INAAP's Legislative Update - February 2022
February 3, 2021
INAAP Legislative Update and
Call to Action
The Indiana General Assembly is at the halfway point of the 2022 legislative session. INAAP has been busy advocating on several bills related to child health, and we need your help now more than ever! Read below for updates and ways you can help!
Bill Track List
INAAP tracks a large number of bills during the legislative session that have an effect of children's health or the practice of pediatrics. You can access our full bill tracking list at any time using the button below. The list is updated in real time and will show you the status of every bill INAAP is currently tracking.
Key Updates
Over 800 bills were filed as part of the 2022 Legislative Session. Now that we have reached the halfway point of Session, any bills that did not pass either the Senate or the House of Representatives are considered dead, which includes over half of all the bills filed.

Below is a list of key bills that are still alive for the second half of the Session.


HB 1254: Newborn Screening Requirements - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Support

Bill Purpose: Currently, the Indiana General Assembly is responsible for deciding what is or is not included as part of the newborn screen. The purpose of this bill is to shift that responsibility to a group of experts who are better equipped to make decisions in the best interest of children's health. In this case, the responsibility would be shifted to the Committee on Genetics and Genomics housed within the Indiana Department of Health.

Current Posture: The bill passed unanimously out of House, and we expect it to enjoy similar support in the Senate.

HB 1313: Lead Screening - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Support

Bill Purpose: Indiana's current lead screening rates lag behind other states. Further, no good data currently exists to help identify which areas of the state are at elevated risk for lead exposure. This bill would institute universal lead screening requirements from January 1, 2023 to December 31 2026. This period of time will provide the necessary data to then start more targeted screening and will foster lead screening best practices.

Current Posture: The bill passed unanimously out of House, and has bipartisan support in the Senate.

SB 284: Telehealth - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Support

Bill Purpose: This bill makes certain changes instituted due to the COVID-19 pandemic permanent. The bill also expands the type of providers who can engage in delivery of mental healthcare via telehealth.

Current Posture: The bill passed unanimously out of Senate, and has bipartisan support in the Senate.

HB 1140: Medicaid Coverage for Pregnant Women - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Support

Bill Purpose: This bill increases the Medicaid income eligibility requirements for pregnant women and removes many limitations to coverage. The bill also extends postpartum Medicaid coverage for pregnant women from 60 days to 12 month beginning on the last day of the pregnancy.

Current Posture: The bill passed the House with 86 votes in favor and 1 vote against.

HB 1361: TANF and Child Care Assistance Eligibility - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Support

Bill Purpose: This bill expands eligibility for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) and child care assistance by excluding certain scenarios that would previously make a family ineligible for these programs.

Current Posture: The bill passed the House with 85 votes in favor and 3 vote against.
Call to Action

All of the bills listed below are still alive, despite advocacy efforts up to this point in opposition. Now is the time to act to help and try and defeat these bills. Read more below about how you can help.
HB 1001: COVID-19 Immunizations - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Oppose

Bill Purpose: The bill allows certain state officials to declare a health emergency for the purposes of capturing federal relief dollars. The bill prohibits employers from requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Current Posture: The bill passed out of the House with 58 votes in favor and 35 votes against.

INAAP Call to Action: Contact your State Senator and ask that they vote against this bill. You can use THIS LINK to find your legislator and their contact information.

Sample Interaction: My name is (your name), and I am a (pediatrician / advance practice nurse / pediatric clinician) who lives in your district. I am (calling / writing) today to encourage you to oppose HB 1001. Indiana should be setting policy that promotes as many Hoosiers as possible receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, not carving out additional ways to avoid it.

HB 1041: Participation in School Sports - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Oppose

Bill Purpose: This bill aims to prohibit transgender children from participating on K-12 sports teams. Specifically, the bill "prohibits a male, based on the student's biological sex at birth in accordance with the student's genetics and reproductive biology, from participating on an athletic team or sport designated as being a female, women's, or girls' athletic team or sport."

Current Posture: The bill passed out of the House with 66 votes in favor and 30 votes against.

INAAP Call to Action: Contact your State Senator and ask that they vote against this bill. You can use THIS LINK to find your legislator and their contact information.

Sample Interaction: My name is (your name), and I am a (pediatrician / advance practice nurse / pediatric clinician) who lives in your district. I am (calling / writing) today to encourage you to oppose HB 1041. For transgender and gender diverse youth, a sports team can often be where they experience a sense of community and inclusion that may otherwise be missing in their lives. Taking that opportunity away not only deprives transgender youth of the benefits sports hold for all kids, but also takes away critical avenues to buffering negative mental health effects.


HB 1077: Firearm Matters - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Oppose

Bill Purpose: Repeals the law that requires a person obtain a license to carry a handgun in Indiana.

Current Posture: The bill passed out of the House with 64 votes in favor and 29 votes against.

INAAP Call to Action: Contact your State Senator and ask that they vote against this bill. You can use THIS LINK to find your legislator and their contact information.

Sample Interaction: My name is (your name), and I am a (pediatrician / advance practice nurse / pediatric clinician) who lives in your district. I am (calling / writing) today to encourage you to oppose HB 1077. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the rate of gun deaths of children 14 and younger rose by roughly 50 percent from the end of 2019 to the end 2020. This bill would increase access to firearms without even the simplest precautions at a time when Indiana should be taking steps to ensure that our state's children are better protected from firearm violence.

HB 1134: Education Matters - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Oppose

Bill Purpose: The bill imposes numerous requirements on schools and teachers related to the curriculum being taught in the classroom and how information is presented to students.

Current Posture: The bill passed out of the House with 60 votes in favor and 37 votes against.

INAAP Call to Action: Contact your State Senator and ask that they vote against this bill. You can use THIS LINK to find your legislator and their contact information.

Sample Interaction: My name is (your name), and I am a (pediatrician / advance practice nurse / pediatric clinician) who lives in your district. I am (calling / writing) today to encourage you to oppose HB 1134. In addition to the many concerning effects this bill would have on education, this broad and complicated bill would make it harder for kids to receive mental health support in our schools due to parental notification requirements and opt-out provisions that could limit access to mental health support.

HB 1354: Requirements for SNAP Participants - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Oppose

Bill Purpose: The bill would require parents to comply with child support orders to be eligible for SNAP. It would also require all adults up to age 60 to participate in "education and training" programs to be eligible for SNAP benefits, regardless of whether they are already working, are caring for dependents, or are in other "non-approved" training programs.

Current Posture: The bill passed out of the House with 63 votes in favor and 28 votes against.

INAAP Call to Action: Contact your State Senator and ask that they vote against this bill. You can use THIS LINK to find your legislator and their contact information.

Sample Interaction: My name is (your name), and I am a (pediatrician / advance practice nurse / pediatric clinician) who lives in your district. I am (calling / writing) today to encourage you to oppose HB 1354. This restriction takes no account for informal child support agreements or dangerous situations where custodial parents don't want to be tied to the non-custodial parent. Very few states use such a policy because there's no evidence the restrictions increase child support participation, while it harms families and children by restricting access to nutrition assistance. Indiana already provides incentive for non-custodial parents to pay child support by allowing it as a deduction of expenses when applying for SNAP.


SB 382: Reduction of Tobacco Taxes - Full Bill
INAAP Position: Oppose

Bill Purpose: The bill would reduce taxes on various tobacco products sold within Indiana, including e-cigarettes.

Current Posture: The bill passed out of the Senate with 37 votes in favor and 12 votes against.

INAAP Call to Action: Contact your State Representative and ask that they vote against this bill. You can use THIS LINK to find your legislator and their contact information.

Sample Interaction: My name is (your name), and I am a (pediatrician / advance practice nurse / pediatric clinician) who lives in your district. I am (calling / writing) today to encourage you to oppose SB 382. E-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco products among adolescents. E-cigarette use and secondhand nicotine vape are associated with an increased risk of respiratory symptoms and asthma exacerbations. Furthermore, youth e-cigarette use is associated with an increased risk of current cigarette smoking and future smoking initiation as well as increased odds of marijuana and polysubstance use. This proposal would benefit the tobacco industry while doing a disservice to the current and future health of Hoosiers, particularly adolescents and young adults.