House Republicans unveil their budget proposal. Lawmakers debate eliminating Indiana’s license to carry a handgun. And the Senate approves a bill giving
A bill giving the General Assembly more power in future emergency situations – and tying the government’s hands a bit – in future emergency situations is
Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) worries about that change.
“I just hate to see us do something that’s going to inject a lot of political angst into scientific-based decisions,” Pierce said.
The bill, now headed to the House floor, also says state and local governments couldn’t restrict religious services at all during public emergencies – like Holcomb did during the pandemic.
Holcomb’s COVID-19 restrictions limited the size of gatherings for a lot of places, including churches. He also required social distancing and mask-wearing, including at houses of worship.
Lehman’s bill would no longer allow any of that for religious institutions. He said it’s about protecting people’s religious liberty, guaranteed in the Constitution.
Committee Changes Bill Dealing With Governor s Emergency Powers
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Article origination IPBS-RJC
Changes made to a House bill would give the legislature more power to weigh in on emergency declarations made by a governor.
Lauren Chapman/IPB News
Changes made Thursday to a House bill would give the legislature more power to weigh in on emergency declarations made by a governor.
The bill arose out of frustrations from some lawmakers about Gov. Eric Holcomb’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Rep. Matt Lehman (R-Berne) said his bill would allow the legislature to call itself into emergency session after the governor issues an emergency declaration.