(INDIANAPOLIS) — Legislators are set to finalize a bill guaranteeing them a role in emergency
declarations as early as Tuesday, after backing away from proposals to limit the actions a
governor can take.
Senators cleared away a final potential roadblock by not holding a vote on several amendments
which would have limited the emergency actions a governor can take. One amendment, from
Crawfordsville Republican Phil Boots, would have removed public health from the list of triggers for
an emergency. And a sheaf of amendments filed by Indianapolis Republican Aaron
Freeman would have declared several actions off-limits, from business and church restrictions to
mask mandates.
President Pro Tem Rod Bray (R-Martinsville) says Republicans discussed the proposals amongst
themselves, but was vague about why they weren’t called for votes, saying the authors had their
own reasons. But he says the bill that remains is centered on legislators’ original goal of being
able to review an emergency declaration if they’re not in session. Legislators adjourned last year’s
session less than two weeks before the coronavirus’s rapid spread prompted a six-week lockdown
of the state. Lawmakers didn’t return to the statehouse for eight months.
The bill would allow the 16-member Legislative Council to call a special session. Governor
Holcomb has repeatedly contended that proposal is unconstitutional.
Bray says keeping the bill narrowly focused allows the House to take a single vote next week to
send it to Holcomb’s desk, without time-consuming negotiations on a final version. House Speaker
Todd Huston has indicated he wants to pass the bill well ahead of the session’s adjournment, to
allow time for an override vote if Holcomb vetoes it.
27 House Republicans had signed on to a resolution to terminate the pandemic emergency, but
Huston says Holcomb’s announcement he’ll do so himself means that resolution is dead. While
the most controversial provisions will expire April 6, the emergency declaration itself will remain in
effect through April 30. Bray says that allows quick action if infection rates surge again after the
steep decline of the last two months.
Huston says the time was right to end the mask order. And Bray says it’s appropriate to leave
local governments the ability to maintain their own restrictions if their local circumstances call for
it. Legislators are moving toward passage of a bill allowing businesses to appeal a health
department citation to the county commissioners, but the bill would leave counties’ emergency
powers intact.
