Garcia Wilburn files 2024 bills focused on healthcare, harm reduction and improving health services in schools

After concluding a productive freshman legislative session by authoring and co-authoring several new laws, State Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn (D-Fishers) has hit the ground running during her second legislative session by filing five pieces of legislation.

Three of Garcia Wilburn’s bills focus on improving harm reduction and substance use disorder recovery efforts around the state.

House Bill 1356 will expand Indiana’s Lifeline Law to include immunity for any person under 21 years old who seeks help for someone else experiencing a drug overdose.

House Bill 1053 creates clear language in state law about the legality of drug test strips. 

House Bill 1249 will require the Family and Social Services Administration to provide standards for services provided by recovery community organizations for behavioral health recovery. This will improve efficiency in the process of certifying recovery community organizations so they can more easily get to work on patients’ behalf. 

“Hoosiers and their loved ones have been torn apart by the substance use disorder epidemic for far too long,” Garcia Wilburn said. “From expanding Indiana’s Lifeline Law to keep our young people safe in the event of drug overdoses and making it more efficient for recovery organizations to receive state certification to decriminalizing the drug testing strips that people use to test for substances like fentanyl, these pieces of legislation will make tangible steps toward helping more Hoosiers reach recovery. No family wants to lose a loved one, and these recovery-focused bills are intended to save lives and keep families whole. Let’s build a culture of health in our state around substance use disorder reminding those affected that recovery is possible.”

House Bill 1054 would create guidelines for scoliosis screenings for children between 9- and 13-years-old for pediatric providers. HB 1054, also known as the “Keegan Cares Bill,” was drafted in collaboration with Miss Indiana’s Teen Keegan Connor, who has focused her advocacy work on scoliosis awareness.

“The best way to treat scoliosis is good prevention,” Garcia Wilburn said. “Miss Indiana’s Teen Keegan Connor and I share something in common: We both have scoliosis. Now, Keegan is doing important awareness work to make sure that as many Hoosier kids as possible receive regular scoliosis screenings in the years before they are most likely to develop it. Our young Hoosiers are capable of great things when they put their minds to it, and I am proud to partner with Keegan in this work by offering the ‘Keegan Cares Bill’ this legislative session.” 

House Bill 1389 would require the state to apply for federal Medicaid funding to better serve students with learning disabilities. HB 1389 would also commission a study on the current workloads licensed occupational therapists and licensed physical therapists face in Indiana schools.

“Our schools are struggling to keep up with helping students with learning disabilities,” Garcia Wilburn said. “HB 1389 will make sure that schools are better funded in the vital work they do with students with disabilities. It will also require that we assess the workload of our school-based physical and occupational therapists – if we come to learn that they are overburdened, we can then appropriate more funding to these programs. Only with an appropriate workload on our school-based healthcare professionals’ parts will every Hoosier child be able to reach their full potential.” 

“My hope for this session is that I can build on last year’s work across party lines to tackle the problems facing Hoosiers across the state. These bills are a step in the right direction to do just that, and I look forward to working hard for my constituents this year.”