House Activity

Some of the activity that took place in the House of Representatives today:

HB 1103 adding to the definition of boat dealers those who sell trailers to carry boats passed out of Comittee.

HB 1106 concerning external defibrillators passed out of committee. It removes the requirements that a person or entity that acquires a defibrillator ensure that the users have completed certain courses and have enlisted a physician for medical direction.

HB 1111 concerning life insurance and medicaid passed out of committee. It allows the state to use Medicaid funds to pay life insurance premiums where the Medicaid recipient has irrevocably named the State as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or assigned the policy to the State. Where a recipient has made such an assignment, the policy can’t be considered as a resource in determining the recipient’s eligibility for Medicaid.

HB 1134 concerning the Recodification of Title 21 passed 3rd reading 93-3. Title 21 is the K-12 education finance law. The recodification project is an effort by the General Assembly to clarify the language and the organization of the Indiana Code without changing its substance. (See my prior entry on recodifications.)

In addition, a lot of bills were assigned to committee on First Reading. Whether they get a committee hearing is an entirely different story.

The House Judiciary Committee considered the following:

HB 1040 The technical corrections bill. This is the most important bill during any session. And I’m not just saying that because I drafted one. O.k., yes I am. But, still, it’s a thankless piece of drudgery that keeps our Code among the best in the country. Every year, somebody in the Office of Code Revision keeps a big folder full of technical problems discovered in the Code and compiles them into one big bill. Sometimes it’s a real judgment call as to whether a change is “technical” or is “substantive.” But, if you have to think too hard about it, it’s not “technical.” The worst thing that could happen is something substantive sliding through in that bill. Legislators would stop trusting that it made no substantive changes and the bill would become as hard to pass as any other bill.

HB 1112 Communications of sympathy. Prohibits a court from admitting a communication of sympathy into evidence in a civil case. This was listed on the calendar, but either 1) didn’t get heard; 2) didn’t get a vote; or 3) the vote hasn’t shown up on the LSA web site yet. It says that a communication expressing sympathy, an apology, or a general sense of benevolence may not be introduced as evidence offered to prove liability of the communicator. Interesting bill. I’ve read where there are apparently studies showing that a simple “I’m sorry” would head off a fair amount of litigation. But, of course, nobody wants to have their heartfelt apologies come back to bite them in the ass when they get in front of the jury.

HB 1114 – Various property matters. This bill does a few things. But the big one appears to be a watering down of the privacy burdens imposed on a County Recorder with respect to recording documents containing social security numbers. It also eliminated the fee and associated fund designed to compensate the recorders for that burden. It passed the Committee 11-0.

HB 1134 – Recodification of Title 21. Along with the technical corrections bills, the recodifications are an important part of making Indiana’s Code among the nation’s best. The goal of the recodifications is to provide better organization of a particular Title of the Indiana Code and simplify the language to the extent possible without making substantive changes to the law. Title 21 is the K-12 education finance law. It passed the committee 11-0.

The House Roads and Transportation Committee considered:

HB 1013 The “In God We Trust” License Plate. (Previously discussed here.) This passed the committee 7 to 1. I couldn’t find the committee vote, so I don’t know who the brave soul was who opposed the addition of a 31st (at least) kind of license plate in Indiana.

HB 1021 Hay baling on interstate rights-of-way. This requires the Dept. of Transportation to develop a program to contract with farmers to harvest hay along the rights-of-way of interstate highways. The only real direction provided is that the program must provide a preference for farmers who have land adjacent to the right of way, that the State be held harmless for the baling activity, and that the farmers maintain liability insurance. No vote was recorded on this one, so I’m not sure if it actually got the scheduled hearing.

HB 1030 Notice of license branch closings. Requires that notice of a proposed closing of a license branch in a county be published in the county. I’m a little surprised this wasn’t already the law. But, obviously this is in response to the autocratic tactics employed by BMV Commissioner Joel Silverman in shutting down BMV branches this summer.

HB 1038 Permits for oversized or overweight vehicles. If a permit is granted for an an oversized or overweight tractor-semitrailer and load, the permit must allow operation from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset and must allow operation without an escort vehicle if the tractor and load do not exceed 90 feet in length. Adopted 10-0.

HB 1056 Certificate of salvage title. Changes the law concerning when a salvage title must be issued. Currently, in cases where an owner is insured but chooses to keep his or her vehicle after the wreck, a salvage title is required where insurer and insurance company reach a settlement agreement but where the insurer determines it’s “economically impracticable” to repair the vehicle. (In cases where the insurance company acquires the vehicle from the insured, the standard is whether the cost of repair exceeds 70% of the pre-crash value.) This bill changes the “owner-retained” standard from “economically impractical” to a 70% cost of repair standard. However, the bill excludes from the 70% calculation the cost of repairing airbags, tires, sound systems, and sales tax. Essentially, I think, this bill makes it easier for an individual to keep driving his or her vehicle after a crash without obtaining a salvage title, making it easier for that person to sell their vehicle to someone else later.