The General Assembly’s GOP leaders answer reporter questions after the State of the State Address on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. From left: Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, House Speaker Todd Huston. Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz and Whitney Downard
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Just six months after a former Indiana lawmaker was sentenced to a year in federal prison for gambling-related corruption, industry expansion proposals are moving through the Legislature.

The state’s top two lawmakers say despite the controversy, they can’t ignore the industry any longer. Last session, they agreed to take a break from legislation.

“I have no defense of my former colleague,” Republican House Speaker Todd Huston told reporters on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Ex-Rep. Sean Eberhart was nabbed for accepting a lucrative job opportunity with a gambling company Spectacle Entertainment in exchange for supporting legislation in 2019 – and pushing for advantageous changes – that benefited the company. Another former lawmaker was sentenced in 2022 for gambling-related election finance schemes.

Still, Huston said, “We just can’t stand still … Like any … industry that is an important component of our state, there should be continual discussions about what ends up happening.”

Former Rep. Sean Eberhart, right, exits the U.S. Courthouse in Indianapolis after a sentencing on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. He is followed by his counsel and a friend. Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

His caucus isn’t standing still. A House GOP bill legalizing online lottery and casino gambling – which could quickly earn casinos and the state millions – advanced through committee on Tuesday, Jan. 28. So did legislation allowing taverns, charitable organizations and others to use electronic pull tabs.

Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray said that Eberhart’s conviction “never leaves my mind” when it comes to bills concerning the gambling industry. He added that lawmakers need to be particularly mindful about such legislation and its impacts.

“Obviously, gaming is a big industry in the state of Indiana … a challenging industry, but an industry that’s very helpful to the state of Indiana,” Bray said.

But when it came to expansions, such as iGaming, Bray said he put more emphasis on good policymaking over whether an action could bring in additional revenue. Leaders have urged their colleagues to be fiscally restrained this budget cycle after a December forecast predicted only moderate growth over the next two years.

“I don’t think it’s good policy to chase revenue. I think you have to decide what the right policy is and then maybe the revenue comes,” Bray said. “But if you’re chasing revenue that way, you’re probably not making good policy decisions.”

A Senate bill allowing the relocation of a casino license is facing a tougher path. The author pulled the bill during committee on Wednesday, Jan. 29, then told the Capital Chronicle that he doesn’t intend to allow a vote, citing strong opposition.

House Passes Gun Seizure Records, Absenteeism Bills

In the House, lawmakers unanimously approved legislation on the state’s red flag law and school absenteeism after tussling over charter changes to an education deregulation proposal.

House Bill 1137, which makes it easier to expunge red flag law records, moved on a 91-0 vote.

The law allows police to temporarily remove firearms from people considered “dangerous,” in an effort to prevent gun violence. But for people who are eventually found harmless, the records of the process don’t go away.

“The problem is: that is never expunged from your record, because it’s a civil action and it becomes a sort of a scarlet letter,” said author Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn. Prospective employers may research job candidates and find the records, but not see that the applicant was cleared.

His legislation would require that, if a court decides someone isn’t dangerous, related records must be sealed and expunged. If the court later clears someone who was previously found dangerous, the court can choose to order that the person’s records be sealed and expunged.

The bill next heads to the Senate for a committee hearing.

So does a measure dealing with absenteeism in schools, which advanced on an 87-0 vote.

House Bill 1201 requires the Indiana Department of Education to create a list of best practices to reduce student discipline and chronic absenteeism, among other tasks. It also bars schools from suspending or expelling students solely for being habitually truant or chronically absent. Students are considered truant if they miss 10 or more days of school without an excuse; they’re labeled as chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of the school year, regardless of whether it is excused.

Lawmakers also spent nearly an hour accepting and defeating changes to House Bill 1002, an omnibus education deregulation measure and a priority for the House Republican caucus. It repeals, loosens or eliminates some existing requirements related to teacher training, professional development, school programming, administrative duties, and school boards, among other changes. It also deletes some expired education provisions.

Among the accepted amendments was one ditching annual performance requirements for charter schools and economic disclosure mandates for charter board members.

Senators Greenlight Restrictions On Netting Minnows

Over in the Senate, a bill placing conditions on fishing practices related to minnows easily passed the chamber on a 44-4 vote, with two Democrats and two Republicans nixing the measure.

Minnows may be caught with a net and used as bait under current law, but certain immigrant communities have allegedly fished not just for sport but also for consumption.

“Individuals are using nets in ways that are incredibly harmful … (and) just decimate sections of water,” said author Sen. Spencer Deery.

The West Lafayette Republican introduced his legislation with praise for immigrants but warned that “inadequate assimilation” could be detrimental. The legislation would make it easier for conservation officers to restrict minnow trapping and protect fish populations, he said.

The bill now moves to the House.

Senior Reporter Casey Smith contributed.