Indiana Shaking Off Outdated, Male-Only References In Laws

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A measure that would clean up archaic words and male-only references in Indiana's laws has been approved by the Legislature and is on its way to Gov. Eric Holcomb's desk.

The bill approved unanimously in both the House and Senate would replace words such as "herein, hereafter, hereinafter" throughout Indiana code with more accurate and familiar terms.

It would also remove the instances where "his" is used to describe the duties of a state officeholder as five of the seven current statewide elected officials are women.

The bill sponsor Republican Rep. Thomas Washburne of Inglefield tells The (Northwest Indiana) Times that cleaning up the language will keep Indiana's law "very, very pleasant to deal with compared to many other states," for lawyers and citizens alike.