Rep. Dave Hall, R-Norman, was the House sponsor for Senate Joint Resolution 21 — an application for a convention to propose constitutional amendments. He is shown on the House floor in January 2025. (Indiana House Republicans)
Indiana on Monday became the 11th state to issue an identical call for a convention to amend congressional term limits into the United States Constitution — after five years of attempts.
Meanwhile, a separate resolution supporting pregnancy centers drew emotional testimony. The House also concurred with Senate changes to a gun records measure as an inter-chamber debate over carbon dioxide funds continues.
“For too long, career politicians in D.C. have remained in office for decades, prioritizing re-election over results,” Rep. Dave Hall, R-Norman, told colleagues from the House floor.
He was the House sponsor for Senate Joint Resolution 21, which representatives approved on a 66-30 vote. About a dozen members of each party defected during the vote, with some Republicans opposing the joint resolution and some Democrats voting in support. The measure doesn’t need the governor’s signature.
Indiana call to amend congressional term limits into Constitution gains ground
The joint resolution is an application for a convention to propose amendments under Article V of the Constitution. It uses language from U.S. Term Limits, an organization that in 2016 launched a national campaign for identically worded applications focused exclusively on congressional term limits.
Ten other states have already signed on, according to USTL: Florida, Alabama, Missouri, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Dakota. Applications from 34 states are needed to trigger a convention, while 38 must ratify the changes resulting from a convention.
The USTL application specifies that the convention should be a “limited” one, just for amendments restricting the number of times U.S. House and Senate members can be elected to their posts. It describes how it should be aggregated only with same-subject applications and separately, sent to other state legislatures as an “invitation to join in this call.”
“As more states pass resolutions, Congress will be pressured to take action before the convention is convened,” Hall said. “The reality is, an Article V convention is highly unlikely, not because term limits lack support, but because Congress will never allow the process to be taken out of its hands.”
That hasn’t halted fears of a “runaway convention” among lawmakers — particularly in the Senate — and other stakeholders. Legal scholars differ on whether a convention can be limited to a single topic, or if such a meeting could risk existing freedoms codified in the Constitution.
House lawmakers aired other complaints Monday.
Rep. Chris Judy, R-Fort Wayne, opposed the joint resolution because “the real issue is the 17th Amendment,” which provided for the direct election of U.S. senators.
Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, argued voters already impose term limits via elections. He also implied it’s hypocritical to advance the resolution but not limit state-level tenure.
“I will not have to explain to my constituents why I’m not voting for term limits on myself when I’m voting on it for the congressional members. The rest of you can enjoy yourselves making that explanation,” DeLaney said.
Senators grapple with pregnancy centers
In the Senate, a legislative resolution recognizing pregnancy care centers drew heated discussion, with Republicans maintaining that such facilities fill critical care gaps for women “during the most precious time in their lives.”
Democrats, however, decried the controversial history surrounding the anti-abortion practices of some centers and questioned how the “unregulated entities” spend millions of taxpayer dollars received through the state budget.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 24 author Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, maintained that pregnancy care centers are staffed by volunteers that “help guide women in the direction … they need to go.” The measure advanced from the chamber 39-9 along party lines.
“We know we struggle with access to care. … We can’t produce enough OB-GYNs quick enough to fill the openings we have. So if we just let it go like this, people (won’t) have access to someone in the community that can give them practical advice about clothing and other things that they might need to be able to bring this baby to life,” Raatz said Monday. “We have hospitals in rural Indiana with no OGBYNs. Why not have an innocent individual stand alongside these women and help make decisions and connect them with resources?”
The concurrent resolution asserts that “the Indiana General Assembly strongly supports pregnancy care centers in their unique, positive contributions to the individual lives of women, men, and babies — both born and unborn.”
These non-medical entities go by many names, including: pregnancy care centers, crisis pregnancy centers and pregnancy resource centers.
Raatz’s measure claims there are more than 2,500 such centers nationwide, offering resources such as pregnancy tests, peer counseling, parenting classes, prenatal information, ultrasounds and referrals to other services. However, some centers have been criticized for misrepresenting themselves as medical facilities, despite offering little-to-no health services.
Minority Leader Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said the concurrent resolution goes further than thanking center volunteers.
The proposal includes an appeal to federal and state agencies to support the centers, which largely run on donations and volunteers, “in a manner that does not compromise the mission or religious integrity of these organizations.” It specifically mentions funding for medical equipment, such as ultrasound machines.
Yoder pointed to Real Alternatives, a state-funded anti-abortion organization, that currently gets $4 million per fiscal year from the Indiana budget, and last year used taxpayer dollars to hold a tailgate with liquor, beer and “ladies from Twin Peaks” restaurant.
And she noted the entities are not regulated, so they’re not subject to health care regulations.
“Hoosier moms and babies deserve better,” Yoder said Monday.
House also acts on gun expungements, punts on carbon dioxide
Legislation expunging red flag law records heads to Gov. Mike Braun’s desk after the House concurred with Senate changes.
Indiana’s red flag law allows police to temporarily remove firearms from people considered “dangerous.” Under House Bill 1137, records would be sealed and expunged if a court later decides someone isn’t dangerous, although law enforcement would maintain access.
But disagreement over where fees from carbon dioxide sequestration projects should go didn’t get resolved on Monday — and won’t until lawmakers strike a compromise in a separate bill.
Senate Bill 457 would exempt pipeline companies from needing to get certificates of authority in certain cases, create a permit for exploratory wells and well conversions; add inspection provisions; charge new fines for legal violations; and tweak other fee amounts. Originally, fines and fees would’ve gone to dedicated funds to defray state spending on project administration and monitoring.
But an amendment from Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, who leads the powerful Senate Appropriation Committee, would direct the money to the state’s General Fund instead. Edits undoing the changes were skipped in committee last week, while an amendment with a 50-50 compromise went uncalled on the floor Monday.
“All my time here, funds were created by the (governor’s) administration, so the Senate took the funds out. Now … the second floor says, ‘Oh, no, it belongs in statute,’” Rep. Ed Soliday told the Capital Chronicle, referring to the location of Braun’s office.
“But the choice in the bill is: who’s going to pay? Is it going to be the taxpayer or is it going to be the petitioner? And I think it should be the petitioner,” Soliday, the bill’s House sponsor, continued. “Why should you and I pay for it?”
He said the House would pass the Senate’s version, “and then we’ll sort this funds thing out in some other trailer (bill).” He hoped to avoid a conference committee “because that’s when mischief gets done.”
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