Bills to protect National Guard members’ jobs, allowing TIF money to pay for school and public transportation and allowing pharmacies to distribute Narcan without a prescription have cleared their chambers on Monday….
BORDERS NAT GUARD BILL
The Indiana House has passed a bill extending protections to National Guard members who work in Indiana bur are ordered to active duty by the governor of another state.
House Bill 1373 was authored by State Representative Bruce Borders of Jasonville provides protections under both the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act and Service Members Civil Relief Act..
Borders said he believes it’s important to protect the employment rights of guard members regardless of where they may be deployed for active duty. The bill now moves onto the Senate for consideration.
Borders represents District 45 which encompasses portions of Knox, Daviess and Greene Counties and all of Sullivan County.
SCHOOL BUSSES AND TIF LEGISLATION
Keeping school buses and public transportation going can be expensive, but it may be easier for lawmakers with a new source of money.
A Senate bill that passed yesterday at the statehouse would allow a redevelopment commission, working in partnership with their corresponding legislative body, to provide revenue to school corporations and public transportation corporations from property-tax dollars generated in a tax increment financing (TIF) district..
In other words, it’s tax money that’s already there, so they won’t have to raise taxes.
Senator Liz Brown, of Fort Wayne says the idea behind Senate Bill 280 is to provide an innovative approach to helping local entities meet their transportation needs not by raising taxes, but by reallocating already-existing funds.”
The bill would also require local legislative bodies and the local redevelopment commission to adopt similar resolutions in order to authorize the reallocation of the TIF dollars.
It passed the Senate 43-7. It now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
NARCAN LEGISLATION
Heroin is being used by more and more people in Indiana. Overdoses can kill but if you take Narcan, it can reverse the overdose and save your life. A Senate bill that passed 50-0 would allow pharmacies to stock the drug and give it out to people with an overdose without a prescription.
Under current law, a doctor must write a prescription in order for a pharmacist to dispense Naloxone. Senate Bill 187 would require the State Dept. of Health to issue a statewide standing order to dispense Naloxone or Narcan over the counter at local pharmacies. The bill would also require pharmacies to keep records for two years of the amount of doses dispensed throughout the year. Emergency ambulances would also have to submit a report including the number of times the intervention drug has been administered.
Sen. Jim Merritt said the overwhelming support from the Senate gives him hope that the bill will pass through the House of Representatives so Naloxone can be one step closer to being more accessible for those who need it.
As of Jan. 27, 2016, there have been 67 lives saved from heroin overdoses in Marion County alone.
This bill now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.