Local legislators speak on education, immigration, health, pets and more

Jan. 27—GOSHEN — Indiana Sen. Blake Doriot, R-District 12, believes he now has enough to support in the Indiana Senate to pass an Indiana State Driving Card bill he authored.

Senate Bill 200 would allow undocumented residents of Indiana to drive in the state legally with a driving card. Residents who have credentials from a foreign country recognized by the state could receive the card, but those who don't would be permitted to go through the same driver's training as other Indiana residents do. The card would not extend to voting privilege.

Doriot, who was one of three state legislators at the Goshen Chamber of Commerce's Third House Friday morning, said right now there are enough people in support to pass the bill.

"We had a summer study and it lasted four hours and not a single person testified against," Doriot said. "These were all the who's-whos in Indiana saying that we need this. In a perfect world, these people would have had a better immigration system to go through and we wouldn't be doing this, but a great number have been here for a long time and they've been good citizens."

Director of Immigrant Services for the Center for Healing & Hope Lauro Zúñiga said many of the clients they're seeing right now come from Haiti.

"What's really important for these community members is basically having some sort of ID should they ever interactive with law enforcement," said Zúñiga. "They're very very worried about deportation proceedings. They're very worried about maybe not having the ability to communicate with law enforcement and a lot of the immigrants that we're seeing come to our county have been paroled in, and have gone through ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CPV (Critical Purpose Visitor Visa) and all the processes and they're awaiting their asylum proceedings or their TPS (temporary protected status) proceedings and what-have-you, so this Driver's Card bill could be really transformational for these community members to at least have something to their name that would corroborate their identity when they're interacting with the city office or law enforcement."

Rep. Joanna King, R-District 49, declared that the measure isn't just about immigration, but that immigration in the United States is broken, but it's not something the state Legislature has the power to fix.

"We can begin to work on the issues that can help ease some of the burdens that have resulted from that not being taken care of," Doriot added. "We still have a lot of work to do as far as getting this across the finish line, but we're going to work very hard on this."

Doriot also explained that the bill functioning as a public safety bill is a safeguard to helping the bill pass. As an immigration bill, it would not pass.

'OBSCENITY LOOPHOLE'

Doriot also announced to Third House attendees that Senate Bill 12, a bill which would remove schools and libraries from the "Obscenity Loophole," is unlikely to get a hearing.

"The only way that it would get a hearing would be if it were transferred from Judiciary to Education and it's probably not going to happen," he said.

PET STORE BILL

Doriot also said he's working on a pet store bill, which he received a death threat over. The bill would allow pet stores to buy and sell dogs and cats from U.S. Department of Agriculture breeders while blocking any bans in cities across the state.

"I've visited some of these and they have biannual dental checks on their breeding dogs," he said. "They have biweekly veterinarian visits. These are the cream of the crop. I want to get rid of the 'puppy mills' you see on television, but we need to have a safe place for dogs that are well-raised and you can go find them and get a good pet for our children."

MVH FUNDS

Doriot and Rep. David Abbott, R-District 18, are working on a bill that would affect municipal spending of Motor Vehicle Highway Funds. Abbott explained that the bill comes from 2017 when the state increased tax over time. Now, the tax spending sits at 50% restricted spending and 50% unrestricted which can be restrictive, so the bill seeks to shift 10% over to unrestricted.

"I think it's a matter of letting the locals do what they do best, let them decide, and if they don't spend the money right, let the voters decide if the commissioners, the council, the people that make those decisions need to stay in office," he said. "I think the locals are capable of managing their own money without being told how to spend it." Abbott's version of the bill didn't go through, but another version is in committee.

VETERANS

Abbott is also working on a bill that would give critically disabled veterans four days per year to hunt for free. He called the measure a "recognition," stating the bill would honor those that may be amputees or severely disabled. The veterans would also be permitted a spotter or helper while hunting.

LIVESTREAMING MEETINGS

Among several other bills Abbott is working on, he's co-authored a bill authored by Indiana State Rep. District 52 Ben Smaltz which would require livestreaming of all public meetings in the state of Indiana.

"We've talked about school board meetings not being transparent," Abbott said. "We addressed that last year by allowing public speaking at open board meetings."

The expansion of last year's bill would affect not only school boards, but town councils, commissioners, plan commissions, parks and any other meetings.

"A lot of people can't make it to these meetings," he explained. "It's work time. They're scheduled on days when they can't be there, weather-related issues."

He explained that the bill would allow local leaders flexibility in how they undergo the task, even using an iPhone to stream would suffice. Recordings would also have to be archived for a length of time. Right now, the bill would require 90 days, although originally it was three years. The bill passed out of Government Regulatory Commission and has been submitted to Ways and Means Committee, whose members will examine the fiscal impact.

"I think it's just really good transparency for the public," Abbott said.

Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman during public comment told Abbott that Goshen has been livestreaming all public meetings since 2020. He cautioned Abbott, warning that many hours of video can take up a lot of server space.

"Just be cautious about how long you make communities hold these videos because it can get very expensive quickly," he said. "I'm all for the access, it's just the reality of the expense."

MENTAL HEALTH

During public comment, community members addressed both education and mental health, which Republicans have indicated as a priority for the legislative season.

"We're making huge steps in changing how we deliver mental health services and especially when it relates to our jail system," King said. "We know today that a lot of people that are in our local jail, they may have committed a crime, but the bigger issue is why did they commit that crime. And I've spent a lot of time talking with Cory Martin, locally here, and how much mental health is really an issue that unless we take care of that we're not going to take care of the others."

PARTISAN SCHOOL BOARDS

Allan Kauffman, a Goshen School Board member who is a member of the Indiana School Boards Association, told legislators the ISBA is concerned about a bill that would allow for partisan school boards.

"My biggest ask to the community would be to have more parents get involved in our schools," King told him. "Find ways to get involved in your community schools, because when you do that your kids see how invested you are in education and it becomes a dining room table discussion at night because you're both in the same place, your both having an impact into what's happening in the future."

King said that she's concerned that partisan school boards would also cause school board elections to be in primaries, and Kauffman said that may be an additional deterrent to those interested in an already unpopular position.

King also told those in attendance that there were around 450 bills offered in the Indiana House of Representatives, and about the same at the Indiana Senate, but they hope to narrow it down to less than 100.

She explained her first bill on Monday is a health bill speaking to credentialing in healthcare for Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance. Her bill, she hopes would streamline the process so doctors can bill more easily.

The legislator pointed out that this is a budget year, and will also include discussions on how to spend the state's nearly over $6 billion in excess.

Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2065.