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With this year’s Indiana legislative session now adjourned, the focus shifts to the Governor’s Office, where bills have been piling up on Mike Braun’s desk.
Braun has already signed 101 pieces of legislation so far this year — 57 this week as of Thursday morning — ranging from Republican priority bills on utility regulation to a $1 billion stadium package for the Chicago Bears.
When considering legislation on his desk, Braun can sign a bill into law, take no action and let the bill become law without his signature or he can veto a bill.
Braun told reporters he doesn’t intend to issue any vetoes this year — though he considered vetoing legislation involving a new casino in northeast Indiana if a referendum hadn’t been added to the bill.
Indiana governors typically use their veto power sparingly because it only takes a simple majority in both chambers to override one.
“I get along with almost anyone, regardless of the issue,” Braun said in a press conference Monday. “[I’m] always willing to talk about it. And my relationship with the legislators would be good. … That’s why we got so much done here.”
Here’s a quick look at a few bills Braun has signed this week.
House Enrolled Act 1042
A bill that passed the House by a tight 53-42 margin, HEA 1042 requires a handful of state retirement funds for teachers, lawmakers and other public employees to offer the option for members to invest in cryptocurrency exchange funds.
The new cryptocurrency option must be made available starting in July 2027 and the bill’s author — Anderson Republican Rep. Kyle Pierce — emphasizes the legislation only gives state pension accounts the option to invest, it doesn’t make it a requirement.
The law applies only to self-directed brokerage accounts, not those managed by the Indiana Public Retirement System, or INPRS. INPRS has said it has no issues with the legislation.
The act also prevents local communities from restricting cryptocurrency mining operations or regulating them more stringently than other industrial operations.
House Enrolled Act 1408
Following the death of Fishers teen Hailey Buzbee, legislators vowed to strengthen social media protections for young people. HEA 1408 requires Hoosiers under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps with addictive algorithms.
The restrictions apply only to social media companies that report more than $1 billion in revenue, which caused some debate in the Senate with some worrying that more niche online platforms are where the majority of dangerous behavior takes place.
Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray, R-Martinsville, said the quick turnaround to pass language around social media restrictions isn’t the last time the General Assembly will address the topic.
“Social media isn’t particularly new, but legislation to try and rein it in is really in its infancy right now,” Bray said. “I think there’s an understanding, a growing understanding, of the dangers that social media causes for our youth in particular.”
House Enrolled Act 1177
One of a few pieces of legislation addressing child care affordability this session, HEA 1177 expands tax credits for employers who pay for their employees’ child care.
The bill, authored by Rep. Becky Cash, R-Zionsville, expands on the employer child care expenditure tax credit which is currently available to companies with 100 or fewer employees who incur capital expenses on child care facilities. Cash told IBJ no employer in the state has claimed that credit as companies of that size don’t have the means to build new child care centers.
The legislation opens the tax credit up to companies with 500 or fewer employees and allows it to be used on a wider range of child care expenditures, such as contracting with an existing facility.
“What I really want businesses to do is to partner with the child care in the community,” Cash said.
House Enrolled Act 1248
Dubbed “Carmen’s Law” by author Rep. Carey Hamilton, D-Indianapolis, the legislation makes it easier for victims and families in cold case investigations to request advanced DNA testing.
Hamilton tied the legislation to a 1993 case in Indianapolis when 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss was raped and murdered in a break in. In February, Missouri resident Dan Shepherd pleaded guilty to murdering Van Huss after DNA testing tied him to the case.
“Carmen’s case was solved using advanced DNA testing, and her family has been the driving force behind this bill to help bring more cases like hers to a close,” Hamilton said in a statement after the bill moved to the governor. “Carmen’s Law will help bring justice to the thousands of unsolved homicide victims and their loved ones, as well as get violent offenders off the streets to prevent further tragedies.”
Left on the docket
As of Thursday afternoon, Braun has not vetoed any bills. He told reporters he doesn’t anticipate vetoing any legislation form this session. If that holds true, Braun will have made it through two full legislative sessions without issuing a veto.
The governor did, however, say he was eyeing his red pen on House Enrolled Act 1038 — which moves a gaming license to northeast Indiana in the hopes of building a $500 million casino.
Braun signed the bill Wednesday, but told reporters he would have vetoed it if the legislation weren’t amended in the final days of session to include a provision for a mandatory referendum for voters in Allen, DeKalb and Steuben counties before a casino could move to the area.
The governor has not yet signed roughly 40 bills, including a measure to ban virtual currency kiosks, a bell-to-bell cell phone ban for students, a needle exchange program and controversial immigration legislation that gives the Attorney General’s Office more power to investigate immigration policies of public organizations.
If Braun does not sign those items by Monday, they become law without his signature.
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