Andrade announces priorities for 2021 Legislative Session

INDIANAPOLIS — State Representative Mike Andrade (D-Munster) today released his legislative priorities. Andrade will continue to advocate for his community during his first term at the Indiana Statehouse.

Andrade will propose bills on a variety of issues including education, small businesses and the environment.

Education

Indiana has the worst salary growth rate in the nation for educators, a main concern Andrade has heard from many constituents.

“Increasing teacher pay is long past due,” Andrade said. “The COVID-19 pandemic only emphasized how essential our teachers are, and they deserve action and support from their state government.”

Small Businesses

Andrade, a freshman legislator, brings firsthand experience on the struggles small business owners endure. He wants to make sure the federal CARES Act funds are not taxed by the state.

“It’s like giving a child a dollar and then saying, ‘But actually, 50 cents of that is mine,’” Andrade said. “When we support small businesses, we need to be all in because they are the hub of our economy.”

Andrade is also working on providing relief to restaurants, a sector hit especially hard by the pandemic.

Environment

In 2019, Governor Eric Holcomb passed a bill that requires the Indiana State Department of Health to distribute a manual about how to test for radon gas in schools. Radon is a radioactive gas that is one of the leading causes of lung cancer in nonsmokers.

Andrade wants to take another step forward and actually require schools to test for radon, not just give them a manual.

“Change takes time and sometimes it takes multiple steps, but we must pull out all the stops when it comes to protecting our children,” Andrade said. “I came to the Statehouse to serve Hoosiers to the best of my ability because they deserve nothing less.”