Calls to action: contacting your state legislators, bills & scripts

Calling your state elected officials is one of the most effective ways to influence proposed legislation.

Click on the issue that concerns you most for a list of bills and suggested scripts.

What’s important to you?

Bills

Budget

HB 1001 State budget: The budget appropriates money for state expenses and operations, K-12 and higher education, Medicaid, transportation, and more.
Our Concerns (From MadVoters): Does not address Medicaid waiver waitlist for elderly Hoosiers or disabled kids. Reduces income eligibility to qualify for CCDF (childcare) vouchers to $40,000. Underfunds public schools – the “increase” won’t cover inflation, especially with the other bills that divert funding away from public and to charter schools. An amendment removed language that would have made period products tax-free. The Senate version does not allow universal school voucher eligibility, which has been touted as a priority for the Braun administration.
* Read more: “House Republicans reject all Democratic floor amendments to budget bill.”
* Read more: Senate GOP budget proposal splits from House on school vouchers, child care limits
End Period Tax Legislator Email.
* ICPE Budget Analysis for public schools.

This bill has passed through committee to the senate floor for a vote. Contact your senator. Suggested script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to urge you to amend HB 1001. My concerns are that this bill:

Defunds Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library book program, which provides books to Hoosier kids aged 0-5. Research shows that a home library helps children succeed in reading.
Removes income limit for school voucher eligibility, putting taxpayers on the hook for the richest Hoosiers’ private religious education.
Underfunds public schools.
Does not provide tax relief to working Hoosiers through increased income tax deductions or renter’s deductions.
Does not eliminate Medicaid waiver waitlist for elderly Hoosiers or disabled kids. Decreases funding for Health First Indiana for public health initiatives. Thank you”

Criminal justice

Support: HB 1413 Rape kits. Creates a fund to help law enforcement and testing labs reduce the backlog of untested rape kits. Has been referred to the Appropriations Committee. Contact Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen.Ryan Mishler to urge him to schedule a hearing. Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to urge you to support HB 1413. Indiana has the nation’s 2nd highest number of untested rape kits; data collected per this bill would inform on best practices to address the backlog, and empower and support victims as they seek justice. Thank you.”

Education

HB 1002 Educational matters. A final vote in the Senate is will be April 14. Contact your state senator.

Removes requirement that IN Secretary of Education have educational experience, live in Indiana, or have a college degree.
- Guts rights and responsibilities delegated to both State Board of Education and local elected school boards, and removes required offices on the board.
- Allows a public school district to be completely “charterized” – that is, public school districts governed by locally-controlled, elected school boards could be completely dissolved and replaced with charter schools governed by non-elected, appointed boards instead.
- Exempts charter school board members from submitting a statement of economic interest, reduces oversight of charters, and repeals language prohibiting discrimination. Removes liability from charter schools
- Allows students to drop out at 16 without a qualifying reason.
- Allows schools to cut transportation services with just one year’s notice.

Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to urge you to oppose HB 1002. This bill will gut public education and replace it with a non-transparent, unaccountable and unregulated system of charter schools that do not have to accept every student. The state school superintendent will not need any qualifications, including residency, and school boards will be stripped of their rights and responsibilities. Professional educators, along with qualified board members should be making decisions about education for Hoosier children. Public education has proven to be the best option for providing a high quality education for all children. Do not support HB 1002. Thank you.”

HB 1348 Nonaccredited nonpublic schools. Makes no distinction between diplomas issued by accredited schools and homeschools. Passed out of committee to the Senate floor for a vote. Signed into law.

HB 1041 Student eligibility in interscholastic sports. “Requires colleges and universities to expressly designate sports teams as male, female, or co-ed; and prohibits trans women from participating in women’s sports at the collegiate level. This bill targets trans women and is written with the intention to exclude and demean, rather than resolve widespread problems. It also oversteps the purview of the NCAA, which currently is headquartered in Indiana and is a significant economic contributor. This bill passed the Senate and House to the governor. Contact Gov. Mike Braun. Sample script: This bill interferes with NCAA rules which sets national standards for play over which Indiana should have no jurisdiction. More than that, this is a discriminatory and demeaning bill would serve only to further belittle a very small minority group. Vote no. Thank you.”

SB 287 School board matters: Makes school board elections partisan. This bill passed the House, but with changes. It is now in conference committee. The House and Senate need to agree on the bill. Contact your representative and your senator. Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to urge you to oppose SB287. School boards govern public schools, and selection of these offices should be based on relevant experience and commitment to the good of the school, its students, and its teachers, not partisan affiliation that is largely irrelevant to the responsibilities of this particular office. That’s why 75% of Hoosiers oppose making school races partisan. Doing so would also allow big money campaign dollars to influence our elections, and distract from the real responsibilities of governing a school district. Thank you.”
* Letter to the Editor Template; * Legislator Email Template; Take action with the League of Women Voters

HB 1515 Education and higher education matters. “HB 1515 strips away local control over zoning decisions for charter schools in 92 counties, allowing them to open without regulation on how many can cluster near traditional public schools. Final vote April 14 in the senate. Contact your senator. Sample Script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to urge you to oppose HB 1515. This bill is another effort to detract from public schools. Unlimited and unregulated numbers of charter schools will further erode quality education for Hoosier children. Charter schools do not have the oversight, regulation, rigor, transparency, or accountability required of public schools. Nor are they required to accept every student as public schools are. I support public schools and I urge you to vote no. Thank you.”

SB 289 Unlawful discrimination (renamed from original) The latest version of SB 289 removes many of the most concerning aspects from the original bill involving DEI. The new version is focused on “prohibiting unlawful discrimination in education, public employment, and licensure.” It prohibits requiring as a condition of employment or licensure for someone to affirm these statements: that certain characteristics are inherently superior or inferior, that people are responsible for the actions of others committed in the past, and that someone’s moral character is determined by their identity. We can agree to these statements in theory, though vigilance is needed to ensure they aren’t taken advantage of by someone in bad faith. The concerning aspect of this bill that still remains is chapter 7, which permits civil action of $50,000 against a person or entity, like a school district, found to have violated the above statements. This is an enormous lawsuit with punishment out of proportion to “the crime,” and could bankrupt an individual, in addition to contributing to a chilling effect in which individuals or entities simply self-censor out of fear. Source: University Alliance for Racial Justice (UARJ)
Final vote in the House is April 14. Contact your representative.

Sample script: “My name is {name}. I am a resident of {town/zip code}. I’m contacting you today to vote against SB 289. I am concerned with the following items in this bill: Prohibits the funding of DEI programs, officers, and initiatives at state agencies,
state universities, and health professional licensing boards. This would restrict or even eliminate training, activities, policies, and curriculum that explore allyship, antiracism, intersectionality, social justice, privilege, bias, race, diversity, and gender. Thank you.”

SB 442 Instruction concerning human sexuality. Places severe restrictions on this instruction. Requires schools to publicly post curriculum involving “human sexuality instruction,” and to obtain written consent prior to teaching it. Prohibits a school from using learning materials that concern human sexuality unless approved by the school board. “Human sexuality instruction” is a very broad concept, so this bill will create a chilling effect on any mention of or reference to LGBTQ+ people or topics. Plus, the bill makes it easier to identify and target schools and teachers by those opposed to scientifically-accurate sex ed. Newly-filed Amendment 6 would require schools to show a “human growth presentation” that would likely promote “pro-life” propaganda.
Passed out of committee to the House floor for a vote. Contact your representative. Sample script: My name is {name}. I am a resident of {town/zip code}. I’m contacting you today to vote against SB 442. I am concerned with the following items in this bill: It requires schools to publicly post curriculum involving “human sexuality instruction,” and to obtain written consent prior to teaching it. It prohibits a school from using learning materials that concern human sexuality unless approved by the school board. Human sexuality instruction” is a very broad concept, so this bill will create a chilling effect on any mention of or reference to LGBTQ+ people or topics. Plus, the bill facilitates targeting of schools and teachers. Thank you.”

Elections-Voting

SB 010 Voter registration. Makes changes to voter registration: School IDs will no longer be accepted for voting ID purposes – even when they meet all requirements. This unduly burdens college students’ ability to vote. From League of Women Voters: The bill also requires the county voter registration office to remove voters from the voting rolls if they have not cast a vote in the two most recent general elections; puts unreasonable requirements on county clerks to verify citizenship; and ends the requirement that BMV employees ask customers if they want to register to vote or update their registration. This bill passed the House with amendments and was sent back to the Senate. This bill has passed in the House and Senate to the governor. Contact Gov. Mike Braun. Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to urge you to oppose SB 10. Voter turnout in Indiana is consistently very low and Indiana should be trying to increase voter turnout–not decrease it as this bill would do. This bill will disenfranchise legally eligible voters by invalidating a state university-issued student ID as a valid form of ID to vote, purging registered voters who have not voted in two general elections, and limiting when BMV officials ask customers about registering to vote or updating their registration.

State university-issued student IDs meet all the requirements for a valid ID to vote: name, photo, issued by the State or Federal government, and expiration date. Universities redesigned their student ID to meet the State’s requirements. State-issued student IDs have been used for voting for years without problems. Student IDs are not used to register to vote, so pose no security risk. SB 10 also requires county voter registration offices to cull voters from the voter rolls if a voter has not cast a ballot in two consecutive general elections, not two successive FEDERAL general elections as currently permitted. This promises that validly registered voters will be removed from the voting rolls and denied the right to vote. Voters already confirm under penalty of law when they register to vote that they are citizens and at least 18 years old. Requiring county voter registration officials to review citizenship documentation is outside their scope and an unnecessary burden since non-citizen voting is NOT a problem, as proven by the data. I urge you to oppose the passage of SB 10. It will disenfranchise voters by unreasonably restricting access to voting in a state that ranks 50 out of 51 in voter turnout. Thank you.”

HB 1679 Various election matters. Outlines several changes to election and voting laws – one that would require a county voter registration office to conduct a “voter list maintenance program” at least once every 30 days. These programs can be unreliable and will flag and purge actual eligible voters, in addition to failing to protect data privacy. Passed out of committee to the senate floor for a vote. Contact your senator. Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to oppose HB 1679. This bill will lead to inaccuracies in the voter list, fail to protect voter data privacy and lead to eligible voters being purged. Indiana has an abysmal voting record and needs to support voting rather than enacting draconian measures that will deny eligible voters their right to vote. Thank you.”

HB 1680 Election security and transparency. Brings forth several changes to voter rights. Restricts assisting someone filling out their registration application. Rejects voter registration applications that use a a non residential address, disenfranchising the unhoused population. Encourages voter intimidation by allowing a voter to challenge another voting during the primary election.
Passed the Senate and returned to the House with amendments. Contact your representative. Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to oppose HB 1680. Indiana is near the bottom of the country in voter turnout. Instead of encouraging voters, this bill seeks to disenfranchise them by making voter registration more difficult. Elections in Indiana are already to secure; this bill would only serve to ensure that fewer Hoosiers can vote. Vote no. Thank you.”

Environment-Climate-Energy

Three anti-consumer bills that will charge utility customers for the cost of small nuclear reactors are making their way to the governor’s desk. They are costly and unproven and so far there are none in the U.S. Even if utility companies fail to bring a SMR online, utility customers will foot the bill.

One of these bills – SB424 – has been signed into law.

SB 423 passed out of committee to the House floor for a vote. Contact your representative.

(Senate Bill 424 would offer public utilities working on small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) a path to recover 80% of pre-construction costs, including anticipated spending, from customers within three years — and before they obtain certificates of public convenience and necessity from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. The other 20% would be part of a general rate case; SB 423Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program;

HB 1007 Energy generation resources: Forces Indiana electric utility customers to foot the bill for SMR [small modular reactor] design, engineering, planning, and permitting costs before the utility seeks approval to build the SMR, and even if they never seek approval and cancel the project.

These are all interrelated bills that would require electric utility customers to pay for the engineering, planning and permitting costs before a utility even seeks final approval to build SMRs. SMRs are a yet unproven technology for which ratepayers should not have to pay. Costs associated with project delays, budget overruns, and cancelled projects will fall on ratepayers if this legislation is signed into law.) Final vote in the Senate on April 14! Contact your representative.

Take easy action with Citizens Action Coalition: https://act.citact.org/i45khgj Your email will go to the governor and your rep and senator.

HB 1037 – Storm water management. Allows builders to sidestep local erosion control rules. Final vote in the Senate is imminent. Contact your senator. Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to oppose HB 103 because this bill will allow builders to sidestep local erosion control rules with the result that more pollutant-laden sediment will run off from bare ground construction sites. Thank you.”

Healthcare

SB 002 Thanks to advocacy from Hoosier Action and other healthcare advocates, SB 2 has been transformed from a highly damaging bill that would have threatened healthcare coverage for more than 750,000 low-income Hoosiers by making extreme changes to Indiana’s Medicaid programs, into a bill more narrow in scope. However, “work reporting requirements and quarterly eligibility checks remain in the bill. According to the fiscal analysis of this bill, all of these new requirements will ‘significantly increase costs’ of running Indiana’s Medicaid programs. Making Indiana’s Medicaid programs more complicated will also increase the likelihood of eligible Medicaid members losing their coverage. This includes elderly people, persons with disabilities, and children.” – Hoosier Action

This bill has passed the House and Senate and on April 14 will be in concurrence–both chambers must agree on the final form of the bill. Contact your representative and senator. Contact Gov. Mike Braun
* Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to oppose SB 2 because it:

Adds burdensome new paperwork requirements for all Indiana Medicaid members, including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. This will most likely lead to people who qualify for Medicaid losing coverage and then having to reenroll due to paperwork issues, a disruptive and expensive process referred to as “churn.”
Subjects HIP members to new work reporting requirements, which will lead to additional coverage loss and drive up the administrative costs of the program, wasting public dollars.

Indiana’s Medicaid programs are vital to both Hoosier health and our state’s economy. Thank you”

Support: SB 486 Family and social services matters. Requires county law enforcement to help incarcerated individuals eligible for Medicaid to apply for Medicaid before their release. Requires child care workers to be trained in pediatric first aid and CPR. This bill has been signed into law.

Support: SB 486 Family and social services matters. Requires county law enforcement to help incarcerated individuals eligible for Medicaid to apply for Medicaid before their release. Mandates insurers to respond within 60 days to Medicaid claims. Prohibits denying claims just because of lack of prior authorization. Requires child care workers to be trained in pediatric first aid and CPR.
Signed into law by the governor.

Support: SB 119 Repeals the certificate of public advantage concerning hospital mergers. Removes the COPA (which approves hospital mergers) requirement. “Indiana is one of 19 states that have COPA laws, which allow hospital mergers that the Federal Trade Commission otherwise considers illegal because they reduce competition and often create monopolies.”
Learn more. Passed the House and Senate, governor next. Contact Gov. Mike Braun Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to ask you to support SB 119 because it will improve healthcare in Indiana. Allowing monopolies of large hospital systems harmed patients. Even the author of the bill allowing the mergers wants to end them. Hoosiers are much better served by competition among hospitals. Thank you.”

Immigration

SB 430 Grants for participation in the 287(g) program. Establishes the 287(g) agreement grant program, turning local law enforcement into federal immigration agents.
Passed Veterans Committee and referred to Ways and Means where it hasn’t yet been scheduled for a hearing. Contact Ways & Means committee chairman, Rep. Jeff Thompson h28@iga.in.gov / 317-232-9651 and contact members of Ways and Means. Several Democratic representatives serve on Ways and Means and yours may be one. If so, you can send an email to your rep and ask that he/she read it to the committee. Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to oppose SB 430. This bill would create a culture of fear towards law enforcement and discourage immigrant communities from seeking support from law enforcement. It will make everyone less safe. Thank you.”

HB 1393 Immigration notice. Requires a law enforcement officer to provide the name, address, and other identifying information to ICE after arresting or issuing a summons to an individual suspected of not being lawfully present in the United States. Will lead to increased racial profiling. Passed out of committee for a vote on the Senate floor. This bill passed the senate with amendments so the house will have to agree to the changes. Contact your representative and senator: IGA | Find Your Legislator. Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to oppose HB 1393 because I believe this bill will lead to increased racial profiling. This is important to me because I believe there are many immigrants in this country that are here awfully but will be detained due to their race. Thank you.”

Other

SB 197 Various property matters. SB 197 makes it a Class C misdemeanor, with a penalty of 60 days in jail or a $500 fine, to “camp” or sleep on public land. This does not fix the problems currently contributing to homelessness – like lack of affordable housing, lack of good-paying jobs, and skyrocketing healthcare costs. It will only compound these problems; criminalize vulnerable, nonviolent people; and reinforce the poverty cycle.
Final vote in the House April 14. Contact your representative. Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to oppose SB 197, which criminalizes homelessness. This bill makes no effort to find a solution for homelessness, but compounds the problem by imposing a fine, jail time, and criminal record, that will all surely make affording housing even more difficult. Vote no. Thank you.”

Support: HB 1292 Professional sports development commission. Authored by local representative Earl Harris Jr. Establishes the northwest Indiana professional sports development commission. Authorizes the commission to study various plans and recommendations that are proposed with respect to attracting a professional sports franchise to northwest Indiana. Authorizes the commission to prepare a comprehensive master plan for building the facilities and other infrastructure necessary for attracting and developing one or more professional sports franchises in northwest Indiana. Creates the professional sports development fund. This bill returned to the House with amendments. Contact your representative. Contact Gov. Mike Braun

Support: SB 142 Eviction issues. Automatically orders an eviction expungement (rather than requiring the tenant to request expungement) once the tenant has satisfied a money judgment. Indiana has one of the highest eviction rates in the country, and eviction records impact the ability to acquire housing in the future. Passed the House and Senate. In concurrence on April 14 for the House and Senate to agree on the final version of the bill. Contact your representative and senator.
* View Call to Action:

Property taxes

SB 001 Local government finance (renamed from the original)

SB 1 seeks to limit the growth of local property tax levies by freezing them at current levels for 2026, followed by a 1% cap in 2027 and a 2% cap in 2028. Starting in 2029, a new formula would govern levy growth, aiming to stabilize year-to-year fluctuations. It allows homeowners to take a property tax credit worth 10% of the assessed value of their home (max $300). To offset the revenue loss to local governments, counties and municipalities may raise their local income tax rate. This means that any property tax savings may be a wash when the LIT is due. It also shifts the tax burden to homeowners, giving big business a tax break, by increasing the business personal property tax exemption. SB 1 also force publics schools to share property tax revenue with charter schools, which lack local control and accountability. In total, schools across Indiana would lose around $744 million in property tax revenues over the next three years. SB 1 does not provide tax credits or deductions for renters, and they may have to pay more LIT. There are no tax credits for first time homebuyers. SB 1 also eliminates current significant deductions for disabled veterans.
* Read more: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/11/indiana-house-property-tax-bill-impact-income-tax-mike-braun/82993166007/
* Impact on schools: https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/indiana-senate-bill-1-house-amended-property-tax-impact-on-schools

Has passed the House, but with changes from the original senate bill. It will be in concurrence–both chambers must agree–on Monday, April 14. Contact your representative and senator.

Sample script: “My name is [name]. I’m a resident of [town/zip code]. I’m contacting you today to urge you to oppose SB 001. Instead of providing true tax relief to Hoosiers, this bill shifts the tax burden from property to local income taxes. Instead of providing tax relief to Hoosier citizens, it offers significant tax relief to businesses. It effectively raises taxes for renters, who will receive no relief. Instead of insuring that our public schools, where most Hoosier children are educated, this bill forces sharing of revenues with charter schools. Charter schools are less transparent and accountable than public schools, nor are they held to the same standards as public schools. They also are not required to accept every child, as public schools are. For these reasons and more, I urge you to vote no on SB 001. Thank you.”