The Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana.

Advocates for a world class infrastructure, a competitive business climate, 21st century talent and rural investment.

One region, one voice.

NEINAdvocates.com.

with Midsouth session bill deadlines approaching in the next few days legislation is moving swiftly at the Indiana State House.

>> Now among this week's headlines action by the Indiana House over bipartisan opposition approving a resolution calling for a federal constitutional convention on term limits.

Both chambers the state House passed measures designed to increase access to child care by reducing existing regulations on Monday.

The House approved a bill providing more scholarship opportunities to Hoosiers who want a career in education.

>> And we'll learn more about transition to teaching scholarships in a few moments and we'll also hear about a measure in the Senate to establish a Community Cares Initiative Grant pilot program for the purpose of assisting in the costs of starting or expanding mobile integrated health care in Indiana.

>> Our guests are from the Senate and the House for a conversation you can join from your House on this edition of PrimeTime.

Good evening.

I'm Bruce Haines with us today as 14th District Republican state senator Dr. Tyler Johnson and Fifth District Republican State Representative Dave Hynie.

And you can be a part of us as well telephonically.

>> Just call in with your questions or comments.

Just use the number you see on the screen as we broaden out and welcome you to the show and welcome Dr. Tyler Johnson, Representative Dave Hynie and Tyler.

>> Dave, happy New Year.

Welcome.

Thank you.

>> Good to be here.

Pleasure to have you with us.

It was a big week and now everyone's looking for halftime .

But there was there was kind of where the football analogy and say oh the rugby analogy there was maybe a scrum of sort on on Thursday there was an agency bill on Medicaid matters.

It passed unanimously out of committee.

It died yesterday following the addition of several bipartisan amendments on transparency and accountability on a one billion dollar Medicaid funding shortfall that's worth the comment even up itself.

And then Senate Republicans killed their own priority bill to sharply curtail prior authorization as we look through the news coverage and try to sort it out ourselves.

I'm hoping you can shed some light on what actually happened yesterday to these House and Senate measures.

>> Yes.

So I mean the Medicaid bill was SSA actual bill was in the House so there was a lot of amendments and things fall to that.

I don't know what the behind the scenes of of why that bill didn't move but one of the issues we're facing right now is the forecasting for Medicaid.

The numbers were about a billion dollars off.

That's a big gap in numbers and so there's a lot up in the air right now that we're trying to figure out and fix through a number of different ways.

But it does change things a lot of a lot in that system and so one finding the money and to figuring out how to do that going forward I think really letting the agency try to figure it out first is probably the bigger picture and letting them go through that and then legislatively the budget agencies and the budget committees can kind of look at that as we move forward next year on your bill SB three on prior authorization.

Explain a little bit about what that is and now why it has left the top five at least for now.

>> Yes.

So Senate Bill three was a great concept.

It's not a novel concept to limit prior authorization which is where you have insurance and have covered services like a drug total knee replacement or something like that.

But the insurance company makes& your doctor ask permission even though your doctor thinks it's the right thing to do beforehand.

Well, it adds a lot of administrative work for the hospitals and physicians and then it delays care for the patient.

So we really want to take that delay and the burden off of the hospitals and get the patients the care that they want.

And there's study after study showing the benefits of reducing that time and if you put roadblocks in the way then the patient never will come back and get the care that they needed.

So long term outcome comes or worse.

>> Well, so Senate Bill three really addressed that in a comprehensive way and it was a big bill.

>> So it looked at a lot of different ways to rein that in and try to limit that and protect the patient.

>> David, anything you watch here on the well, I guess and one thing and it drives me crazy about government a good bill starts out as a good bill, then it starts gaining amendments and all of a sudden it goes from a great bill to a good bill to oh, we have to talk more about this like Tyler doctor said, we have to talk more about this with the budget agencies and and everyone involved to make sure that it's good Bill.

That's the one thing you pass a bill and there's a lot of unintended consequences and that was the path we were going down.

So on our side we just killed it.

>> Well, they're certainly beginning hack bills that are that are gaining attention and one of them which has been with us for a while was statistics to support is SB one and you're both involved in different efforts within education.

But both chambers also moving 10 to one is a workforce bill which also ties to the classroom and encourages additional literacy activity.

>> SB one also passing yesterday Tyler and this is all about something we've heard called the I read three so you can define that one too as we go into what the bill is attempting to do.

Yeah, we've clearly identified that we have a problem as kids move through school and we really haven't found the solution with a bunch of different movements over the last few years.

We passed some legislation to change how we teach reading a little bit but we really I don't think we found the solution there.

And so looking at the statistics and where kids learn to read it's early.

So you're talking kindergarten first second grade and so we want to identify that as early as possible.

I think the best thing of that Bill is we're going to start looking earlier and earlier at the reading skills and education of kids and make sure that when they're moving through school they've actually learned how to read because it's really hard to do everything else in school if you haven't gotten to that point and this is something to where we're trying to not hold back those that have passed move forward.

But I think one of the challenges in all the legislation is how to help those who have had those challenges with the test and get to this point some have moved on without getting that corrected.

And David, what's your sense of these things now?

>> Well, I think my sense is that we are communicating we're we are really vetting this and I think when it's all said and done, you know, a month from now or a month and a half from now, I think we'll have a good bill and some hopeful funding.

I think it was the new secretary of education or super state superintendent of schools had said that there could funds found to at least help with the science of reading and get some of this activity started perhaps even even in the summer.

>> The dollars are there so in a short session that's a good thing.

Nothing necessarily is opened up and that point is would that be fair to say where we can just appropriate the dollars inside that agency that exist without going over the OK.

Speaking of dollars in education, another opportunities bill that is moving to the Senate for consideration carries Representative Haney's imprimatur.

And I'd like to have you share what is transition to teaching the scholarship program that you brought forward.

>> Well, thank you.

A year ago we had a bill that passed and it was really developed by Maryland.

His song Superintendent of State and County Schools who by the way was also the superintendent of the year.

So we're very proud of her.

But we had a transition to teaching program where if you have a four year degree you can apply and get a ten thousand dollar scholarship if you remain in teaching for five years.

So one thing happened we put a million dollar cap on that.

That meant a hundred teachers throughout the state and when people applied for that there were 300 people applied in 15 minutes and I was told by Department of Education over a thousand people applied.

You know, these are people that that want to be teachers.

You know, they've got a four year degree in something else.

So you know, they have the passion for teaching.

So what we did this year we we have some dollars in the next generation Hoosier scholarship fund we have we think about three point two million dollars will be available.

So what we did we expanded that.

So this next year will be able to have roughly three hundred and twenty teachers around the state.

So it's really exciting and kind of I wish it was my idea but it wouldn't if we just got it through and hopefully Tyler is going to be carrying it over on the Senate side so we'll get that through.

>> Tyler, the serendipity is not lost on me.

I'm like oh, I need to ask him about this because Tyler Johnson is the Senate sponsor.

>> Yeah.

state representative.

So pretty proud to carry a bill from him on the Senate side.

This is a great concept getting people that want to go kids into the education system and fill a hole a gap that we have is pretty pretty cool thing and to help people get there is a is a good way to do it.

And so I think what we're doing here it no promises but it should be something that our Senate takes up pretty well.

>> So the we are talking this evening with State Representtive Dave Hynie and state Senator Dr. Tyler Johnson here on prime time.

We're live in studio if you'd like to call and join us with a question or comment as Kim did sharing a thought offlin, wondering if there will be any proposals for early childhood education programs for reading before kids at her school.

Yeah.

So last year we threw the libraries and the Dolly Parton program.

We did start sending kids books and you can sign up for that.

And so it is kind of a good program we did last year during a budget session where also child care was a big part of this year but we don't have any specific reading programs before kids are in school other than that that I'm aware of right now.

But but it's a good idea and we always encourage parents to start their kids reading early at home and and find places where they can do that.

But there's nothing specific that I'm aware of right now if I might add a program like that's going to take dollars and so we have a biannual budget.

So anything that has to do with a new program, new dollars, we need to do that during the budget year.

And I you know, I've heard some ideas on that.

That's not going to be something that you know, one of our education people will probably draft a bill on that.

But there are rumors that that's going to happen, you know, for early childhood education to child care which connects in so many dimensions, not the least of which to economic development as well as educational attainment.

You're both involved with several pieces of legislation on how to facilitate the additional staffing needed among other things to fill in or address the need for child care workers.

>> Dave, talk a little bit about 11 to if you're scoring at home which is known as a child care bill and what it's attempting to accomplish.

>> Well, when you start out with the bill you try to get 100 percent participation from 100 percent of the votes and we got 75 the other day so it passed in.

>> We're sending it over to the Senate side but all the bill all we were trying to do is ome common sense common sene reductions in some of the regulations that we have in child care.

All we are trying to do and you ould think that we o kill children and basically what we're looking at is unlicensed child care facilities that today or current law today in those facilities can you know, it's fear the mother down the street that just wants wants to take care of children.

Well, some of the regulations were just you can only watch five children.

You can only watch them four hours a day maximum.

So kids that would get on the school bus at the beginning of the day, you know, you couldn't have four or five, six children coming just for , you know, 15, 20 minutes and then get on the school bus and then get off on the school bus at the end of the day that's that's illegal.

So what we did is just some common sense reductions in regulations to make that possible and we got 75 votes and so we're sending it over to the Senate side and Tyler's going to be a sponsor on that one to sisso right here.

>> But what is it that attracted you to this proposal ?

I mean we really do need to strike a balance in this space where we've put too much regulation on the base to where people are actually getting out and it's expensive as it is.

So we really do need to find that balance where kids are safe and protected and there's a good environment for them to be watched or some of these places are actually really advanced child care facilities where they're learning and doing early childhood education and some are actually in school buildings.

So we're looking at all these different areas where we can actually have child care and it really we spent a bunch of time this summer talking about this in our Health Summer Study Committee which is Senator Charboneau, our chairman spent a lot of time walking us through that and hearing from folks and it really does become workforce development and economic development if you need to grow jobs you can't do that if people have somebody to watch their kids or they don't have somebody to watch their kids.

>> You know, I might add, you know, some of our school districts around the state may have child care facilities inside the school and one of the things that this bill did is right now it's just for teachers, you know, child care for the teachers that work at the school.

>> All this bill does anyone that's contracted with the school district i.e.

food service people that do lunch programs there at the school, they can bring their children into that child care facility so that way we can have workers can make it convenient.

They can bring their kids have the kids being watched with the teachers kids whether they're performing their services for the school.

So it's all common sense reductions in in just reductions in regulations for people who are following this closely because they are the ones hoping to find supply with the tremendous demand on the back side of this session s legislation moves this passes as this example goes, how soon can then structures be adapted to to accommodate and be able to, you know, be able to deploy more workers out in the field?

Well, that will depend on the situation but it'll be effective July one that they can you know, as soon as a bill gets signed by the governor, everybody will have an idea how they can take advantage of it in their in their particular situation.

And of course the bill too is doing its work on the child care side and I believe that one is now moving across the whole it is and the two are they they kind of tackled in a different way so they go hand in hand but they're actually to kind of separate bills in that space and it'll take some time for things to get implemented with Senate Bill two because there are some regulation and deregulation there that will have to go through some of the agencies and rules but it should have a good effect down the road here.

One of the things we touched on the top of the program is is one that is a bill you coauthored Tyler and along with others from our region including Senators Bush, Dorio and Brown and that is the Community Cares initiative grant pilot Program.

>> We're making health mobile talk about that.

Yeah, this is a rather new concept in medicine that's actually an old concept.

You actually send people out to take care of people take care of them where they're at and try to get them the best health care they can there.

Keep them out of the hospital if we can.

That's the most expensive setting you can take care of somebody in.

But they need to be there.

They need to be there and so we've had paramedics and programs and a lot of different things like that for a long time in health care but allowing some of these initiatives to kind of coordinate care and catch people in illness early will really help save health care dollars down the road.

>> And the other medical piece which is a priority bill is one that has not had a lot of discussion necessarily but we know it's out there and that is led waterline replacement and lead remediation.

>> The time has come.

It has and we're doing a lot of stuff in this space already.

This bill really just helped us accelerate what's already happening and allowing lead lines that are in Indiana even some cities still have lead lines or at least some lead there and so allowing utilities and and companies to come in and accelerate the process that's really it that Bill does.

>> So we're not sitting for another ten years to have those removed.

Right as you're watching and we're updating to see what Bill is going where next and we're heading into the second half of the session.

What legislation are you finding interest in for yourself whether from your own hand or from those of your colleagues?

>> Yeah, so we're heading into halftime here.

We have a lot of real interesting bills coming over from the House and we're going to send some real good legislation to them and so we'll take a hard look at a lot of bills.

I think there's some bills around insurance and how we pay for things that I'll be taking a deep look at that health care space especially in the ambulance realm and making sure people have coverage when they think they have coverage.

And so that's kind of the thing that's that are top of mind right now.

>> They've but for me it's child care.

We have the Senate bill and then our bill in the House.

I think we really have a great opportunity to to take some of the regulations off.

You know, right now we have five five hundred thousand children that need child care in the state of Indiana and we only have seats for two hundred and six thousand people.

So forty one percent capacity that is wrong and we have a real opportunity right now and it's high on everybody's list and when it's high on everybody's priority list that's when you need to get across the finish line.

So be spending a lot of time second half making sure that we can get closer to that five hundred thousand goal because very important these are kids that are going to take over for you here, speed them up a little bit but we need to make sure that everybody in the care of yeah.

>> it was something too that feels like it has more momentum in this session is Tenno two which is a bill passed earlier in the session you were& coauthor of it the idea of defining antisemitism, specifying the public policy at the state is to provide educational opportunities, free religious discrimination.

This came from the House before last year and didn't make it over the finish line.

Let me ask your prospects what your sense is and then also the senators I sense that will pass the finish line this year because we've talked about that all summer that we passed it last year and it didn't pass the Senate side.

>> So you know, as you can see here, we work together and I'm not sure what happened last year exactly but we work together so I feel very confident that that will pass the Senate this year.

>> Yeah.

And it's an interesting concept to put it into a definition and I think it's doing that's the right thing.

I think the finding of how we do it more than what we do is the the question at this point.

And so I think that's something we'll take up real early on our side in the second half and take a deep dove into and I think from my perspective hopefully we can get something done there in the time we have available.

I recall there was discussion of putting the focus on not just U.S. Thirty East West but U.S. thirty one north south and I understand that there is certainly legislative interest if not state government interest and from November to now here in February, what is your your sense of whether this particular with football ball has advanced down the field in anymore or not that I'm sure a lot of folks can catch the vision anyhow, I'll take it first just to say that my representatives worked really hard on this a long time before I got into office so I just want to say that people don't always see the work that goes on from a legislator but now where I sit I see it and so he needs some accolades for the work he's put into it so far.

>> Well, twenty eighteen and just looking at my notes the last time I went in to talk to the commissioner Venditte Twenty eighteen Commissioner Vinda told me that thirty would never be a free way and here we are today and thirty is going to be a free way.

But what we've done with with the help of everyone what we've done is got the businesses behind it and you know we just need to get a commitment and I'm going to just tell the viewers right now, you know, we have a governor's race coming up and there's five governor candidates I believe maybe more now.

But we need to make sure that whoever you see you know, if somebody comes to Fort Wayne and makes a speech it's running for governor.

You need to ask them what their view of us 30 turning into a freeway and get their commitment because you know, Governor Holcomb will be gone a year from now and we need to make sure that the new governor is behind us thirty becoming a reeway because let me tell you inflation used to cost twenty million to build an interchange.

Now it's costing sixty million.

So the money you know that we have available for this you know everyone in the states know, to do road work in their area and we need to make sure those dollars are funneled up here so we can have U.S. thirty be a free wage so important to the economic development of northern Indiana.

>> Lots of things traveling in the road for success.

The road to bring us together and of course there are lots of upsides to having that completed and to to to see it build and so forth in the final minute we have any other aspiration for the second half.

>> Yeah, I think we're going to work pretty hard in the health care space for sure but it's always interesting the second half to see the House bills as they come over and what's going to get taken up and you know we slim the bills down quite a bit and then we slow them down even more so that we can focus on certain things.

>> So that'll be interesting here in my second session and your final thirty seconds I will just tell everyone that we work together yea north northeast Indiana legislators on both sides and side house side we get together for breakfast every Wednesday morning and we talk to each other about every bill not just what we have going on.

How is it going to benefit northeast Indiana and we try to get everybody to advocate for tht because you know everybody sits on different committees and we have a good representing nation and we can influence a lot of votes.

>> So that's what we try to do.

We'll continue to share that work with you every Friday night at seven thirty here on prime time with us tonight 14th District Republican State Senator Dr. Tyler Johnson.

Eighty Fifth District Republican State Representative Dave Hynie.

>> Gentlemen, thank you.

Thanks very much.

Thank you.

Thank you for watching.

For all of us with prime time, I'm Bruce .

>> Take care and we'll see you next week.

Good luck The Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana.

Advocates for a world class infrastructure, a competitive business climate, 21st century talent and rural investment.

One region, one voice.

NEINAdvocates.com.