Legislators discuss end of 2026 session

The second and final Legislative Breakfast took place Feb. 28 at Owen Valley Christian Fellowship.

The annual events are hosted by the Owen County Chamber of Commerce to provide residents with the ability to connect with their legislators, share their concerns and ask questions about pending legislation in the year's legislative session.

This year was a short or non-budget year that ended on the evening of Feb. 27 because the legislature started the session a few weeks early in December. Typically, the legislative session begins in early January, but the Indiana House and the Indiana Senate met in December to consider redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The February Legislative Breakfast was sponsored by South Central Indiana REMC. Main Street Coffee served as the coffee sponsor, and unique to this month's event was an additional breakfast spread from the Owen County Extension Homemakers.

All three of the county's state legislators were present. They include Senator Rod Bray, District 37 and President Pro Tempore of the State Senate; Senator Eric Bassler, District 39; and Representative Bob Heaton, District 46 and majority whip.

The event was moderated by County Councilman Anton Neff.

Neff reminded folks that information on particular pieces of legislation, including their final versions and whether or not they had been signed into law by the governor could be found at www.iga.in.gov.

Neff encouraged folks to bring issues to the legislators sooner rather than later.

"It's never too early to think about things that need attention for the next go-around. A lot of times, and man, I'm guilty of that too, you kind of wait until it's perhaps a little too late to actually talk about nuts and bolts on some things," he said. "It's good to engage with your state elected officials now and year-round about the issues that concern you because there sometimes needs to be time to research things and develop and draft legislation that simply can't be done in January of next year."

Neff also recognized Bassler, who will not be seeking reelection.

"He will be retiring here at the end of the year. He has served or will have served 12 years as senator, and just as a point of personal privilege, I want to say that I've always been impressed with Senator Bassler," Neff said, recalling how he met Bassler at a pancake breakfast fundraiser for Owen Valley High School prom before Bassler ran for office.

Neff asked for opening comments from legislators before taking questions and comments from the audience.

Bray began and noted that the session ended around 6:00 the night before.

"Today we can kind of outline some of the things that happened during the legislative session," he said.

He noted that they begin working on legislation for the upcoming year in May in order to be able to file it in late December or early January.

He highlighted Senate Bill 1, which focused on Medicaid and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).

"As I've said from this table before, that's something that we really need to make sure we're operating with integrity and fidelity because those are programs that people in our community really, really need. They have the tendency, however, to grow out of control, and we can't allow that to happen," he said, citing the need to balance all of the resource needs and being good stewards of the state's resources.

He specifically noted that these are not cuts but rather ensuring that those who qualify for the assistance are the ones receiving it.

He also highlighted a potential constitutional amendment that would allow judges to hold individuals without bail pending trial if there is no other way to ensure the public's safety. Currently, individuals accused of a crime can only be held without bail if they are charged with murder or treason.

This potential amendment will appear on November's General Election ballot as a state referendum.

"Essentially what it will say is that if the evidence is strong and there is clear and convincing evidence that there's no type of condition that would allow the person out of jail pending trial that would keep the public safe, then you can hold them without bail," he explained. "There's a lot of due process there. It would require a hearing for a judge to look at the evidence and decide whether or not that's the case."

Bassler was the next to provide opening remarks.

"I was thinking on my drive up that although this is the last one of these that I will attend in my official capacity, I think maybe next year I'll come to them and just sit out with you and complain to these guys. I'm looking forward to that," he said.

The room laughed at the joke.

"But in all seriousness, it has been a pleasure to represent you," Bassler said.

He shared that he was proud of his time serving as a state senator.

He said this year, they worked on legislation related to social media engagement among individuals under the age of 16.

He noted that mental health issues, attempted suicides and suicidal ideation have significantly increased among young people in the last decade.

"A lot of that can be directly tied back to social media," Bassler said.

He said the algorithms are intended to be addictive and that while the minutia is still being worked out, the legislation would require parental consent.

"I think that's going to be an extremely impactful bill over time. I think it will help when it comes to teen suicide and suicide attempts, and so I'm looking forward to seeing the positive impact that bill can have in the coming years," Bassler said.

Heaton thanked everyone for being there and said he just finished his 16th year as state representative.

"I was here before these two fine gentlemen were here, and Senator Bray, I served with his father [those] first couple years," he said, "but I still feel very young."

Heaton focused on issues with a DLGF or Department of Local Government Finance bill on townships.

He also stressed the importance of working together across both chambers and party lines. Heaton shared that 90 percent of the bills passed in the first half of the legislative session were bipartisan.

"I think a lot of people couldn't understand that because they just think we're always fighting, the Democrats and Republicans, and that's not really the case up there [at the Indiana Statehouse]," Heaton said.

The trio took questions and comments from constituents on a myriad of topics.