In a recent release from Senator Stacey Donato she said, “This session, my colleagues and I worked to pass a number of bills to help address key issues facing our state.”
Highlighting some of the bills passed the senator said, “Senate Republicans continued our commitment to strong fiscal discipline by passing a balanced two-year state budget that provides $1.9 billion in new money for K-12 education, cuts over $1 billion in state debt, supports small businesses and local economies around the state, and makes record investments in mental health services.”
The senator continued, “We also passed legislation to allow the General Assembly to play a more active role in decision-making during statewide emergencies. This legislation creates a 10-member bipartisan group to consult with and advise the governor during emergencies and authorizes the General Assembly to convene for an emergency session. The governor and General Assembly disagree on the constitutionality of this law, which is why the governor vetoed the bill. However, I support the concepts in this bill and supported the successful veto override that made this bill law.”
Senator Donato highlighted several bills saying, “Additionally, my colleagues and I passed legislation to address critical issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
- Providing liability protection to businesses, schools, churches, not-for-profit organizations and individuals for damages if someone is exposed to COVID-19 on their property or during an activity they organized;
- Supporting schools that had to dramatically change their operations this year by fully funding students who are learning virtually due to the pandemic;
- Codifying telehealth expansions enacted during the pandemic to ensure that all Hoosiers have access to the health care they need regardless of where they live; and
- Improving local government accountability by allowing anyone who is subject to a public emergency-related enforcement action under a local health department order to appeal their case to the relevant local legislative body.”
The General Assembly concluded its regular legislative business this week and will reconvene later this year to complete our constitutional duty of redistricting.
