HB 1090, HB 1160, SB 150, SB 226 / Chamber Supports
The first week of the second half of the 2024 legislative session got off to a flying start with four Chamber priority bills earning hearings. That’s always our goal for this time in the process – to have early hearings – in case something goes awry and needs a tune-up to ensure its passage.
Last Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard House Bill 1160, authored by Rep. Matt Lehman (R-Berne), on civil proceeding advance payment contracts and commercial litigation financing. The bill expands the third-party lawsuit lending statute to commercial litigants. Critically, HB 1160 precludes any foreign person (including foreign entities) from lending money to plaintiffs to pursue litigation against companies in Indiana, and it prohibits plaintiffs from sharing with a lender any proprietary information received during the course of litigation.
The Chamber joined other advocates to testify in support of the legislation. As expected, the chair of the committee, Sen. Liz Brown (R-Fort Wayne), held the bill for an amendment this week. We anticipate the amendment to narrow the definition of a “foreign person” and clarify what documents must remain shielded from lenders.
Last Tuesday, the Senate’s Homeland Security and Transportation Committee unanimously passed HB 1090, authored by Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie). As I’ve written before, HB 1090 will allow juries to hear whether the victim of a vehicle accident was wearing a seatbelt. There was significant debate among the committee members during the hearing as they ran through a series of hypothetical scenarios. Ultimately, I believe, it was Sen. John Crane (R-Avon) who persuaded the bunch; he analogized their committee to a jury and – to paraphrase – “as we decide how to vote on legislation, I think we should be entitled to evaluate all of the available information and vote based on what we hear.” So, in turn, the committee voted to allow juries to begin hearing critical evidence to mitigate damages, potentially, that has been inadmissible since Indiana’s seat belt laws were passed in the mid 1980s.
Two additional Chamber-supported bills in committee last week were Senate Bill 150, authored by Sen. Brown, on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and SB 226, authored by Sen. Mike Gaskill (R-Pendleton), regarding attorney fees. Senate Bill 150 was held by the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee to address technical aspects of the bill relating to state contracts. Senate Bill 226 was not only passed unanimously by the House Judiciary Committee but received an unexpected upgrade. Via a chairman’s amendment, Rep. Chris Jeter (R-Fishers) increased the reimbursement cap from $5,000 to $7,500 for a qualified settlement offer based on his legal practice experience. The Chamber agrees that this increase will help facilitate more earnest settlement negotiations.
