GiaQuinta decries passage of bill to further insert politics in Hoosier schools

Today, Senate Bill 287 passed the Indiana House of Representatives. The legislation still needs approval from the Indiana Senate on changes made to it in the House, but the House-passed version of the bill turns nonpartisan school board elections into partisan races by allowing candidates to list their party next to their name on the November ballot.

House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) issued the following statement after voting "no" on SB 287:

"I may be an elected official, but I know that Hoosiers want less politics in their lives, not more. Senate Bill 287 further injects politics into Hoosiers' lives by politicizing our school boards. What about teacher and staff retention, building maintenance and school buses requires a partisan viewpoint?

"Hoosiers overwhelmingly took time out of their busy schedules to come to the Statehouse to oppose this bill, and House Democrats have received lots of constituent correspondence asking us to vote 'no.' This bill reduces the pool of potential school board candidates by limiting federal employees' ability to run because of the federal Hatch Act. Community leaders want to serve local families and students, not get mixed up in the politics of declaring a party. This bill will make it more difficult and expensive to run for local school board and will open local school board races to big DC politics and dark money associated with campaign finance.

"Nothing about SB 287 solves our teacher retention or student literacy crisis – which is what the General Assembly should be focusing on instead of finding new ways to make our lives more exhausting and divisive."

Op-Ed: Indiana House Democrats want to lower your cost of living. House Republicans should get on board.

During last year’s election cycle, I spent a lot of time on the road around the state, talking with voters about their hopes and their fears. What I heard from Hoosiers across the board was that they’re worried about the cost of living here in Indiana.  

From housing and utilities to health care and education, Hoosiers are sick and tired of life’s essentials costing more like luxuries.  

To help Hoosiers save more of their hard-earned money, the Indiana House Democratic Caucus launched our Working Hoosiers Agenda earlier this year. We’re dead set on lowering costs for Hoosiers, and as such, we’ve offered amendments the past two months for all 100 state representatives to vote on to do just that. 

We offered an amendment to increase the earned income tax credit from 10% to 12% to keep more money in your wallet.  

It’s hard to become a homeowner these days, and to that end, Democrats offered an amendment to create a low-interest first-time homebuyer program. We also tried to give renters relief through increasing the renter’s tax deduction by $1,000. 

Nearly a third of Hoosiers rely on Medicaid and its various programs – HIP, Hoosier Care Connect, Hoosier Healthwise – for health insurance coverage. Indiana Republicans implemented waitlists for children with severe disabilities and seniors who rely on Medicaid. We proposed eliminating these waitlists. Additionally, with President Trump’s promise to cut Medicaid on the federal level, we wanted to set aside $300 million to protect Hoosiers’ health care benefits. 

As for utility costs, we offered amendments to impose a rate hike moratorium, prohibit utilities from charging reconnection fees for customers and prevent utilities from disconnecting service on weekends, holidays, and days during which customer service representatives are not available to customers. We also voted to prohibit utility monopolies from offloading planning costs for uncertain investments onto customers. 

To continue prioritizing working Hoosiers, we proposed raising the income eligibility for pre-K vouchers to the same level as K-12 private school vouchers: $230,880. Pre-K is one of the best ways for young Hoosiers to get ahead in their education. On the other hand, Republican-advanced universal K-12 private school vouchers, with a price tag of $1.3 billion to Hoosier taxpayers, will do little to improve education outcomes.  

Sadly, Indiana House Republicans did not join us in supporting these common-sense proposals to help working Hoosier families get ahead. On top of this, Republican lawmakers advanced legislation that will set working people back.  

Republican-authored House Bill 1174 will expand the predatory lending industry by allowing loan sharks to add misleading fees on top of their already-exploitative interest rates.  

Additionally, House Republicans passed House Bill 1007, the big utility monopoly bailout bill we tried to improve by adding more consumer protections. House Democrats opposed this bill because it is not the responsibility of utility customers to foot the bill for investor-owned companies' business experiments.  

Worse yet, the House Republican budget leaves everyday Hoosiers out to dry. It expands private school vouchers to our state's wealthiest families, leaving less money to educate the nine out of 10 Hoosier kids who choose public schools. The Indiana GOP cuts public health investments, flatlines veterans' funding and cuts child care affordability programs. This is a budget that doesn't care about your wallet.  

As we enter the second half of this year's state legislative session and consider Senate-passed bills, House Democrats remain committed to lowering the cost of living and saving Hoosiers money. We're fighting for an Indiana where you can get ahead financially and make your goals a reality. We'll keep inviting Indiana Republicans to support Democratic proposals to create a future where all Hoosiers can thrive. 

House Democratic lawmakers unveil ‘Hoosier Home Field Advantage’ legislative package

Today, several Indiana House Democratic lawmakers rolled out "The Hoosier Home Field Advantage," a set of legislative proposals designed to grow Indiana's sports economy.

State Rep. Mike Andrade (D-Munster), House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne), State Rep. Mitch Gore (D-Indianapolis), State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago) and State Rep. Kyle Miller (D-Fort Wayne) offered the agenda to unite Hoosiers across the political spectrum, pointing out that Democrats, Republicans and everyone in between love sports.

The legislation includes:

1. House Bill 1534: Requires school corporations and charter schools to offer a cash payment option at athletic events beginning July 1, 2025

2. House Bill 1541: Prohibits IHSAA from charging for streaming high school athletic events

3. House Bill 1517: Designates the day after the Super Bowl an annual state holiday called "American Professional Football Day"

4. House Bill 1292: Establishes the Northwest Indiana Professional Sports Development Commission, which will work to attract a professional sports franchise to NWI and spur economic development and job creation

5. House Bill 1608: Requires the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to study methods and strategies to allow Indiana to become a leader in the development of the e-sports industry

Drafted amendments include:

1. An amendment by Andrade requiring the Indiana Sports Corporation to invest money received from the statewide sports and tourism bid fund as necessary to attract and promote professional wrestling events

2. An amendment by Gore to institute a sales tax exemption on children's athletic gear

"Indiana is already doing great in the sports realm, but Indiana House Democrats believe we can do even better and send our sports industry through the stratosphere," Gore said. "The 'Hoosier Home Field Advantage' is a legislative package designed to improve our sports economy and show Hoosiers that state government can be responsive to their lives and interests.

"My bill to make the Monday after the Super Bowl a state holiday will give hard-working Hoosiers an additional day off. Our national economy always takes a hit that day due to decreased worker productivity anyway. Additionally, we need to encourage kids of all economic backgrounds to participate in sports, which is why I have drafted an amendment that would provide all Hoosiers with a sales tax exemption for children's athletic gear."

"This past weekend, I had the opportunity to take my son to the WWE Royal Rumble that was hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium," Andrade said. "My son is a lifelong WWE fan, and I started taking him to pro-wrestling events when he was 5 years old and we continue the tradition of father-son time to this day. We had wrestling fans visit Indy from across the country and around the world for this electrifying event. That's why I'll be offering an amendment this session to require that the Indiana Sports Corporation invest money received from the statewide sports and tourism bid fund to attract and promote more professional wrestling events. This is a great economic growth opportunity for our state, and we need to take advantage of it."

"Parents have come to me expressing concern that some high schools no longer accept cash payment for entry into sporting events," GiaQuinta said. "This is an unnecessary barrier to Hoosiers enjoying the high school athletics that their taxes pay for, which is why I filed HB 1534 to require that schools offer a cash payment option. Likewise, Hoosiers shouldn't have to pay a fee to watch IHSAA's streaming of high school sporting events, which is why I authored HB 1541 to ensure that families and friends of athletes are able to watch them compete from afar without paying for it."

Harris' HB 1292 passed unanimously out of the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee on Monday, Feb. 3 and was recommitted to the House Ways and Means Committee. Miller's HB 1608 is scheduled to receive a hearing in the House Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

GiaQuinta reacts to Braun State of the State

House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) released the following statement reacting to Gov. Mike Braun’s inaugural State of the State address: 

“I found several points of agreement with Gov. Braun tonight. He’s right that Hoosiers are barely keeping their heads above water due to the rising cost of living. And we agree that Hoosiers are paying too much for healthcare and we need to address each of aspect of the health care industry individually to bring down costs.   

"However, Gov. Braun says local government can do more with less. But when you’re having a heart attack and call 911, do you want the people coming to help you to be doing more with less? Do you want them underfunded? I think no. 

"Finally, the Republican property tax plan is a farce. The proposals we’ve seen so far shift more of the burden of funding our schools, police and first responders to local government. That means Hoosiers will continue to pay more in taxes, just to a different entity. It's a bait and switch attempt for Republicans to blame cities and counties for rising costs and run for reelection on cutting taxes."

GiaQuinta comments on executive order to release terminated pregnancy reports

House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) released the following statement in response to Gov. Mike Braun's executive order directing the Indiana Department of Health to release terminated pregnancy reports:

"Because of the Indiana Republican abortion ban, there are very few abortions taking place in Indiana in 2025. The ones that are legally permissible are only through the most horrific of circumstances: rape, incest, a serious threat to the life of the mother or when the fetus has a fatal anomaly. Can you imagine how painful that must be for affected women, girls, their spouses and their children? I am disappointed that Gov. Braun wants to put their suffering on display for anyone to see by ordering IDOH to release their records in the form of terminated pregnancy reports (TPRs).

"What's more, the small number of abortion procedures taking place means TPRs contain information that could identify patients in question. The Public Access Counselor previously issued an advisory opinion stating that TPRs are medical records and thus exempt from public access rules.

"This executive order is cruel and unbefitting of our state, and I appreciated Gov. Holcomb's small-government approach to this issue. We don't need to put women through more pain than they've already been through."

GiaQuinta responds to Gov. Braun’s DEI executive order

Yesterday, Gov. Mike Braun issued an executive order eliminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices in state agencies, replacing them with "Merit, Excellence and Innovation." The order also closed the Chief Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity Office created by former Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2020.

House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) issued the following statement regarding the order:

"I respect that the governor has the right to set the tone for his new administration. Thinking of the myriad issues Hoosiers are facing, though, I can't understand why this is a top priority. These practices ensure all Hoosiers are given opportunities and allow us to measure how equitable our state is. No one is harmed by a more equitable, just state.

"Our staff in the House Democratic Caucus attended a workshop led by the Chief Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity Office and found it to be insightful and helpful in our day-to-day work addressing the needs and lived experiences of Indiana residents. The closure of this office and the dismantling of DEI practices is nothing but a distraction from the real issues Hoosiers face throughout our state.

"The Indiana House Democratic Caucus is concerned with tackling high property taxes, health care costs and providing all Hoosier kids with a good education. That's what our constituents tell us they're concerned about, and our goal is to work for them, not fight the Washington D.C. culture wars that leave working Hoosiers caught in the crosshairs.

"I look forward to working with Gov. Braun to improve the lives of Hoosiers and make Indiana a stronger, more inviting place for families, workers and businesses. Unfortunately, this executive order is leading us in the wrong direction."

GiaQuinta unveils Working Hoosiers Agenda

Today, Jan. 8, House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) introduced the House Democratic Caucus' 2025 Working Hoosiers Agenda.

Throughout session, which began today and runs through April, the Indiana House Democratic Caucus will work to lower the cost of living by cutting health care costs, providing property tax relief and cracking down on the junk fees and scams currently plaguing Hoosiers.

"This agenda is about focusing on the basics of what our government can and should be doing for folks who work hard every day to get ahead," GiaQuinta said. "It's about leaving Washington extremism to the cable TV pros and focus on what everyday, working Hoosiers really need."

This session, Indiana House Democrats will also fight to fully fund public K-12 education using public dollars while simultaneously ensuring police, fire and EMS teams do not lose funding. During a press conference today, GiaQuinta introduced plans to reinstate free in-state tuition for children of disabled veterans and to increase the 1977 retirement fund benefit for law enforcement officials and firefighters who serve 20 years or more.

"We aren't the people you see on cable news fighting in Congress and contributing to the frustration and exhaustion Hoosiers have with their government," GiaQuinta said. "We are common sense, and we've gotten things done for Hoosiers. We've passed gun responsibility legislation. We've passed legislation to support the mental health of first responders. We've doubled the enrollment of the 21st Century Scholars program. We've provided additional dementia care support for patients and their families. … And we're here to show you that Indiana House Democrats deliver results for working people.

"Let's get to work."

Highlights from the Working Hoosiers Agenda include:

Priority 1: Lower the Cost of Living 

• Deliver on property tax relief and increase the affordable housing supply 

• Take on the health care industry and save Hoosiers money  

• Cap rising insurance premiums 

• Rein in corporate middlemen that drive health care prices up via prior authorization and PBMs 

• Pause utility rate hikes, thus putting more money in the pockets of Hoosiers  

• End the FSSA child care waitlist  

• Crack down on junk fees and scams  

Priority 2: Fund Education 

• Fully fund public schools to relieve pressure on local property taxes 

• Make pre-K accessible, affordable, and universal  

Priority 3: Support Public Safety and Veterans 

• Secure resources for police, fire, and EMS by retaining local control and local funding sources   

• Increase the 1977 police and fire retirement fund benefit for those who serve 20 years  

• Reinstate full in-state tuition for eligible children of disabled veterans 

• Protect the right to fair housing for veterans  

GiaQuinta comments on FSSA waitlist

Today, the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) announced a waitlist for the Indiana Childcare Development Fund and On My Way Pre-K voucher programs, effective immediately. New applicants will be automatically put on the waitlist until further notice.

House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) issued the following statement regarding the announcement:

“The FSSA projected today that roughly 20,000 children and families will be added to the waitlist over the next year, with thousands more losing eligibility. This blow comes after Indiana was ranked worst in the United States for access to childcare, with zero Indiana counties currently meeting the threshold for adequate access to care.

“This waitlist is a result of all federal childcare funds being used to their capacities here in the state. If you recall, Republican leadership told us recently that Hoosiers shouldn’t look to the state to solve this monumental problem. Now, tens of thousands of families risk losing access to childcare. As state lawmakers, we can’t continue to shrug our shoulders and tell Hoosiers to wait for the federal government to come to their aid. It’s time we put in the work. This budget session, we in the House Democratic Caucus plan to do whatever we can to help more working Hoosiers access affordable, safe childcare for their children.

“While state Republicans continue to tout their supposed dedication to growing Indiana’s economy, many working parents know that statewide economic growth – and individual economic security – cannot happen without adequate access to childcare. House Democrats are ready to put in the work, and I’m calling on the majority party to fulfill their obligation to Hoosiers and work with us this session to address our childcare crisis.”

House Democratic Leader responds to Braun agenda

House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) released the following statement today regarding Governor-elect Mike Braun’s recent agenda announcement: 

"From lowering health care costs to increasing teacher pay, there are some agenda items from Governor-elect Mike Braun that House Democrats will be fully onboard with. 

 "Unfortunately, his plan has no mention of childcare expansion or universal pre-K, and too much emphasis on expanding the school voucher program. If we want to bolster Indiana’s economy and provide our children with a better future, it starts with childcare and access to early education. 

 “We in the House Democratic Caucus look forward to working across the aisle this session to get results for Hoosiers and will work with Governor-elect Braun to make Indiana the best state it can be. While there is common ground, we will continue to push the majority party toward real results; not simply band-aid solutions to the very real problems too many Hoosiers are facing every day.”

GiaQuinta statement on IndyStar sexual harassment investigation

Following an Indianapolis Star sexual harassment investigation published Monday morning, House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta released the following statement: 

"As Indiana House Democratic Leader, I strongly condemn sexual harassment, no matter who it comes from. I cannot ignore this principle simply because a Statehouse Democrat has been accused of sexual harassment.  

"Indiana House Democrats successfully offered a 2018 amendment that resulted in a law to require annual sexual harassment prevention training for lawmakers and institute a House rule on the complaint process to properly investigate and hold lawmakers accountable when and if sexual harassment has occurred. It’s important to me that complaints are taken seriously. I’m glad the House has a reporting mechanism so victims and witnesses can come forward and feel safe to do so. 

"Finally, I want to remind all House employees that if something happened that you feel is worth reporting, our Ethics rules and the House’s personnel handbook provide for a confidential investigation process and guarantee protection from retaliation."

Indiana House Democrats announce leadership team

Indiana House Democrats today reelected State Rep. Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) to serve as the Indiana House Democratic Leader. This will be GiaQuinta's fourth term as Leader, having first assumed the position in 2018.

GiaQuinta will serve alongside State Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis) and State Rep. Carey Hamilton (D-Indianapolis), who were reelected as Minority Floor Leader and Minority Caucus Chair, respectively.

“I'm thankful that House Democrats have once again entrusted me to lead our efforts at the Statehouse to protect our freedoms and build up Indiana's working class. As we enter next year's budget session, Indiana House Democrats' priorities are the same as they always have been: people before profit. That means fully funding our public schools, keeping healthcare costs low and empowering our local communities to better become places where people want to live, work, play and stay.

"Given state and national election outcomes for Democrats, I'm proud we defended all 30 of our incumbent seats. I always say that House Democrats are pragmatic problem solvers. Our constituents clearly understand that we approach our work in the legislature by putting solutions before partisanship – and that will be no different this upcoming legislative session."

Indiana House Democratic Caucus leadership positions went into effect immediately following an internal election this afternoon.

The 124th General Assembly will convene for the ceremonial start of session on Nov. 19, otherwise known as Organization Day.