State lawmakers tackled everything from gaming to the state budget in the 2015 session, passing 259 laws this year, and many of those laws go into effect this week.
Here are the 10 new laws we find most significant. Did we miss one? Let us know in the comments section.
10. Left lane driving (HB 1305)
Under this provision, authored by Rep. Judd McMillion, R–Brookville, police will be able to issue a $500 ticket to drivers in the left lane who are going the speed limit and reasonably know a car behind them is trying to pass. The law doesn't apply in bad weather, heavy traffic or when exiting to the left, paying tolls or pulling over for emergency vehicles.
The law makes several other changes to motor vehicle law, too. It requires motorists to call 911 after a collision resulting in injury or death, and it raises the penalty for reckless driving resulting in bodily injury to a Class A misdemeanor.
This law requires emergency personnel to report to the State Department of Health whenever they use an overdose-intervention drug called Narcan. Narcan can help reverse the effects of an opioid-related overdose. Law enforcement personnel have recently been learning to administer the drug in order to be in compliance with the new law.
The law's passage follows a spate of opioid-related overdoses and deaths in Connersville, Ind., late last year. The law gives some health care professionals the ability to write prescriptions for the overdose-intervention drugs and dispense them to individuals at risk of having an overdose or "a family member, a friend or any other individual or entity in a position to assist" someone having an overdose.
8. Nursing home moratorium (HB 1511)
The law imposes a three-year moratorium on building new nursing homes in Indiana. The state's nursing home occupancy rate falls well below the national average at just 77 percent, but the moratorium doesn't apply to counties whose occupancy rates are higher than 90 percent.
Lawmakers backed the bill as a means of saving taxpayer dollars, and Gov. Mike Pence let the bill become law despite a reservation of restricting commerce.
Gaming was a hot topic in the 2015 legislative session. The state's casinos and racinos were seeking help after watching their profits fall over several years. This law made several changes to Indiana's gaming industry, including allowing riverboats to move inland within their existing footprint and numerous tax changes.
The state's racetrack casinos were pushing for permission to add live dealers, but it will be several years before they could possibly do so. Racetrack casinos will be able to ask the state gaming commission to add live dealers beginning in March 2021.
The legislature took aim at the growing use of electronic cigarettes in this year's legislative session by passing several restrictions on e-liquids, which are the substances vaporized in e-cigarettes.
Manufacturers of e-liquids will now be required to obtain a permit from the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission before bottling or selling e-liquids to retailers or distributors. The legislation also requires manufacturers to include child-proof safety caps, and it establishes some regulations for those selling e-liquids.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller had sought tougher regulations on e-cigarettes, including adding them to the state's smoking ban and imposing an excise tax on them, but his priorities were not furthered by legislators.
5. State Board of Education governance (SB 1)
The law shook up the Indiana State Board of Education and introduced five new board members. Legislators said they wanted to end the dysfunction that had plagued the board, but in addition to altering the board's makeup, the law will also give the board the ability to elect its own chairperson beginning in January 2017. That role has traditionally been assumed by the state superintendent.
As StateImpact Indiana's Rachel Morello reports, the state board will meet the day this law takes effect. You can take a look at StateImpact Indiana's coverage of new legislation for additional information.
4. Common construction wage (HB 1019)
Indiana's 80-year-old common construction wage will become history after July 1. Legislators voted this session to repeal the wage, which served as a kind of minimum wage on public construction projects, in favor of implementing a system which Gov. Mike Pence and other state lawmakers said prioritizes taxpayers.
In addition to doing away with the state's common construction wage, the law prevents public agencies from setting their own common wages.
Those in the construction industry said eliminating the wage would result in lower pay for workers and disincentive young people from joining the industry. The move cost Pence the endorsement of the Indiana Building and Construction Trades union. The union instead endorsed Democratic candidate John Gregg.
Legislators passed ethics reform for lawmakers and state employees in hopes of ironing out some ethical grey areas and avoiding future conflicts of interest. The new regulations came after Eric Turner allegedly worked behind the scenes to kill a bill that would have financially hurt his family's business.
The law requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to adopt a code of ethics and educate members. It also prohibits lawmakers and state employees from using state property, materials and resources for personal use unless the use is "expressly permitted by a general written policy or regulation that has been approved by the state ethics commission."
2. Religious Freedom Restoration Act (SB 101)
This piece of legislation - perhaps the most explosive this session, resulting in national controversy - "prohibits a governmental entity from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion."
Proponents of the law say it will prevent the government from encroaching on their beliefs, and despite an amendment to the law, opponents have maintained that it could be used to discriminate. The controversy surrounding RFRA will likely result in a push during next year's session for adding protections for LGBT individuals to the state's civil rights statute.
The state's two-year, $31 billion budget was something Gov. Mike Pence said "every Hoosier can be proud of." The new budget brings the largest increase for K–12 funding in the state's history and reworked the school funding formula.
And as Indiana Public Broadcasting's Brandon Smith reported, the new budget keeps about 12 percent of state revenues in reserve, which is less than the governor wanted.
