Indiana’s 2026 legislative session may be short, but the list of bills is anything but dull—and few proposals turn heads quite like the one spelling out that police officers cannot use public funds to pay for or engage in sexual acts during prostitution investigations. Yes, that has to be written into law.
A wild mix at the Statehouse
This year’s General Assembly runs through early March, and legislators have already filed hundreds of bills. On the Senate side, the bill numbers run roughly from SB 6 through SB 175, and in the House from HB 1011 through around HB 1164, with many measures unlikely to pass but still revealing lawmakers’ priorities.
Among the most attention‑grabbing proposals are the new capital punishment execution methods: SB 11 would reauthorize the firing squad if lethal injection cannot be carried out or if the person being executed requests it, while a similar House bill (HB) 1119 adds nitrogen hypoxia as another option alongside the firing squad. These bills, backed by several Republican senators, would make Indiana one of the most expansive death penalty states in terms of methods.
Crime, policing and immigration
Crime and policing show up in unusual ways this session. Bills filed on both House and Senate sides would make it a Class D or C misdemeanor—and up to a Class A misdemeanor—for a masked person to commit disorderly conduct at a public assembly, part of a broader pair of anti‑masking proposals (HB1233, SB 73, SB 160). Another targets child gun possession, adjusting penalties around unlawful firearm possession by a child and firearm seizure training.
Immigration appears in multiple measures, including Senate Bill 76, which would require the Attorney General to defend law enforcement officers, government bodies, or colleges when they are sued over certain immigration‑related actions. A related bill, SB 122, would address “various immigration matters,” including protections for those wanting to avoid entanglement in federal immigration enforcement.
Child care, education and family life
If there is a clear thread in this session, it is the struggle over how Indiana supports families, especially around child care and schooling. Senate Bill 84 takes direct aim at the recent cuts to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers, requiring the state to fully fund every eligible applicant, bar waiting lists, and reimburse providers at specified rates—a change that could stabilize child care, which was hit hard in communities like Crawfordsville.
On the House side, HB 1026 would require money from the state’s Financial Responsibility and Opportunity Growth Fund to be used to support the CCDF and the On My Way Pre‑K program, again signaling bipartisan awareness that child care access is now an economic as well as a social issue. Another bill, HB 1106, keeps child care providers eligible for voucher payments until there is a final determination that their license or eligibility is not in good standing, easing the financial cliff that can destroy a center based on a temporary question or complaint.
Education debates do not stop with child care. One bill would add handwriting back into the elementary school curriculum, while others address kindergarten readiness indicators and the compulsory school attendance age. House Bill 1158 would fold “positive personal outcomes” into citizenship instruction, stressing getting a diploma, finding full‑time work, and “waiting until marriage to begin having children” as part of what schools should explicitly hold up as good life choices.
Health care, bodies and personal freedom
Lawmakers are also wrestling with how much control Hoosiers should have over their bodies, health information and end‑of‑life choices. On the privacy side, Senate Bill 109 would tighten confidentiality rules around pregnancy termination reports, aiming to protect patients from being identified.
At the other end of life, House Bill 1011 would allow terminally ill patients, under strict conditions, to seek medication from their doctors to voluntarily end their lives. Other measures tackle postpartum care for Medicaid patients—requiring follow‑up appointments within 60 days—expand coverage for doula services, and cap insulin prices.
There are also efforts to keep medical debt from wrecking people’s credit scores and to prohibit placing liens on homes solely for medical debt, acknowledging how many Hoosiers are caught between illness and insolvency.
Guns, housing, tech and the oddities
Gun policy shows up in several ways. One bill would make it a level 5 felony to possess a privately made firearm (like a 3‑D printed gun) and to alter or obliterate serial numbers on any firearm, reflecting concern about “ghost guns” and untraceable weapons. Another addresses safe storage of firearms, especially around children.
Renters get a modest boost in a bill that would bar landlords from selling a rental property under an unexpired lease unless they give tenants at least 60 days’ written notice before listing it (SB 127). A separate measure (SB 50) would prevent landlords from running hard credit inquiries for rental applications, giving tenants a bit more breathing room in tight housing markets. Other bills that increase renter’s rights include SB 104 and HB 1435.
Technology and the environment converge in data center bills that would regulate water‑hungry facilities by requiring a consumption permit from the Department of Natural Resources, and in multiple plug‑in solar proposals, which we wrote about last week.
There is even a bill that would exempt Indiana from observing daylight saving time again, reviving an old Hoosier argument about what the clock should say. Other eye‑catchers include: HB 1086, which would require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library, and a bill that adopts a model law recognizing Canadian domestic‑violence protection orders, making them enforceable here despite the border. There are also proposals on craft hemp, ticket resales and refunds, wake‑surfing restrictions and drone regulation.
The common thread through all of this is that these bills shape how Hoosiers live. Lawmakers will be voting on many of these measures before the end of February, and many will move, or die, without much public notice. Track the bills here: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills
Now is the moment to contact your senator and representative to say clearly what kind of Indiana you want them to build.
Beau Baird, Representative District 44.
317-232-9627
H44@iga.in.gov
Mark Genda, Representative District 41
317-232-9767
H41@iga.in.gov
Matt Commons, Representative District 13
317-232-9626
H13@iga.in.gov
Jeff Thompson, Representative District 28
317-232-9651
H28@iga.in.gov
Brian Buchanan, State Senator District 7
317-232-9400
S7@iga.in.gov
Spencer Deery, State Senator District 23
317-232-9400
S23@iga.in.gov