House Bill 1001, which would restrict certain businesses’ ability to have a vaccine/testing requirement, now moves to the Senate after passing the House 58-35 on last week. Those opposed were a combination of (primarily) Democrats and (select) Republicans believing this was a bad idea for public health and/or an intrusion on businesses coupled with another group of select Republicans who thought this measure didn’t go far enough in protecting individual freedoms. See the Chamber’s updated fact sheet on HB 1001.
What’s interesting to note is that the key driver behind this bill was learning of health care workers who were concerned about being terminated for not being vaccinated. But while the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement for employers with 100 or more employees, the Court maintained the mandate for health care workers. So that would supersede whatever state law is made on this matter and those health care employees who prompted this legislation cannot be aided by this bill. That begs the question why it would even make sense to move forward with the related provisions at the state level.
The Indiana Chamber doesn’t think it does. As a reminder, the Senate measure (SB 3) only contains the portions of HB 1001 involving the Governor’s emergency orders. That is something we support and will continue to advocate for that to be the approach the Senate passes.
Kevin Brinegar is President and CEO of the Indiana Chamber and has been with the organization for nearly 30 years.
