SB4 2nd reading update

SB4 went for second reading today. This means that the bill has passed through a committee and was open for amendments from any member of the House of Representatives.

There were 29 different amendments filed on the bill and remarkably 10 of them were “called down” by their author.

Despite the FLURRY of activity, the bill is still the dangerous foundation for centralized public health and an ever-bloating budget. More on this below…

SB4 will be voted on Monday.

☎️🚨☎️🚨☎️🚨☎️

Call your State Rep and tell them:

“Speak out publicly against SB4. VOTE NO. It is too controversial."

💬Need help finding their info? Text 260-286-0988 the word: FIND

What does it mean to “call an amendment down.” A member of the House can file amendments but that doesn’t mean that they will be heard. The author must be willing to “call it down” and present it.
Often, government happens behind closed doors.
 
The Republicans rally together to where they wheel and deal, begging leadership for permission to call their amendments. I have heard that this often includes a lot of yelling, berating, and bullying.

THIS IS NOT HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. – I will save this soapbox for another day.

Despite the amendments made today, the bill is laying the foundation for centralized public health, is haphazardly increasing spending, requires counties to “opt-in” to funding prior to understanding the terms and conditions, and, worst of all, it is doing this without any guarantee that the health of Hoosiers will improve.

The United States spends more on “health care” than other 1st world countries and yet has the worst health outcomes.

Clearly, spending large amounts of money is not working.

Yet the unelected “Governor’s Public Health Commission” has determined that was the best plan and now our elect are going along with it.

For the actual amendments, I am going to cover the "highlights":

Amendments 22 - These amendments were lumped together with amendment #23 when presented.

1. Added that counties could stop funding at any time.
   1. This amendment makes you feel good about a change, but in reality, it doesn’t protect you from tyranny and a bigger government.
   2. Requires direct action by the county elected to stop funding. How likely is that?
   3. There was a better option. Amendment 9 was authored by Rep. Cash. When I asked Rep Cash why she didn’t call the amendment, she reported that she felt the “opt-out anytime” was a better option. She cited that the county commissioners told her they wanted the opt-out at any time. The way the bill stands, once your county council votes yes, there is no further required vote. Your county is perpetually enrolled unless the county fails to file a financial report or your county takes action to “opt-out.” You decide the better option.
      1. Amendment 9 would have:
         1. Required a vote by the county council every 2 years to accept funding- Limited the length of time that your county could participate without getting feedback from constituents.
         2. Ensured the public knew the rules and metrics the county was agreeing to PRIOR to the vote. This would have allowed citizens to have input on what their elected choose. (ACCOUNTABILITY!!!)
         3. Defined a clear opt-out process for between the 2-year voting periods.
2. The amendment added “De-identified aggregate data.” The counties are responsible for reporting on the core public health services.
   1. This amendment removes identifiers from that report.
   2. Again, feels good, and changes nothing. This is simply on the new reports required for funding. Not the vaccine registry, not contact tracing, or any other number of data collectors.
   3. Simply put, the tyranny of centralized public health just means that the state does not need this information. They can use the county to target the locals rather than doing it themselves. Given the right opportunity, the county health department can be weaponized to target certain populations effectively. (Maybe the unvaccinated?!?!)
3. Changed “research institution” to “institution of higher education.”
   • You really need to ask yourself why it is important to change this. The section of the bill this changes refers to the grants given by the county to assist in meeting “core public health services.”
     
   • For example, IU, is an “institution of higher education.” Now your county can give a grant to IU to achieve core public health service.
   • Could there be a conflict of interest? Is there any accountability to the citizens? How well will these projects be managed by the county?
4. Amendment #23 looks confusing, but it just made sure that the few city health departments that exist would be treated equally as the county health departments.
   

Amendment 2- Growth of big government and the abilities of their contractors. Increase in administrative services and your taxes…

Amendment 3- “Prioritized current operation care providing entities.” Meaning that the counties should prioritize the established facilities and care teams that they have rather than creating new programs. This is merely a nice label and pretty words. It really changes nothing. How do you measure this or enforce this?

The amendment is just to make you feel good, not actually do anything.

Amendment 11- This amendment requires the health department (only) to give information on: CHIRP- Children & Hoosier Immunization Registry and how to opt-out. VAERS- Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, VICP- Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, and CICP- Counter Measure Injury Compensation Program.

1. In my opinion, this was a means for Leadership to appease Rep Cash and make her feel like part of the team.  She opted for this amendment rather than some of the other hard-hitting amendments that could have moved medical liberty forward.

 
Some will suggest that making compromises and building friendships with other members of the house will help “get things done.” I don’t know about you but watching things move with abortion and constitutional carry shows me that I don’t want to do things the “friendship way.”
 
We watched as leadership plows through controversial bills that destroy personal liberty and support big business, but when it comes to protecting the constituents who elect them, it “takes time.” That time, often means a decade or more.
 
WE DON’T HAVE THAT LUXURY.

1. The strongest point of this amendment is that parents will now be informed at the local health department that their children are being added to a registry. But it doesn’t prevent them from being added without consent.  
   

When my kids were getting vaccines at the doctor’s office the informed consent process went like this. “Your child needs x, y, & z vaccines. The nurse will be in with them do you have any questions?” The nurse would come in with a tray, state what vaccines were to be given, fill out the vaccine card, and have me initial then administer.

I was never, NEVER told what the vaccine was for, why it was needed, what the side effects were, or what to do if an issue arises.  I was never given alternatives. When I did get information on side effects and what to do it was after my child was already a screaming mess. The information was via a handout that was never explained and handed to me in a pile of other papers that got lost in my diaper bag as I tried to console my screaming baby and check out…

Rep Cash had some really great amendments and yet this was the one she chose.

Is it a policy win? Technically, I guess. In the scheme of things this did not move the needle on medical liberty.

This is a good lesson for all of us in the difference between political respect and political relationships. More on this in a later blog.

Check out the other amazing amendments we requested for this bill. #7 & #12 Food labeling transparency. Amendments #14 & #15 creating Indiana VAERS. Unfortunately Reps Cash & Sweet did not feel comfortable calling these amendments.

Amendment 8- This was the last of the amendments that passed on SB4. It created a “Health Powers Review Task Force.” This amendment establishes a small group, appointed by Sen. Pro Temp Rod Bray & Speaker of the House Todd Houston (GOP gatekeepers), to investigate the abuse of power during the pandemic. This amendment does nothing to prevent it from happening again. 
Do we really need the commission to determine the overreach of power during COVID?
Hoosiers have been asking for limitation of power since 2020.
A commission isn’t ACTION.
 
AFTER, the commission makes it’s assessment the legislature will yet again have to be brave enough to take action and limit the power of the tyrannical Governor & his enforcers at the health department.
 
Again, I see this as an appeasement to get legislators who might want to do the right thing to “stay in line.”
 
As I was walking into the statehouse this morning I had an interesting conversation with a representative who told me that SB4 almost died in ways and means.
 
Ways and means has 24 members. THAT IS A CREDIBLE THREAT.
 
The representative went on to say,

There are a lot of legislators who won't speak publicly, but don't like the bill. They are concerned because 'this is exactly what we dealt with during COVID.' They may just kill it."

I told the legislator I was speaking with that the refusal to speak publicly is the problem.
Hoosiers are counting on those they elect to speak out for them.
 
Yet by their own admission they can't "speak out."
 
THIS HAS TO END.
 
Hoosiers deserve accurate representation.
Excuses are no longer good enough.

What would have happened if even 10 Representatives would have taken a bold stand to stop SB4?

Would it have made it through?
 
Political apathy and following leadership is exactly what got us in this mess.

Hoosiers you have to take a stand and make sure your Reps understand that you will not tolerate weak responses to serious issues. 
 
The primary election season will be upon us before we know it. Now is the time to start soul-searching and determining if you are being adequately represented.
 
Is your representative speaking out publicly about important issues?
 
Is it time to find a replacement to run for office?
 
We are going to talk more about our watchdogs program at our meeting Thursday April 20th 7pm. You can attend in person in Bloomington, Fort Wayne, or Mishawaka. You can also view the meeting through zoom.

The last amendment we are going to review is number 18. Rep Delaney withdrew the amendment meaning it was never taken to a vote. The amendment itself isn’t a big deal, but rather what was said during the conversation.

Rep. Brad Barrett, sponsor of the bill made some interesting comments when dismissing the proposed changes.

“We are trying to keep this bill as tight as possible right now.” He went on to state that behavioral health and other measures will be added in the future but for this year, they were limiting the list.

I want to point out that the requirements for public health departments are more than DOUBLE, increasing from around 11 statutory requirements to over 23 different requirements.

This is exactly what Dr. Paul Halverson said in the June 30th public health commission meeting. That the current requirements weren’t enough to force participation. Watch video #4 to hear the discussion for yourself.

As they expand the core public health services, will they make them required for all counties to force them into centralized public health?

To sum everything up, this bill lays the groundwork for centralized public health, creates a massive increase in spending without clear directions and the best the Indiana state legislature could do was slap lipstick on the pig. 

Hoosiers we will be fighting this for years to come, and it is unlikely that our citizens will see any health improvements.  

To sum everything up, this bill lays the groundwork for centralized public health, creates a massive increase in spending without clear directions and the best the Indiana state legislature could do was slap lipstick on the pig. 

Hoosiers we will be fighting this for years to come, and it is unlikely that our citizens will see any health improvements.  

Even though I would love to offer better news about SB4, we knew this was an uphill battle.
 
From the beginning, I said it was unlikely that we could stop this from passing through. 
 
Hoosiers, YOU have stepped up and started raising awareness in your counties. You took this information to your county commissioners, your county councils, and even your health boards.  I could not be prouder of the work you have done.
 
Make no mistake, because of your diligent work we have pushed this bill back farther than the establishment could have ever expected. 
 
The ONLY reason this was accomplished was because of YOUR RELENTLESS CALLS!
Your steadfast dedication to remaining informed and engaged.
 
I applaud you. 
 
I hope you have found our dedication to keeping you informed helpful. We truly strive to serve you, while not always perfect we feel that it is incredibly helpful.
 
Not only have we pushed this bill back and bought a little more time to fight sB4 we have also had a great session. Together, we killed VaxPass Lite and passed legislation protecting foster families from discrimination.
 
We look forward to continued growth and would appreciate your financial support.
 
Visit h4ml.org/membership and donate what you are able with a one-time donation. Or skip Starbucks once a month and support H4ML with a $10 monthly donation. If you can spare $25, $50, or even $100 per month, we would greatly appreciate your generosity.
 
Thank you!
 
In Liberty,
Ashley