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Request a DemoGovernor signs bill targeting prison-to-homelessness ‘pipeline’ in Indianapolis
A bill designed to address a prison-to-homelessness “pipeline” in Indianapolis was signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb last Thursday.
House Bill 1087 will restrict the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) from dropping off formerly incarcerated people from other communities directly into Indianapolis’ homeless shelters — a practice that had drawn concerns from city leaders as resources grew thin for the capitol’s homeless population.
The signing caps a monthslong process detailed by State Affairs during the legislative session.
What’s happening
Prior to the bill, the IDOC could release a formerly incarcerated person into any requested community even if it wasn't the person's former home.
Some who did not have a place to go would request to be dropped off in Marion County, where there are a greater number of resources for people who are homeless.
But Rep. Justin Moed, D-Indianapolis, carried the bill to require the IDOC to release people into their home communities in most circumstances. They can be taken to other communities if they have been accepted into a reentry program and have either a job or housing lined up. Judges can also order someone to be released in another community for something like home detention or probation.
“We want to try to avoid this transportation of folks creating a pipeline from prison to homelessness,” Moed told a House committee in February. “We just want to work toward a goal of being thoughtful in how folks are coming out of the system, and where they’re going, to make sure they end up in the right place and head in the right direction.”
Why it matters
Nearly 3,400 people were released from Department of Correction custody into homeless shelters from 2018 to 2021, according to data provided to a state task force examining homelessness. Marion County saw a total of 993 people during the four-year period, or an average of 248 people per year.
It is unclear how many people were initially slated for shelter placement but then later found alternative housing arrangements. It is also unclear how many were released into homeless shelters located outside of a person’s home county.
But the releases started coming at a time of stretched resources in Indianapolis.
The annual count for Marion County’s homeless population reached 1,761 last year, according to the nonprofit Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention. The number is 12% higher than the pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019.
The addition of people who aren’t from the area — and who, therefore, lack the family, housing or financial support to reintegrate into the community — contributes to the problems created by growing homelessness, said the Rev. David W. Greene Sr., who serves as a leader in the Indianapolis Continuum of Care, a group of organizations and people working to reduce homelessness.
“That creates a greater burden on our homeless system here in Indianapolis when we really are struggling to keep up,” Greene told State Affairs in February. “It’s been going on for years.”
What’s next
After passing through the House this session, the Senate added a minor amendment to make the bill less burdensome on the IDOC. The House accepted the changes and sent it to Holcomb’s desk.
His signing means the law will take effect in July.
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Header image: House Bill 1087 aims to address a prison-to-homelessness “pipeline,” according to Rep. Justin Moed, D-Indianapolis. (Credit: Brittany Phan for State Affairs)
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3 takeaways from Wednesday’s gubernatorial debate
Three Republicans vying to be the state’s next governor ramped up attacks on the gubernatorial front-runner, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, during a televised Wednesday debate.
Five of the six Republican candidates — Braun, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, former Commerce Secretary Brad Chambers, Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden and former Attorney General Curtis Hill — qualified for the debate, hosted by WISH-TV. Jamie Reitenour was the lone GOP candidate to be excluded from the event. Her campaign said she was disqualified for not meeting a $300,000 fundraising stipulation by December.
Here are three takeaways from the face-off.
Attacks on Braun increase
Braun, who touts a large lead in recent polls and former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, was the subject of many pointed attacks from Chambers, Doden and Hill. Crouch, however, mostly abstained from criticizing Braun directly during the debate.
Hill lambasted Braun for the latter’s claim of being a political “outsider,” saying the senator has “been in the system long enough.” Chambers similarly lobbied skepticism of Braun’s claim, arguing that a candidate who has been on the ballot as often as Braun couldn’t hold the title. Braun, a state lawmaker from 2014 to 2017 and a U.S. senator since 2019, said he still considered himself a political outsider, choosing to define the term by “what you have done for most of your life.” He added that the “ultimate outsider” had endorsed him.
In addition, Chambers ribbed Braun for his record on his taxes, claiming the senator “touched 45 tax increases” during his time in the Indiana General Assembly. Doden again questioned Braun’s stances on qualified immunity and Black Lives Matter.
Immigration
The candidates’ pursuit of Braun continued throughout the night, especially when discussing the nation’s southern border and their stances on migrants.
“Sen. Braun used the word[s] ‘lie’ and ‘distort.’ I think that’s applicable to his role on the border,” Chambers said. “There’s 7 million people that have come in on his watch. … So he’s done literally nothing to stop the flow of illegal aliens over our border.”
Braun blamed President Joe Biden’s administration for what he believes are its failures at the border. All of the other candidates expressed similar sentiments but also blamed Congress.
“President Biden needs to do his job. Congress needs to do their job, and that includes Sen. Mike Braun,” Doden said. Doden’s policy proposals on the matter include stricter sentences for drug dealers and more resources for people with addictions.
Hill said Hoosiers sent Braun to find solutions to a range of issues, including immigration. “I don’t want to hear blame — ‘it’s the Democrats; we couldn’t get that done,’” the former attorney general said. Hill also said Gov. Eric Holcomb “relented” to his calls to send Indiana’s National Guard to the southern border days after he suggested it.
Blaming “illegal immigrants” for “bringing deadly fentanyl into our communities,” Crouch said she would send them to sanctuary cities outside of Indiana.
Chambers claimed migrants are “taking jobs away from Hoosiers” and suggested they are causing increased crime. He, like all of the other candidates, committed to maintaining a Hoosier presence at the southern border.
Braun said his opponents “need to get Government 101 down” and shifted blame to the Democratic Senate. He added that it was “easy” for the other candidates to suggest immigration policies when they “had never been in the position of doing it.”
Education
The candidates also addressed their thoughts on education, with some showing slight differences from Republican state lawmakers over policy priorities.
Asked whether they supported the recently passed Senate Enrolled Act 1, which could see some third graders who are not reading on grade level held back, only Crouch and Chambers raised their hands.
Chambers, echoing Republican state lawmakers, said it is unacceptable for third graders to not have learned to read. He suggested the state spend less money on building costs and put more money into teachers’ salaries.
Crouch envisioned consolidating several state agencies that deal with education topics into one overarching agency, passing the estimated savings on to classrooms.
Braun wanted “more choice, more competition and something completely different.” However, he did not specify why he disagreed with the new law.
Hill said the state should weigh students’ needs individually rather than enforcing a “one size fits all” approach. “We need to provide individual assessments to make sure we are doing the right thing by these children,” he said. He also suggested the state “shrink the size” of the Indiana Department of Education.
Doden proposed a teacher investment program to address Indiana’s “teacher shortage.” The program, he said, would attract more teachers to the profession by ensuring they do not pay property and income taxes.
Regarding higher education, Hill said too many students are enrolling in college for a “worthless” degree. All of the candidates praised work-force development efforts — apprenticeships, internships, military programs, vocational programs — and said they would be key to improving Hoosiers’ outcomes.
“Higher [education] has stigmatized those pathways,” Braun claimed. “Our guidance counselors won’t mention them.”
Wednesday’s debate followed another televised debate hosted by Fox59/CBS4 on Tuesday, when four of the candidates — Braun, Chambers, Crouch and Doden — debated time zones, embryos and leadership styles (Hill and Reitenour did not qualify). They also graded Gov. Eric Holcomb’s tenure. Holcomb has yet to endorse any of the candidates, saying he awaits more policy specifics from their campaigns.
Previously, all of the candidates sparred at a March 19 business forum and a March 11 debate hosted by Current Publishing at the Palladium in Carmel.
Each of the candidates has been invited to participate in the Indiana Debate Commission’s April 23 debate, the last before the state’s May 7 primary. The winner of the Republican primary will face Democratic candidate Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater in the November general election.
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Statehouse memorial service for Sen. Breaux set for next week
Memorial services for the late state Sen. Jean Breaux will include a public program at the Statehouse Rotunda next week.
Breaux, who died March 20 at the age of 65, will be honored with a public viewing in the Rotunda set for 4-7 p.m. April 5, the Senate Democratic Caucus announced Wednesday. An official memorial program is planned for 5 p.m.
A Celebration of Life for Breaux is scheduled for 11 a.m. April 6 at Mount Carmel Baptist Church, 9610 E. 42nd St. in Indianapolis. Viewing is planned for 9-11 a.m. at the church.
Breaux, a Democrat, had represented District 34, which covers much of northeast Indianapolis, since 2006 and was the Senate’s assistant minority leader from 2012 until 2020.
She was absent from the entire 2024 legislative session because of health problems.
Breaux died two days after releasing a statement saying she planned “to focus on enjoying the time I have left surrounded by my loved ones.”
“I want to express my sincerest gratitude to everyone who has reached out, to my Statehouse colleagues and team, and to the community I have been so incredibly grateful to represent for nearly two decades,” Breaux said in the statement.
Breaux’s family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the National Kidney Foundation in her memory.
Tom Davies is a Statehouse reporter for State Affairs Pro Indiana. Reach him at [email protected] or on X at @TomDaviesIND.
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