Source: WISH-TV / WISH-TV
INDIANAPOLIS — While your governor celebrated the return of happy hour in Indiana, he made it clear there are still bills that need his attention, and one that needs more perspective.
Talking to reporters at the Whistle Stop Inn in Indianapolis Thursday, Governor Eric Holcomb gave his insight on a few different bills making their way to his desk, most of which Holcomb plans to address by Monday.
A late bill in this legislative session would change the term limit of Indiana’s Public Access Councilor from every four years to “at the pleasure of the governor.” The Public Access Councilor usually issues opinions on how a public access should be handled. Opponents of the bill say certain politician just don’t like when the councilor issues an opposing opinion. That brand of honesty and differing opinion is valued in the Statehouse, so says Governor Holcomb.
“I don’t worry about the politicization of the position, and I hope that Luke Britt stays on as long as I do,” says Governor Holcomb, “but I haven’t made a final decision on that bill.”
Several parents are still concerned with the Medicaid shortfall and the proposed plan from the Family and Social Services Administration to cut reimbursement for caring for special needs kids. Some parents say the state still hasn’t fully addressed the issue.
“First and foremost, we want to make sure the folks that are receiving services get them. They may be in a different way, but we have to make sure the program is sustainable, and we can provide those services down the road,” Holcomb explains.
When it comes to ending the 40-year ban on happy hour, the governor says it’s a strategic move to help boost small business and bring in more paying customers.
Even though Holcomb says he plans to have every bill decided by Monday, and some earlier than that, the governor is still holding back on signing a bill that would define anti-Semitism speech on college campuses. Several definitions and examples of anti-Semitism language have been offered, but Governor Holcomb says he’s still hearing concerns from other groups, and he doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned.
“I want to make sure whatever we do, we do it right and don’t just do it to do it,” Holcomb explains, “the concerns that I’m directly hearing is that the bill that passed doesn’t address various examples that have been accepted by 35 other states, but other nations around the world. We would be an outlier, and it would be counterproductive. There was disagreement about that, so I want to make sure there’s no ambiguity whatsoever and what statement Indiana makes not only to our own citizens first and foremost, but to the rest of the world, where we stand.”
Governor Holcomb has signed over 175 bills so far this session.
