Three Messmer Bills Pass through Senate

Statehouse- Three Senate Bills authored by Senator Mark Messmer (R-Jasper) have made their way through the State Senate.

The first bill is Senate Bill 331 (SB 331). According to the senator, SB 331 is designed to close a loophole used by defense attorneys during child sex abuse cases. Messmer originally created legislation, titled Senate Enrolled Act 206 (SEA 206), in 2020 that required a prosecuting attorney to be present during dispositions of child sex abuse victims. In a release, the senator says defense attorneys would say they were not conducting a disposition, instead were interviewing the victim. Messmer says the new SB 331 will give the legal protections that were intended in SEA 206.

The second Messmer bill was Senate Bill 332 (SB 332), which the senator says has to deal with zoning language around military bases in the state. According to a press release, the bill would update zoning language for areas around the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC), Lake Glendora, and Grissom Air Force Base. SB 332 would allow the base commander to appoint a non-voting advisory member to local plan commissions. The bill also requires real estate disclosures of properties located within 3 miles of a base. 

According to Messmer, the bill is similar to those passed in 30 other states and is based on preferred practices by the United States Department of Defense.

The third bill is Senate Bill 472 (SB 472), which looks to advance recycling in central Indiana. SB 472, a specific disposal method known as advanced recycling; which is defined as a manufacturing process to convert post-use polymers and recovered feedstock into basic new raw materials, feedstocks, chemicals, and other products, is a follow-up to House Enrolled Act 1226.

All three bills now head to the Statehouse for further consideration.