Bills to watch

S.B. 315, S.B. 327, H.B. 1151: Minimum wage.
Three state legislators, all Democrats, tried this session to raise the state’s minimum wage.

All three efforts failed.

The Indiana minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, in line with the federal limit. The proposals, made by Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond, Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, and Rep. John Bartlett, D-Indianapolis, would have raised the minimum wage by as much as $2.75.

Mrvan proposed raising the minimum wage to $10 gradually, Tallian proposed raising it to $10 immediately and Bartlett proposed raising it to $8.25.

The issue of minimum wage has been discussed across the country. In the past year, several states have increased their minimum wages, and President Barack Obama addressed the issue in his last two State of the Union addresses, calling for Congress to raise the wage.

“Congress needs to get on board,” Obama said in this year’s address. “Today, the federal minimum wage is worth about 20 percent less than it was when Ronald Reagan first stood here.”

Status: None of the bills made it out of committee before the deadline last week, so
the General Assembly will not consider them further this year.

Authors: Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond, Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, and Rep. John Bartlett, D-Indianapols.

S.B. 354: Hoosier women veterans program.
This bill would create a program to address the needs of female military veterans in Indiana.

A 2009 report from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs recorded 33,015 women veterans in Indiana.

The program’s goals will be to conduct outreach about available state and federal benefits and to make recommendations to the state Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure the needs of female veterans are met.

Status: The Senate approved the bill 48-0. It will move to the House of Representatives for consideration in the coming weeks.

Authors: Sen. Allen Paul, R-Richmond, and Sen. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake