2018 Session: The Bills Signed Into Law Or Dead At The Statehouse

State lawmakers will wrap up the 2018 legislative session next week, but Gov. Eric Holcomb (R-Ind.) has already signed dozens of bills into law.

Here’s where the most contentious issues stand with less than a week left in the session:

Bills Signed Into Law

The first law Holcomb signed this year is one anticipated by Hoosiers since Indiana became a state more than 200 years ago: legalizing Sunday carryout alcohol sales.

As of Friday afternoon, Holcomb has signed 42 bills into law:

• Allowing students to carry and use sunscreen at school
• Standardizing perinatal care in the state to lower the infant mortality rate
• Fixing a mistake approved last year that prohibited deer hunters from using rifles on public property, among other Department of Natural Resources updates
• A measure helping veterans with financial benefits for education

Bills Awaiting Final Approval

Dozens of measures have final approval from both the House and Senate are awaiting Holcomb’s signature:

• A bill that both imposes new abortion reporting requirements and expands the legal use of baby boxes
• Standardizing overdose reporting from county coroners
• A measure that amps up dyslexia screenings and intervention in schools
• A bill allowing prosecutors to seek a murder charge against someone who attacks a woman and causes the death of her fetus
• A measure blocking local governments from banning short-term rentals like Airbnb, but allowing them to regulate the industry

Measures That Died This Session

The 2018 session is short because it’s a non-budget year, so lawmakers have less time to consider and vote on proposed bills. That means hundreds of measures never even get a hearing. In some cases, Statehouse leadership also choose not to pursue action on certain measures.

Here are some of the bills that didn’t make it this session:

• Efforts to expand cold beer sales to grocery and convenience stores
• Establishing a hate crimes statute
• Several gun regulation measures
• Township consolidation
• Establishing press freedoms for student journalists
• A “fix” to a controversial solar energy bill from last year