We’re whistling while we work these days, and it’s not just because the Grammy Awards are Sunday. Next week at the Statehouse, viable bills will play musical chairs in the Legislature, with House-originated bills that have passed the House moving to the Senate, and vice-versa.  

While many of most-watched bills already made the cut this week, some are still facing their last hearings on Monday. We don’t know which will be more suspenseful: the final moments until these proposals make it to the other chamber, or the nail-biting seconds before Album of the Year is awarded. (💡POV: Close contest between Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga)  

Whatever the outcomes are on both fronts, we hope they start your week on a high note. 

Read on for this week’s songbook and find our curated playlist of corresponding tunes at the end of this update for your listening enjoyment. 

• Go Your Own Way (K-12 Education) 
• We Can Work It Out (Public Camping Compromise) 
• Don’t Stop Believin’ (Employer Liability) 
• I Want You to Want Me (Tax Credit Expansion) 
• Against the Wind (Syringe Exchange Continuance) 
• Team (Canadian Partnership Resolutions) 
• Purple Rain (A Word on Minneapolis) 

Go Your Own Way

Lawmakers supporting Republican Rep. Bob Behning’s HB 1423 are seeking to create a more unified, efficient system of schools within Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) boundaries under a new entity called the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation (IPEC). Based on amendments that passed Thursday, they also want to carve out exceptions for charter schools that lease or own their buildings and want to go their own way. However, there’s a large carrot for charters that do enable their facilities to fall under the purview of IPEC: they gain access to public funding for capital projects and debt service, from which they have historically been excluded. Complicating matters is the fact that some charter schools, which historically have lacked access to funding for facilities, have financed their buildings with private dollars, so there’s nuance around whether those privately funded assets could fall under IPEC control. 

The bill saw other clarifying changes, including: 

• I Need a Dollar: The state’s so-called “dollar law,” which requires districts to offer their unused buildings to charter schools for $1, was repealed for the IPS district as part of the legislation. 

• Bills, Bills, Bills: There’s also clarifying language stating that any debt IPS incurred before April 2026 would remain an obligation of the district. This is a positive move for bondholder certainty, and we believe additional financial details will be finalized during the bill’s third reading on Monday. 
• It’s My Party: Finally, amendments made clear that, in the case of charter schools, the ability to enforce a shared performance framework for charter and district-run schools rests with charter authorizers, not IPEC. However, the bill gives IPEC the ability to appeal to the State Board of Education if the authorizer is not implementing the framework with fidelity.  

👀We’ll be watching on Mon., Feb. 2, as the bill receives its third and final reading in the House, where it must pass before moving to the Senate.  

We Can Work It Out 

The debate over the controversial SB 285, Sens. Cyndi Carrasco’s and Eric Koch’s effort to regulate public camping, offers a glimmer of hope for fans of good, old-fashioned compromise. An amendment that passed last week would position the bill to be a better vehicle for getting those in need of housing and other supports access to services, including through partnerships such as Streets to Home Indy 

• ⬆️The Upshot: A new provision would make it so that cities or towns could enact local ordinances giving a person in violation of the ban on public camping 48 hours from the time of citation to either move or engage with supportive services. If the person in violation does not take action, they would still be subject to a Class C misdemeanor. 
• 👮The Amendment Also: Makes the bill less of a Beast of Burden on local police. Rather than requiring officers to transport individuals – who may have personal belongings with them – the responsibility shifts to service providers and other partners who are better equipped to help with transport.  
• 👍The Chamber Supports changes that help unhoused individuals get access to services. As champions of Streets to Home Indy, we think the recent amendment makes for better policy to enhance that program’s impact.  
• 🎵In a Song: The amendments move this bill closer to The Middle (Jimmy Eat World) 

Don’t Stop Believin’ 

HB 1098– Rep. Matt Commons’ bill to clarify liability protections for employers who hire workers under 18 – will make its way to the Senate. The bill wants to help employers Believe that by hiring high school students to participate in apprenticeship programs that prepare them for in-demand jobs, they’re not only doing right by the next generation, but they’re also making a smart decision for their bottom line and helping the state’s workforce.  

Recent amendments helped clarify that workers’ compensation insurance provides the exclusive avenue for remedy for onsite workplace injuries, whether for minors or adults. Employers and the intermediaries that help oversee these work-based learning initiatives would be left to determine the details of who is going to be on point for workers’ comp.  

🤔 Indy Chamber’s Take:  We’re singing Pharell’s Happy to these changes, which we hope will give employers confidence to engage in these critical workforce development and skill-building apprenticeship programs, while not saddling intermediaries with too great a liability burden.  

🎉We’ll be ready to Jump Around if the bill passes the Senate and is signed into law. 

I Want You to Want Me

Indiana knows how important it is for companies to get talent to move to the state and stay. SB 264, which passed the Senate and moves to the House, is focused on leveling up Indiana’s gravitational pull.  

Authored by Sens. Brian Buchanan and Linda Rogers, the bill makes the state’s EDGE tax credits a more competitive tool for employers seeking to attract and retain talent. The bill allows the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) to boost the value of an EDGE credit when a company incurs relocation costs to bring a worker to Indiana for a new job. It also makes clear that companies can qualify for EDGE credits for retaining employees, not just creating new jobs, if they increase an employee’s hourly wage by at least 25%.  

But will money on the table beat out a Love Song as a way to attract workers? Let’s be honest, probably. 🥰 

Against the Wind

Syringe exchange programs in Indiana and nationally have proven to help those using intravenous drugs engage with supportive services, including disease testing, addiction treatment programs, and wraparound assistance like housing and food. Yet historically, they have faced pushback in some corners due to unfounded fears that such programs might encourage substance use. Nonetheless, in Indiana, this research-backed approach has persisted since the state’s original syringe exchange law passed in 2015. This year, SB 91, which moves to the House, delivers a major win for syringe exchange programs and the people they help. 

Authored by Sens. Michael Crider, Ed Charbonneau, and Brett Clark, with a bipartisan list of co-authors, the bill extends the supporting legislation for Indiana’s 1:1 syringe exchange program, which was set to expire in July, through 2036.  Talk about an encore. 👏 

🏆And the Grammy Goes to: Sen. Michael Crider, who has been a tireless and tenacious champion of syringe-exchange programs. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his principled, dedicated efforts to pass this year’s extension.  

Team 

Turn up your Celine Dion (or, if she’s not your jam, try Drake, Shania Twain, or Justin Bieber). These Canadian superstars’ tunes offer a soundtrack to our joy over a recent trio of Senate- adopted resolutions reaffirming Indiana’s strong and growing partnerships with the provinces of Alberta (SJ 7), Quebec (SJ 8), and Ontario (SJ 9).  

 What this means: Canada remains one of Indiana’s top trading partners, and these resolutions, introduced by Sen. Eric Koch in his role as Utilities Chair, underscore the depth of collaboration already underway across energy, technology, agriculture, and space.  

At a moment of uncertainty in the broader international trade climate, these resolutions demonstrate that subnational relationships can continue to thrive. They also lay the groundwork for an even more robust Indiana-Canada partnership in the years ahead.  

Purple Rain

Our hearts go out to the people of Minneapolis, which has experienced dramatic unrest amidst the fatal shootings of two of its residents by immigration enforcement officers over the last month. The late legendary artist Prince, a Minneapolis native, captures the sorrow of the moment well with his lyric: “Sometimes It Snows in April.” 

Earlier this week, more than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies signed a joint letter posted on the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s website calling for a de-escalation of violence and imploring local, state, and federal leaders to collaborate on solutions.  

🏠What this means at home: In Indiana, a slew of immigration bills have been debated this session that would double down on enforcement mechanisms, including some implicating employers (see SB 122, HB 1039, and SB 87). We remain optimistic that Indiana can continue to be a place of nonviolence and a model for handling policy disagreements peacefully. Joining our Minnesota colleagues, we urge collaboration toward peaceful solutions on immigration issues and a principled commitment to the rule of law.  

🎤We don’t want to end on a somber note. While things may feel heavy in the world (not to mention frozen, given the weather), remember that life is always better with music playing in the background. On that note, enjoy this curated playlist capturing the songs mentioned in today’s update. We’ll see you next week.