Last week the Indiana General Assembly reached the halfway point of the 2020 legislative session, meaning the Senate and House of Representatives will now consider legislation passed by the opposite chamber. By law, all bills must be passed out of both chambers before they can be signed by the governor.
“Senator Donato said, “These are topics I have worked with my colleagues to prioritize during the first half of session.”
According to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana is the eighth largest agricultural exporter in the United States, contributing an estimated $31.2 billion to our state’s overall economy.
Donato said, “To better protect and provide for our farmers, I voted in support of Senate Bill 184. If passed by the House of Representatives, SB 184 would allow the Indiana Farm Bureau to offer its members health care coverage. The bill would create a new option to improve the quality of life for rural Hoosiers and I am proud to have supported the measure.”
Price transparency is a critical first step in reducing Hoosiers’ high health care costs, and the senator said she supported efforts to provide transparency, including creating an All-Payer Claims Database, eliminating surprise billing and banning health insurance “gag clauses.”
Transitioning from one state test to another can create challenges for schools and teachers, as Indiana saw with the 2019 ILEARN results. Donato said, “Therefore, my colleagues and I expedited legislation that will hold K-12 schools and teachers harmless for the 2019 and 2020 test scores.” This legislation recently passed out of the Senate and House of Representatives unanimously and will now go to Governor Eric Holcomb for his signature.
Senator Donato said, “During the first half of session, I supported efforts to pay for capital projects that were approved in the 2020-21 budget with cash. This will eliminate almost $300 million in state debt and save Hoosier taxpayers $135 million in the long run by avoiding future interest payments.” This legislation was recently signed by Governor Eric Holcomb.
The final legislation is Reducing smoking and vaping. The senator said, “This is one of the most important things we can do as a state to improve our overall health. This is why I supported a measure that would align state law with federal law by raising the minimum age to buy or possess tobacco products, e-liquids and e-cigarettes from 18 to 21.” Along with raising the smoking age to 21, this bill has two other important measures that would help curb youth smoking and vaping. This bill will now be considered by the House of Representatives.
For more information on the 2020 session and to view the halftime statistics, click here.
