There are a number of tech-related bills making their way through this year’s General Assembly as the session returns from its mid-term. Several of those bills – if passed – would have a significant impact on businesses and consumers.
Perhaps the technology measure garnering the most attention is Senate Bill 5, which deals with consumer data protection.
There is no federal law governing data privacy, and the issue has been a hot topic among state legislatures in recent years.
This isn’t the first time a consumer data protection bill made its way before Indiana state lawmakers, but there seems to be more momentum behind this bill than previous attempts. The bill’s author, Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, says she totally reworked the bill that she introduced in 2022. This year’s version is similar to the amended version of her bill that passed out of the Senate but stalled in the House last year. In February, Senate Bill 5 passed out of the Senate with bipartisan support, 49-0.
Among other things, the legislation would give Indiana residents the right to correct inaccuracies in their personal data, opt out of the processing of their personal data, ask for copies of the data or request that the data be deleted. The bill also outlines responsibilities for the parties that control that data. For instance, it requires controllers to obtain consumer consent before processing sensitive data, such as a person’s race, mental or physical health diagnosis, genetic data or precise geolocation data. The bill also sets forward parameters for how the purveyors of this data are to protect it and make sure it doesn’t get stolen or end up in the wrong hands.
Notably, Senate Bill 5 bill gives enforcement power to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, which means citizens can’t pursue litigation to resolve such matters on their own.
The Indiana Chamber has advocated for state lawmakers to strike a balance between consumer rights and businesses’ ability to use the data responsibly.
“This bill is a priority for the Indiana Chamber – and our members,” says Indiana Chamber CEO Kevin Brinegar. “We would really like to get this bill across the finish line so businesses know what the rules are going to be with some certainty.”
Senate Bill 1 deals with mental health legislation, but it has a direct impact on the tech sector – and every Hoosier with a cell phone – because of the funding mechanism being proposed within the bill.
Initially, a $1 surcharge on cell phone bills was floated to pay for the mental health initiatives outlined in SB 1. Chief among those initiatives is a 988 call center proposed by the Behavioral Health Commission Report. The 988 system is similar to the 911 system, except callers are not calling for police or fire service, but rather for mental health needs, including drug addiction and suicide issues.
“We and our members, including telecom providers, oppose that ($1 cell phone fee),” Brinegar explains. “What we’re proposing is … a $2 per pack increase in the cigarette tax and related increases on other tobacco and vaping products. That could fund both the behavioral and mental health recommendations and the new 988 system as well as the recommendations of the public health commission to strengthen the services and funding of local health departments throughout the state of Indiana.
“That would also have the added benefit of driving down the smoking rate (in Indiana) which is one of the highest in the country,” Brinegar adds. “The state’s cigarette tax rate is the lowest of the surrounding states and one of the lowest in the Midwest. Our smoking rate is 50% higher than the national average. That’s where we hope this is headed. We’re hearing some favorable discussions on that on the Senate side, but we’ll have to see how that plays out in the second half of the session.”
The 24-member Behavioral Health Commission, which is part of the state’s Family and Social Service’s Administration, found in its two-year study that one in five people in Indiana experiences mental illness, with around 20% going untreated. That’s led to an annual estimated cost of $4.2 billion in untreated mental illness.
Senate Bill 271 is another one getting a fair bit of attention. The bill aims to increase the funding for certified technology parks (CTPs) from $100,000 to $500,000 annually.
CTPs were established by state statute – and are regulated by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation – to encourage and foster growth among start-up companies and entrepreneurs, especially those in the tech sector.
A bill that would divert some $6 million in state and local tax revenue annually to CTPs has passed the Senate and is headed to the House, where similar legislation died two years ago.
Senate Bill 271, authored by Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon, could help Indiana’s 22 active tech parks keep more of the sales and income taxes generated by the businesses within them. The money could be used to administer or expand the parks and their infrastructure, recruit additional companies or provide services to existing businesses.
Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, chair of the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, signed on as the bill’s co-author, a move that strengthens its chance of final passage.
The Senate voted unanimously to advance SB 271 to the House. But its prospects there are less certain.
The original state law that established CTPs capped the total sales and income tax revenue a tech park could collect at $5 million. Of the 22 active CTPs, 18 have hit the $5 million cap, according to an analysis by the Legislative Services Agency.
So, in 2020, lawmakers passed a bill allowing parks to capture up to $100,000 a year in additional state and local income tax revenue after they reached their $5 million cap.
House Bill 1167 hasn’t gotten as much attention, but perhaps it should. It relates to people’s access to their government and the business those government entities conduct.
House Bill 1167 requires governing bodies of state and local agencies, excluding a state supported college or university, but including school boards, to provide, on a publicly accessible platform: live transmissions of public meetings; and an archive of copies of the live transmissions with links to any meeting agendas, minutes or memoranda.
The bill states that if a governing body does not have Internet capability for live transmission of public meetings, the governing body must record the meetings, adding that transmissions and recordings of public meetings may be destroyed after 90 days.
The bill, which passed out of the House on February 14 by an 86-9 vote, has bipartisan support. Still, it doesn’t appear to have as much momentum in the Senate.
“Hoosiers deserve to know what their government is doing with their tax dollars,” says Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, the bill’s author. “Not everyone has the ability to attend public meetings in person, so having the ability to watch online anytime provides a higher level of transparency, and that also boosts accountability.”
If passed into law, smaller government entities would have until July 2024 to comply.
For questions on these or any other legislation with technology or economic development implications, please feel free to reach out to me at aberry@indianachamber.com.
