Scott Aaron Rogers and MADVoters Director of Advocacy Kaitie Rector review the final session of Indiana’s 2026 General Assembly, which adjourned sine die on Friday. The session was defined by the power of advocacy—from defeating redistricting at the beginning to killing the abortion pill bounty hunter bill, trans/non-binary legal erasure, early voting restrictions, and Ten Commandments in schools at the end. While numerous harmful bills passed (environmental deregulation, IPS takeovers, Medicaid/SNAP restrictions, ICE mandates, Christian nationalist curriculum, criminalizing homelessness), advocacy victories demonstrated that organized opposition can stop bad legislation even in a Republican supermajority. A bail amendment expanding judges’ authority to deny bail will appear on the 2026 ballot. Good bills that passed include child protection, childcare incentives, needle exchange extension, and hospital accountability. MADVoters will now focus on mobilizing voters for May primaries, supporting frontline democracy candidates, preparing voter guides, running their MADVoters Verified Politician (MVP) program, and participating in No Kings Day on March 28th.
BILL-BY-BILL BREAKDOWN
5:18 - SB 277: ENVIRONMENTAL DEREGULATION (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Turns mandatory environmental protections into optional actions for IDEM
- Allows agency to choose if/when they respond to pollution or enforce regulations
- Passed 53-45 in House (15 Republicans joined 30 Democrats in opposition but not enough)
9:24 - HB 1033: JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Replaces Black voices on Marion County judicial selection committee with governor appointees
- Part of broader attack on Black democratic representation alongside IPS takeover
- Came out of nowhere with little warning
11:33 - HB 1423: IPS TAKEOVER BUREAUCRACY (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Takes powers from elected Indianapolis Public Schools board, gives to all-appointed board
- Creates new layer of bureaucracy
- Pro-charter interests make up board composition, quarter of Republican senators opposed but not enough
13:22 - HB 1343: IPS TAKEOVER (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Related IPS takeover bill that also passed
- Taxation without representation—appointed board not elected
- Fought from day one but passed on party lines
16:44 - SB 1: MEDICAID/SNAP WORK REQUIREMENTS (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Codifies Trump’s “big beautiful bill” federal requirements in strictest interpretation
- Tightens eligibility to kick people off SNAP and Medicaid even though fraud isn’t real problem
- Costs money in administrative workload, causes procedural disenrollment of eligible people
20:57 - SB 76: ICE COOPERATION MANDATE (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Perhaps most controversial bill of session forcing schools and organizations to comply with ICE requests
- Punishes sanctuary policies by withholding state funding
- Creates climate of fear in immigrant communities
24:25 - SB 88: CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE CURRICULUM (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Originally had Ten Commandments language (later removed)
- Kept language about waiting until marriage to have children as part of “good citizenship”
- Mandates colleges accept Classic Learning Test (unvalidated conservative Christian alternative to SAT/ACT)
27:29 - SB 200: PATHWAY FOR TURNING POINT USA (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Currently only applies to federal youth patriotic organizations like Boy Scouts
- Paves path for Turning Point USA if federal government grants them access
- Governor Braun wants partnership with Turning Point schools
30:13 - SB 239: CHARTER SCHOOL CONVERSION (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Makes it easier to convert existing public schools into charter schools
- Part of broader privatization push alongside IPS takeover bills
- Next layer of school privatization after winning voucher fight
30:54 - SB 285: CRIMINALIZING HOMELESSNESS (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Makes being homeless a Class C misdemeanor with up to $500 fine
- 60% of Indiana’s homeless population is Black—disproportionate impact
- Doesn’t address root cause, just criminalizes poverty
33:42 - BAIL AMENDMENT (PASSED - ON 2026 BALLOT)
- Constitutional amendment expanding judges’ authority to deny bail beyond murder cases
- Can now deny bail for “substantial risk subjects” if no release conditions protect community safety
- Concern about increased pretrial detention and jail overcrowding before people proven guilty
36:16 - HB 1001: HOUSING AFFORDABILITY (PASSED - MIXED)
- Intended to increase housing affordability
- More controversial than HB 1002, passed but not unanimously
- MADVoters didn’t take position due to potential amendments
36:16 - HB 1002: UTILITIES (PASSED ALMOST UNANIMOUSLY)
- Utilities-related budget bill
- Passed with broad bipartisan support
- Could have been better, but Democratic amendments rejected
40:05 - HB 1036: DCS IN-PERSON ASSESSMENTS (PASSED UNANIMOUSLY - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Requires DCS to conduct in-person assessment before closing investigation
- Ensures kids aren’t slipping through the cracks
- Bipartisan support
40:31 - HB 1177: CHILDCARE INCENTIVES (PASSED UNANIMOUSLY - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Incentivizes businesses to provide childcare
- Gives communities access to TIF revenue for childcare (treating it as infrastructure)
- Childcare workers still underpaid, childcare deserts still exist, but step in right direction
43:38 - SB 236: ABORTION PILL BOUNTY HUNTERS (FAILED - DIED IN HOUSE)
- Would have banned abortion pills and enabled $100,000 citizen bounty hunters
- Passed Senate quickly but House wouldn’t schedule it
- Major victory for reproductive rights advocacy
46:16 - SB 182: TRANS/NON-BINARY LEGAL ERASURE (FAILED - DIED IN COMMITTEE)
- Would have legally defined people as only XX or XY chromosomes
- Erased trans, non-binary, and intersex Hoosiers from legal recognition
- BMV still subject to executive order banning gender-affirming state ID’s
49:49 - SB 4: LIBRARY DEFUNDING EVOLVED (PASSED AS GOOD BILL)
- Originally would have given local government budget control over libraries (defunding threat)
- Concerning language removed after advocacy, moved to HB 1406 which passed anyway
- Ended with good provisions: fiscal impact analysis of executive orders, child care voucher funding
- Library funding concern now in HB 1406 passed via conference committee
51:47 - SB 91: NEEDLE EXCHANGE EXTENSION (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Extends syringe exchange program to 2031 (originally 10 years, whittled to 2, bumped to 5)
- Reduces spread of HIV and hepatitis, destigmatizes addiction, improves health outcomes
- Passed despite Republican fear-mongering about increasing drug use
52:39 - SB 225: HOSPITAL ACCOUNTABILITY (PASSED - AWAITING SIGNATURE)
- Increases oversight of hospital business practices
- Protects patients from aggressive debt collection
- Requires more advanced notice of hospital closure (weaker than failed SB 85 but still good)
53:27 - EARLY VOTING REDUCTION (FAILED - BILL KILLED)
- Amendment filed after public comment to reduce early voting from 28 to 16 days
- Would have affected primary election weeks away with counties already planning
- Advocacy killed entire bill after massive pushback—defined session’s power of advocacy
54:59 - TEN COMMANDMENTS IN SCHOOLS (FAILED - KEPT GETTING REMOVED)
- Language appeared in multiple bills mandating Ten Commandments display in public schools
- Original bill died, language moved to another bill, got pulled out again
- Win for religious freedom (freedom of AND freedom from religion)
57:39 - WHAT’S NEXT FOR MADVOTERS
- Focusing on mobilizing voters for May primaries (voter education, engagement, registration)
- Supporting candidates on frontlines of democracy with needed resources
- No Kings Day March 28th participation
- Political engagement department creating voter guides and education materials
- Running MADVoters Verified Politician (MVP) program for general election
- Entirely volunteer-powered—reach out at madvoters.org to help
