Yoder demands review of employee protections INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana’s new Senate Minority Leader on Friday said members of that chamber already are exploring potential changes to rules and procedures meant to prevent sexual harassment. Senate Democrats on Wednesday removed Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, from his post as Senate Minority Leader after three more female former Senate staff and interns accused him of sexual harassment. They replaced him with Bloomington Sen. Shelli Yoder. Yoder resigned from her previous post as assistant minority leader last month in protest over the allegations against Taylor and her caucus’ initial vote to keep him in his leadership role. In an interview with News 8 for All INdiana Politics, Yoder said she wants to review the Senate’s employee handbook for any gaps in guidelines or reporting procedures. Yoder would not offer specifics when News 8 asked what changes she was looking for, but said those conversations are already underway. “We are undergoing those conversations now, working across the aisle, making sure that the safety net is clear, that state employees feel that they have a clearly explained, clearly defined (policy), and someone in their corner who is going to stand with them if they feel they need to make a complaint,” Yoder said. As a separate branch of government, legislative bodies, including the Indiana General Assembly, write their own rules and procedures governing the conduct of their members and employees. The House and Senate write their policies separately. Yoder said she plans to work with her counterparts in the House to find ways to align the two chambers’ sexual harassment prevention rules. Yoder also discussed her caucus’ plans for the 2025 legislative session, which begins Jan. 8. Yoder said Senate Democrats will focus on fully funding public education, expanding access to health care, and working on affordable housing issues. She said it’s “exciting” to see what the incoming Braun administration will bring to the table, adding she doesn’t believe Braun has offered enough specifics about his policy goals. Democrats and Republicans on the State Budget Committee earlier this week said they did not trust a new Medicaid revenue forecast, prepared by the accounting firm Milliman, which show greater-than-expected savings as a result of cuts to Medicaid services this year. Milliman is the same firm that stunned lawmakers last year by announcing the state Medicaid system would be short nearly $1 billion, leading to those cuts. Neither Milliman nor the Family and Social Services Administration have said exactly what led to the sudden forecasted shortfall. Asked if she trusted the numbers, Yoder said she did not. “Hoosiers are pretty much dead-on when they say that the can’t trust those numbers because we pretty much pulled the rug out from underneath so many Hoosier families,” Yoder said. When asked if the FSSA should look for a new accounting firm, Yoder said she’s not part of that oversight process but she thinks it would be “a good idea to look.” All INdiana Politics airs at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on WISH-TV.