Indiana lawmakers will study water safety education, medical debt and postpartum care during this year’s interim study committees, among other topics legislative leaders said are “meaningful” to working families.
House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) is one of the lawmakers who proposed studying medical debt, which he said is a financial burden that’s hard to overcome — particularly for low-income Hoosiers.
“You know, how do you help them get out from behind the eight ball? We’ll take a look at it and see what options are available to us,” Huston said.
Sen. Rodney Pol, Jr. (D-Chesterton) said 49 children have died from drowning the last few years, what he called too many preventable deaths. He said lawmakers will push the Indiana Department of Education to develop water safety curriculum, likening it to fire safety education crafted many years ago.
“To ensure that this information is getting out there and that we do have something that sticks with people like ‘Stop, Drop and Roll,’” Pol said.
Study committees will also examine school administrator salaries, the economic value of public land and how quickly women can access postpartum care.
Legislative study committees on education, elections, child welfare and Medicaid oversight weren’t assigned any topics this year.
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Study committee topics are chosen by the four legislative caucus leaders. If at least three of the four leaders agree on a topic, it’s assigned to a committee.
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) said those areas had a lot of legislation this past session.
“Sometimes you’ve got to let some of those issues bake a while to see, before you have a new issue that you really have to grapple with.”
Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder (D-Bloomington) said she’s disappointed to see some issues not make the cut, including universal pre-K and youth mental health.
She also noted that lawmakers created a new Child Welfare Task Force — but didn’t assign it any topics to study.
“We absolutely know that child welfare is at the top of all Hoosiers’ minds,” Yoder said. “These issues do matter to Hoosiers and working families, so that was a little disappointment.”
Yoder noted that lawmakers can still work on topics before next session, even if they aren’t formally part of a study committee.
Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.