As the Indiana legislature convenes on Jan. 8 for the 2025 legislative session, Northwest Indiana senators have filed bills addressing area school districts, veterans benefits and sex trafficking. During the 2025 legislative session, legislators will work with Governor-elect Mike Braun and his administration for the first time. It’s also a budget session, and legislators will face a nearly $1 billion shortfall in the state’s Medicaid funding because of state budget reversions and unexpected growth of services for aging and disabled Hoosiers. State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, said the shortfall was a result of Republican expenditure forecasts projecting incorrectly. Randolph said it’s likely the Republicans will make up for the budget shortfall by taking funds away from programs that support underserved communities and from the state’s reserves. “It’s going to be a tough budget year because the expectation they’ve had the last few months has not been achieved,” Randolph said. State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, said he’s been concerned about the state budget in regards to the Medicaid shortfall. But Dernulc said the Republican leadership will work toward a solution. “We’re going to be tackling that, so hopefully we resolve that by the end of the session,” Dernulc said. Bills tackle East Chicago school board, firearms Randolph filed 12 bills for the upcoming session, including a bill addressing East Chicago school board elections. Senate Bill 150 would change the election process for the East Chicago school board so that all board members are elected by voters of the school corporation. Under current law, three members are elected from certain districts and two members are elected at large. State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, speaks in support of shutting down Summit scrapyard during an Indiana Department of Environmental Management hearing in Gary on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Michael Gard/for the Post-Tribune) Historically, East Chicago had two high schools, so the school board would have at-large members and district members who were school-specific. East Chicago currently has one high school, Randolph said, so constituents have requested that all board members be at-large. “I’m getting feedback from the public because they’d rather have at-large members instead of district members,” Randolph said. “I am responding to what the constituents want.” Randolph filed two bills related to firearms – Senate Bill 152 and Senate Bill 153. Senate Bill 152 would prohibit people from carrying a firearm in or near a chute where voters enter a polling place, polls, certain areas where voters congregate and any room where ballots are being counted. The punishment for doing so would be a Class A misdemeanor if the person has a prior unrelated conviction and a Level 6 felony if the firearm was pointed at another person, according to the bill. Randolph said he drafted this bill after hearing about an instance in recent years when someone brought a gun into a Munster polling location. “The information paused me. How are you going to enter a polling place with a weapon?” Randolph said. While the state has a law that prevents intimidation at polling locations, Randolph said he would like his bill to pass to make it clear weapons can’t be brought into polling locations. Senate Bill 153 would make it a Level 5 felony to possess a privately made firearm; and a Level 5 felony to alter, obliterate or remove identification, or to possess a firearm on which those marks were removed, altered or obliterated. After it was reported that Luigi Mangione allegedly used a homemade gun to fatally shoot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Randolph said he drafted Senate Bill 153. Lake County judges, family leave also on tap State Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton; State Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis; and Randolph co-authored Senate Bill 17, which would allow for the election of Lake County Superior court judges. Bills similar to Senate Bill 17 have been drafted in the past. Pol said he co-authored this bill because other county residents elect their judges. “It’s about fairness and proper representation,” Pol said. Pol, who filed six bills, authored Senate Bill 115, which would require the Department of Workforce Development to establish a paid family and medical leave program to provide payments for employees who take family and medical leave. Under Senate Bill 115, the family and medical leave fund would be funded with appropriations from the general assembly and payroll contributions. The Department of Workforce Development would approve an employer’s use of a private plan to meet the program obligations, according to the bill. State Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, in Gary on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. He is sponsoring legislation for paid family leave and for certain terminally ill inmates to be released from prison. (Michael Gard/for the Post-Tribune) Pol said a quarter of mothers in Indiana return to work two weeks after giving birth. The state should work toward supporting families. “This is such an important time in a family,” Pol said. “We have to support these families.” Pol authored Senate Bill 117, which would allow for certain convicted people who have a chronic medical condition or are terminally ill or gravely disabled to file a petition for sentence modification without the consent of the prosecuting attorney in most cases. Under Senate Bill 117, if the convicted person was sentenced under the terms of a plea agreement, the court cannot, without the consent of the prosecuting attorney, reduce or suspend the sentence and impose a sentence not authorized by the plea agreement. The Department of Correction is a place for inmates to be rehabilitated and assimilated back into society, Pol said. It’s not a facility for the terminally ill, he said. Senate Bill 117 would give people a chance for dignity, under family care, at the end of their lives, Pol said. Pol also authored Senate Bill 114, which would remove provisions about testing the strength, effectiveness or purity of a controlled substance in the criminal laws concerning possession of controlled substance paraphernalia. Under the bill, Pol said people would have to access a testing kit, so the hope is they would go get the kit from a rehabilitation facility. While there, there’s a chance for rehabilitation, he said. “That’s about saving lives, first and foremost,” Pol said. More restrictions on sex offenders Dernulc filed 15 bills, including a bill that addresses sex offenses. Senate Bill 92 would prohibit plea agreements in cases of child sexual trafficking or child solicitation. The bill would also prohibit a plea agreement if it would require the prosecuting attorney to dismiss a charge in exchange for the defendant’s agreement to plead guilty to a less serious offense. State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, pictured on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, is sponsoring legislation targeting sex offenders, among other measures. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune) The bill would include children’s entertainment facilities as places where a sexual offender couldn’t work or volunteer. It would also increase the penalty for unlawful employment by a sexual predator to a Level 4 felony, and a Level 3 felony if the person has a prior conviction. Dernulc also authored Senate Bill 91 that would make grooming – someone who was 18 years old or older conditioning a child under 14 years old for future sexual activity – a Class A misdemeanor. The bill outlines that the offense would increase to a Level 6 felony if the grooming is committed using a computer and a Level 5 felony if the person has a prior conviction for a sex offense. Senate Bill 91 would also rename the offenses of inappropriate communication with a child “sexual grooming” and increase the penalty to a Class A misdemeanor, a Level 6 felony if the offense is committed by using a computer network and a Level 5 felony if the person has a prior conviction for a sex offense. Dernulc said he drafted Senate Bill 91 and 92 to enhance the state’s laws and protect children. Dernulc authored Senate Bill 70 that would allow a residential property owner to get an expedited removal of a squatter – someone who occupies a piece of residential property without a rental agreement, permission of the owner or another legal interest in the property – from their property. To receive the expedited removal, the landlord would have to fill out an affidavit. Under the bill, once the affidavit is confirmed, the police officers could serve notice to the squatter to immediately leave the property. Dernulc said he drafted Senate Bill 70 after reading about incidents of families going on vacation and returning home to find people living in their homes. While such scenarios haven’t been reported in Northwest Indiana, Dernulc said, it’s a preventative bill. “This is to help with unlawful occupancy,” Dernulc said. “The approach is to safeguard our property rights.” Driving donuts could be a misdemeanor Dernulc authored Senate Bill 13 with State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, and State Sen. James Tomes, R-Wadesville, that would make making donuts in a car a Class B misdemeanor. The bill would allow for police to seize the vehicle involved and increase the penalty for resisting law enforcement to a Level 5 felony if the driver operates the vehicle in a way that creates a risk of bodily injury to someone else. “It’s all about safety,” Dernulc said. Niemeyer, Dernulc and Tomes also authored Senate Bill 41, which would eliminate the assessed value cap for property tax deduction for a veteran who has a total disability or is at least 62 years of age and has at least a 10% disability. “The veterans have served our country diligently. If they have a disability, we, as citizens, have to ensure they are cared for,” Dernulc said. Dernulc and Niemeyer coauthored Senate Bill 40 which would require the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission to submit an annual budget to the Lake County Council before Sept. 1 of each year. The bill states that after Dec. 31, 2025, the commission may not spend money unless certain conditions are met. The commission would also have to submit an annual expenditure and activity report to the council before Nov. 1 of each year, according to the bill. Dernulc said Senate Bill 40 would aim to ensure that elected officials make decisions over finances. “The oversight should be with the elected officials, not just people who are appointed,” Dernulc said. John Smierciak / Post-TribuneState Sen. Rick Neimeyer, R- Lowell, shown in March 2022, is sponsoring legislation that would exempt residents and older from vehicle emissions testing. (John Smierciak/Post-Tribune) Niemeyer, who authored nine bills, authored Senate Bill 103, which would direct the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to study the environmental impact of exempting vehicles owned by individuals who are at least 65 years old from motor vehicle emissions testing. Senate Bill 103 would also direct IDEM to study whether such an exemption would still meet the national ambient air quality standards set forth under the federal Clean Air Act. IDEM would be required to submit a report of its findings to the governor and the executive director of the legislative services agency no later than June 30, 2026. State Senator Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, filed three bills: 340B drug program report, certificate of public advantages and pharmacy benefits. Charbonneau authored Senate Bill 119 which would repeal the certificate of public advantage for hospital mergers. Charbonneau also authored Senate Bill 140 that would require an ambulatory pharmacy to provide before March 1, 2027, and March 1 every year after that, data to the Indiana Board of Pharmacy relating to the pharmacy’s dispensing costs for the previous calendar year. &nbspMichael Gard/Post-TribuneState Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, seen on Thursday, November 30, 2023, is sponsoring legislation on pharmacy benefits. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune) Under Senate Bill 140, the board of pharmacy would have to share the dispensing data with the commissioner of the department of insurance. The commissioner would then have to make a determination relating to the average cost to dispense a prescription drug in an ambulatory pharmacy to determine the minimum reimbursement for a professional dispensing fee and conduct a study every two years relating to the dispensing data. State Sen. Mark Spencer, D-Gary, filed Senate Bill 148 that would extend by three years provisions to an extension of the term of loan or advances from the common school fund for the Gary Community School Corporation, which expired on Jan. 1, 2025. Dernulc said he looks forward to the 2025 session and working with the Braun administration. “We have a really well-run state. I look forward to us staying that way,” Dernulc said. [email protected]