. They are not only receiving, but mentioning the flood of calls they have received from Hoosiers against any payday expansion that exceeds 36 percent APR. Recently, Indiana's faith leaders leaders from across the state composed a letter urging legislators to reject HB1319. The letter was picked up by newspapers across the state including the Fort Wayne News Sentinel, the Evansville Courier & Press, the Lafayette Journal & Courier and the Indianapolis Star. Please help keep calls rolling in to legislators by writing a letter to the editor of your local paper. You can use these three main points to help guide you as you write:
• 88% of Hoosiers want to see reform of payday lending, but instead this bill expands what payday lenders can offer into larger, longer loans.
• 36isthefix: The senate should reject any proposal that creates new loans over 36% APR. 36% is the rate the military requested when they saw the damage caused by high-cost lending and 15 states now cap all loans at 36% or less.
• High-cost loans-whether two weeks or one year create a cascade of negative consequences for borrowers that can take years to address.
• For more information and talking points see our HB1319 factsheet here.