Indiana Senate committee passes bill to give Legislature say in emergency orders

(The Center Square) – Indiana lawmakers continue to push to be part of the process when it comes to emergency orders, and a state Senate committee has advanced a bill that would establish a seat at the table for the Legislature.

House Bill 1123, now headed to the Senate floor, creates a legislative council to review the governor’s emergency orders and call the General Assembly into session, if necessary. The bill originally excluded churches from any orders, but the amended version treats churches like any other business in the state.

The bill passed the House in early February and received its first reading in the Senate on Feb. 23. The amended version passed the Senate Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee on Thursday on an 8-4 vote.

According to fiscal notes on the bill, if lawmakers were called into special session for two days to review emergency orders, it would cost taxpayers $69,000. The notes also said the maximum cost to taxpayers for a 40-calendar-day special session would be $924,000.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb first declared a “public health disaster emergency” March 6, 2020, and went on to issue 51 more executive orders through the end of 2020, including the Hunker Down Hoosiers order forbidding people from leaving their homes – except as necessary for work, grocery shopping or to take care of others – and mandating masks. It went into effect in late July and still ia in effect.

The House passed a bill in late February from Republican floor leader Matt Lehman, R-Berne. The bill would allow a “council” made up of legislative leaders to decide whether to call an emergency session to address a state disaster emergency. It does not, to the disappointment of many conservatives in the House, limit the number of times a governor can extend an emergency.

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