Gotta say, the aides answering phones are very friendly (even when I’m calling to say I’m opposed to two bills my state senator co-authored). 5 bills I just called my state representative and state senator about (and whether I was in support or opposed):

House Bill 1006 – Support. Criminalizes turning off a body cam (something I’ve said is necessary for body cams to have any effect; otherwise they’re just costume jewelry), and requires better employment history sharing between law enforcement agencies.

House Bill 1123 – Oppose. Restricts the governor’s emergency powers. Gov. Holcomb didn’t do enough to respond to the pandemic in 2020; limiting future responses to even less is a bad idea.

Senate Bill 141 – Oppose. Restricts the budget of IndyGo. My sense is that Indiana can’t get public transit the thrive because we keep strangling the budget at key moments; we need to set it up to succeed.

Senate Bill 168 – Oppose. This amounts to a state takeover of IMPD oversight. Local governments should control their local departments, (excepting consent decrees & civil rights interventions). If a Democratic state legislature tried this with a predominantly Republican city, the authors on this bill would lose their shit.

Senate Bill 222 – Support. Ends cash bail & indefinite detention for non-violent misdemeanors.