Senate Bill 74

We are so excited to announce that all the work we have been doing has started to pay off! Our bill has officially been filed and is set to be heard this session. Indiana Health Choice Coalition, Indiana For Medical Freedom and Hoosiers for Medical Liberty thank you all for your support.

You can find SB 74 here!

I have seen a few questions pop up and so I think it is important to go over the basics.

Indiana has it’s own Senate and House of Representatives where bills are heard and passed into Indiana state law once the Governor signs them. This is separate from the House and Senate in D.C. the bills that are heard there, become federal laws once signed by the President.

How a bill becomes a law… If you would rather listen to School house rock "I'm just a bill." it might be more entertaining. The same principles apply except it is on a state level.

1. Constituents bring an issue to a legislator.
2. Legislator drafts and authors the bill. (If you are lucky)
3. Bill is filed and assigned to a committee at the start of session. The chamber the author belongs to determines where it starts. If your author is in the Senate, it starts there. If your author is in the House, it starts there. Committee placement is determined by the leader of the chamber dependent on language.
4. The bill sits in committee and will either be heard or die. IF the bill gets a hearing, the committee will meet to discuss before a vote. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY! WE WILL BE ASKING FOR YOUR HELP!!
5. IF the bill passes through committee, it goes to the full chamber. THIS IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT TIME! TESTIMONIES WILL BE KEY! If the bill dies it can be sent to the other side but unlikely to pass.
6. Once the bill passes the first chamber it will then flip to the other and the process starts over again. A sponsor will be decided by the author and the bill will again be assigned to a committee by the leader of the chamber. The bill will either get a hearing or die. If bill passes committee then it goes to full chamber.
7. Once passed in both Senate and House the bill goes to the Governor to be signed and then you have a LAW!!!

Important info below!!!!

Everyone needs to understand that there will be multiple times where we will be asking for your help. This is very intentional and VERY IMPORTANT! As step 6 says, we repeat the same process, it might feel like we are being redundant, but we aren't I promise! There will be a whole new group of people that need to be encouraged to vote yes.

If we don't do the second part we risk FAILURE. We will be successful. We are armed with knowledge and some of the most passionate activists! We WILL be successful but we cannot do this without you.

The opportunities to testify might have short notice so early notification is important. This year that is even more of a concern than in previous years due to the speed at which they are moving through meetings as a result of C-19 restrictions. The best way to get notifications is to become a member of Hoosiers for Medical Liberty. As a member you can agree to text messages so we can send you direct and timely messages. 

**Learn more about testifying at our meeting Jan 7th!

If you cannot testify, we need you calling!

Even if you do not think you can make it for testimony, timely alerts are important. We still need you to call your legislators. It does not matter if you talk to a live person, leave a message! If you work strange hours call when you can, voicemail is there for a reason. YOUR VOICE MAKES A DIFFERENCE! If the legislative assistant has to listen to 50 voicemails by 8:00 am the day of hearing, we have done our jobs well!
(hint hint, that is an expectation!)

We will be counting on you to CALL encouraging a YES vote. The legislative assistants tally the calls and report to the legislators especially when a bill is getting a lot of calls. Strong supportive attention can push a legislator to vote “YES.”

Where are we now?!?

We are currently in step number 4 above. Our bill originated in the Senate and will be heard in committee. You are not guaranteed a hearing. As part of our preliminary footwork we have laid the groundwork to secure a hearing.  SB74 could be heard in committee as early as next week.

After it is heard and passed in committee it will go to the next full senate session. It could be the next day! After It passes in the senate it will move over to the House, be assigned a committee, and we start the process over again.

*Your primary role right now is to be sure to call YOUR senator and let them know how important SB74 is to you and your family.

Calls do not have to be lengthy, something simple will be just as effective as a lengthy message. “Hello (Assistant’s name) Would you please tell Senator ________ that I expect his/her support of SB 74. It is imperative to the financial and emotional well being of our family. Thank you!”

Feel free to add more info if you would like. If you want to hit a home run, then schedule a meeting with your Senator. It can be a zoom call or a telephone conference of 15 minutes. Say your pleasantries, discuss SB 74 and what it means to your family, how you have seen this as a threat to employment, and any discrimination or harassment you have received regarding the vaccine. Just remember, these are real people, with families and “day jobs” too, be kind yet firm on your stance.  **They also might have concerns that their government employer might mandate the vaccine.**

You can find your Senator here.

*Your secondary role in this is continuing to spread the petition, information about SB 74, and getting your friends to contact their Senators! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.

Send your friend a text. “Hey Lisa! Have you seen the info for SB 74, it protects employees from mandated COVID vaccine.” When they reply you send them another text with our website- hoosiersformedicalliberty.com where they can sign the petition. When they confirm tell them about this blog post, how important, and EASY it is to call your senator. Encourage them to pick up the phone today.

Congrats!  You just completed a crash course in activism during legislative season!  How does it feel?

If you are still feeling uneasy or just want to make sure you have all the details be sure to register for our meeting Thursday Jan 7th. Add contact@hoosiersformedicalliberty.com to your email contacts because that is where the invite will come from. Sometimes our emails end up in promotions or spam.  Keep us out of there please!!
 
Thank you again!