ICC tracking key bills as legislative session nears finish line

With the 2025 General Assembly in its final few weeks, the Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) and its allies are calling for engagement on pivotal legislation regarding school choice, immigration and other key issues. 
 
Universal school choice is within reach for Indiana families this year, as draft versions of the state budget proposed by Gov. Mike Braun and the Indiana House of Representatives called for removal of the income cap on the current Choice Scholarship Program, more commonly known as the voucher program. School choice has faced a more uncertain path in the Senate, which was set to release its version of the state budget at press time. 
 
“We are now getting down to the nitty gritty of the legislative session,” said John Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association (INPEA). “All eyes are on the April revenue forecast, set for release on the 16^th, which will certainly have an impact on all K-12 education funding. Choice advocates are still optimistic about achieving universal school choice, but nothing is a done deal. It is very important that all non-public school advocates reach out to their legislators.” 
 
In the last budget year, 2023, the Indiana General Assembly expanded school choice eligibility to 97 percent of families statewide. While advocates hailed near-universal school choice as a major step forward for Indiana two years ago, they point to the administrative burden that has remained for both families and schools to determine income eligibility for participating in the program.
 
“We are very hopeful that universal school choice will make it into the final version of the state budget this year,” said Roarke LaCoursiere, associate director of the ICC, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Indiana. 
 
As is the case during every legislative session, the ICC supports or opposes bills based on centuries of Catholic social teaching. One measure that has posed concern for the ICC is a bill that brings the ongoing national debate over immigration close to home. 
 
In its original form, House Bill 1393 called for requiring local police to notify federal authorities if they have probable cause that a person they arrested for a felony or misdemeanor is an undocumented immigrant. While recognizing every nation’s right to protect its citizens and its borders, Archbishop C. Thompson of Indianapolis issued a statement early in the legislative session calling for “the just and dignified treatment of migrants” as well as for national immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship for longtime residents who are undocumented. 
 
House Bill 1393 has passed both chambers of the General Assembly after undergoing numerous amendments. The Senate version took the burden away from police officers on the street, instead requiring a local sheriff or jail staff members to notify federal authorities if they have probable cause that someone arrested on a misdemeanor or felony is in the state illegally. 
 
As final deliberations on the bill are underway, the ICC continues to call for Indiana to recognize the human dignity of undocumented residents.
 
“They, too, are beloved sons and daughters of Christ, and he sees their suffering and their struggles,” LaCoursiere said. “We are going to continue to advocate for more well-rounded immigration legislation in the future that acknowledges the needs of these people in our community and upholds them as our neighbors and our brothers and sisters in Christ.” 
 
The Church’s concern for human dignity also forms the basis for its opposition to two measures that could pose economic harm to the most financially vulnerable Hoosiers. 
 
House Bill 1125, the Indiana Earned Wage Access (EWA) Act, proposes a new financial service that would allow employees to access their already-earned wages between pay cycles. Sponsors of the bill argue that this would be a lifeline for people living paycheck to paycheck who may face an unexpected medical expense or other financial hardship before their next payday. 
 
The measure would establish a regulatory framework in Indiana for EWA, also known as on-demand pay, which is currently offered in seven states. Authors of the bill, which passed the House on a 70-18 vote and is now under consideration in the Senate, point out that a no-fee option would be included for those choosing the service.  
 
But the ICC and other advocates have raised concerns about fees associated with other elements of the program, particularly for consumers in dire financial straits who need expedited access to their pre-earned wages. 
 
Erin Macey, director of the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, recently told lawmakers that EWA could potentially trap the most economically challenged Hoosiers in a serious cycle of debt. 
 
During an April 2 hearing on the bill, Macey raised red flags on certain elements of the program, including high fees for expedited delivery of pre-earned wages and voluntary tipping for the service. 
 
Macey shared an example of an app-based EWA product that charged $12 for a $50 advance for a seven-day period. 
 
“This is almost double what a payday lender would charge for a $50 advance,” she told members of the Senate Committee on Insurance and Financial Institutions. “And by statute, a payday lender would be required to give someone 14 days as a minimum repayment term.
 
“While the current bill proposes to regulate this industry, it places Earned Wage Access products outside of the scope of Indiana’s lending laws, and as such they’re not subject to any rate caps, fee limits, or our criminal loansharking statute.” 
 
A vote on House Bill 1125 was scheduled at press time in the Senate Committee on Insurance and Financial Institutions, which was also set to hear testimony on a payday lending bill posing serious concerns for the ICC and other advocates. 
 
House Bill 1174 would expand predatory lending in Indiana, creating new loan products with triple-digit annual percentage rates (APRs) – well above the 72 percent APR that the state currently considers criminal loansharking. 
 
The ICC has issued action alerts on both bills, urging the Catholic faithful to contact their lawmakers to oppose the measures.
 
“Both bills, without further amendments and guardrails, will exploit the poor in our communities who need to take out loans or advances,” LaCoursiere said. “In these crucial final weeks of the General Assembly, we ask everyone to reach out to their legislators on these and other issues that will have an impact on the most vulnerable people in our state.”
 
To follow priority legislation of the ICC, visit www.indianacc.org. This website includes access to ICAN, the Indiana Catholic Action Network, which offers the Church’s position on key issues. Those who sign up for ICAN receive alerts on legislation moving forward and ways to contact their elected representatives.