The 2020 Session of the Indiana General Assembly began on November 19th during the traditional Organization Day at the Statehouse. While normally mundane with the passage of resolutions allowing the House and Senate to receive mail and communicate with one another, two big events captivated the Statehouse – Speaker Brian Bosma announced his retirement and an estimated 20,000 supporters of public education and teachers rallied during Red for Ed day.
Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) will retire at the end of the 2020 session, to be his 34th session as a lawmaker. He has held the speakership since 2010 and has been a steady leader for the Indiana House of Representatives. The House Republican Caucus will vote on a Speaker-Elect, who will work with Bosma through this session. Bosma also announced that he will become the National Chairman for the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee and continue to work in his legal practice here in Indianapolis. Representative Todd Huston (R-Fishers) has been chosen as the Speaker-Elect and will succeed Bosma as Spealer after the 2020 session.
The Red for Ed rally at the Statehouse consumed much space and attention to support public education and teacher salaries. This issue is sure to be contentious during session, and in an election year, where House and Senate leaders are expected to focus in on a “mini-budget”. This “mini-budget” is to be focused on paying cash for significant capital projects that would otherwise be payed for via bonds and cost more over the long run, but surely the issue of education and teacher salaries will be debated.
IHCA/INCAL continues to press for solutions to the Medicaid transportation/SoutheasTrans problems. Whether legislation is necessary is to be seen, but several legislators have expressed interest in legislating a solution. IHCA/INCAL will also be seeking an extension of the prohibition on managed care programming for Medicaid nursing facility residents. The current prohibition, first passed in 2016, is set to expire June 30, 2020.