Indiana Senate approves wide range of bills, fails one education measure; honors legislative interns

The Indiana Senate on April 16, 2025, approved a series of bills—ranging from limits on charitable bingo operations to new cybersecurity rules for public water systems—while one education bill failed to achieve the constitutional majority required for concurrence. Lawmakers also adopted multiple resolutions honoring legislative interns and accepted Verizon-sponsored scholarships for the session’s top interns.

Why it matters: The bills the Senate approved affect a variety of policy areas—public safety and gaming oversight, landlord-tenant records, water infrastructure and cybersecurity, statutory limits for certain criminal prosecutions, and health-care prior authorization rules. Taken together, the measures will move to the House (or to the governor when finalized) for the next steps in enactment or implementation.

Most notable floor actions

- Gambling and charitable gaming (Senate Bill 108): The Senate concurred with House changes to clarify that qualified veterans’ and fraternal organizations may use net proceeds from allowable activities for lawful purposes and to add several regulatory limits. The bill includes a prohibition, effective Jan. 1, 2026, that a facility may not be used for bingo or similar games on more than three calendar days per week; it requires organizations with annual gross receipts of $1,000,000 or more to submit records for independent audit on license renewal; and it requires workers assisting bingo events to wear name badges. The motion to concur passed, 36 ayes, 1 no.

- Eviction records and expungement (Senate Bill 142): The chamber approved an eviction-related bill that clarifies when tenants may seek expungement of eviction records. The Senate and House negotiated language removing automatic expungement; instead, the transcript indicates an affirmative motion must be filed either in court after judgment or by filing a motion when a settlement occurred outside court. The motion to concur passed, 35 ayes, 1 no.

- Water reuse and cybersecurity (Senate Bill 459): The Senate approved the IDEM agency bill addressing two provisions:…