Indiana legislators have been filing bills for the 2026 legislative session, which begins again Monday, and some of the bills have a lighthearted goal.
The 2026 session convened for the first two weeks of December as the House and Senate discussed and voted on a bill to address mid-census redistricting as President Donald Trump and his administration pressured Republican-led states to do last year.
Mid-census redistricting passed the House 57-41, but it ultimately failed after the Senate voted 31-19 against the bill.
When the legislature reconvenes after the holidays Monday, legislators will focus on bills, excluding the budget, in a shorter session cycle.
State Sen. Jean Leising filed Senate Bill 58 that requires school corporations, charter schools and state-accredited nonpublic elementary schools to include print handwriting, cursive handwriting and spelling in their curriculum.
A 2023 statewide survey found that 91% of private schools taught cursive writing, while only 52% of public schools taught it. A study, first published in 2020 through the Wiley Library, found that writing letters by hand helps students read better, according to a news release Leising issued announcing the bills she filed.
In previous sessions, Leising, R-Oldenburg, has filed 14 bills to require cursive in the classroom. In 2023, she had a bill, Senate Enrolled Act 72, which required a study and report on whether schools taught cursive or not, according to her spokesman Elijah Roberson.
“Many constituents have told me that not only are their children not being taught to use paper and pencil to write in cursive or print, they have also told me many schools no longer teach spelling,” Leising said in the release. “It is important that our students learn these vital skills. Writing allows students to understand how letters work together to form words and is the key foundation for learning to read.”
State Sen. Shelli Yoder authored Senate Bill 117 that would exempt feminine hygiene products from sales tax as of July 1. If passed, the law would expire January 1, 2029, according to the bill.
Yoder, D-Bloomington, said in a statement that the state has taxed “a basic health necessity” women and girls need to purchase.
“Senate Bill 117 simply says that period products are not a luxury, and they should not be treated like one at the checkout counter,” Yoder said. “This bill costs the state nothing new. What it does is end an inequitable tax that is collected almost exclusively from women for roughly 30 years of their lives.”
Over the years, Indiana has been able to subsidize data centers, corporate incentives and casinos, Yoder said. The same fiscal benefit should be extended to women and girls, she said.
“Senate Bill 117 is about fairness, affordability and recognizing that essential health products should never be a revenue source on the backs of women and girls,” Yoder said.
Breaded tenderloin is up for consideration as Indiana’s state sandwich in the 2026 legislative session. (Chicago Tribune file photo)
State Sen. Andy Zay filed Senate Bill 21 that designates the breaded tenderloin sandwich as the official state sandwich of Indiana.
Zay, R-Huntington, did not respond to requests for comment. He filed a similar bill in the 2023 legislative session.
In a statement from 2023, Zay said he filed the bill because Nick’s Kitchen, a restaurant in his district, is home to the first Hoosier breaded pork tenderloin and has been serving the sandwich since 1908.
“I was born and raised in Huntington, and Nick’s Kitchen has been a staple in our community,” Zay said. “Having the home of the breaded pork tenderloin located in Senate District 17, it was an obvious decision to author a bill to make it the official state sandwich.”
Jean Anne Bailey, the former owner, said in 2023 she was pleased to see the bill proposed.
“It’s quite an honor,” Bailey said. “Indiana has enjoyed the breaded pork tenderloin for more than 100 years because of Nick’s hard work. He used to push around a cart and serve the residents of Huntington before officially opening an establishment.”
State Sen. Brett Clark authored Senate Bill 23 that would allow the alcohol and tobacco commission to issue a permit, with certain limitations and requirements, for the sale of alcoholic beverages on the grounds of a county fair.
The permit could be issued if the grounds of the county fair are owned by a local board and the board requests the permit. The permit would only be valid for the scheduled date of the county fair, and multiple alcohol vendors could receive the permit to sell throughout the grounds, according to the bill.
Clark, R-Avon, said in a statement that he filed the bill after it was requested by his fairgrounds director. If passed, the bill would put county fairs in a similar position to the State Fair, “which has seen increased flexibility and revenue after rule changes over the years,” he said.
“Senate Bill 23 is about local control and home rule – giving counties the same discretion to decide what works for them. If a county doesn’t want to do it, they don’t have to. It simply puts local fairs on equal footing and lets each community make its own choice,” Clark said.
State Sens. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, and Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, authored Senate Bill 129, which would require social media operators to restrict minors’ social media viewing without parental consent.
The rule would apply to those younger than 16 years old, and it would allow the attorney general to take action against operators that fail to implement a parental consent method and issue a civil investigative demand if necessary.
“Indiana has the opportunity to stand up for children’s innocence and empower parents with Senate Bill 129,” Brown said in a statement. “By requiring social media sites to verify parental consent for minors, parents will have more direct involvement in their children’s online use. We know America’s teens are suffering under the negative effects of social media platforms as evidenced in high rates of depression and suicide. SB 129 seeks to protect the health, safety and well-being of Hoosier children.”
Bohacek introduced the bill during last year’s session, he told the Post-Tribune, but it didn’t get a House committee hearing. He’s optimistic that it will pass out of the Senate this year, but he doesn’t know about the House.
Other states have debated the constitutionality of these restrictions, Bohacek said, but those issues have been resolved.
Bohacek believes the legislation is important for all parents, he said, because if unsupervised, children can see “pretty sophisticated content” online.
“If you’ve got kids, especially kids in high school, this turns into a situation,” Bohacek said. “I’ve had parents contact me as well and say that bullying leaves the classroom and comes home with their child because of social media.”
State Rep. Cindy Ledbetter, R-Newburgh, authored House Bill 1059, which would allow school corporations to display commercial advertising on school buses.
If passed, no more than two advertisements would be allowed on the rear quarter panels, and they cannot be taller than 36 inches or longer than 90 inches, including borders and framing. Advertisements also must consist of black lettering on a white background and cannot cover structural or sheet metal damage or alteration, according to the bill’s details.
Tobacco, alcohol, political campaigns, gambling and sexually explicit advertisements are not allowed.
School corporations will charge for the advertisements, according to the bill, and the corporation’s governing body will determine what’s appropriate.
“House Bill 1059 gives school districts the ability to sell commercial advertising space on their school buses as long as they adopt policies prohibiting inappropriate advertisements,” Ledbetter said in a statement. “This is an innovative opportunity that other states have used to improve their schools, letting them use existing resources as a new revenue stream.”
State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, introduced Senate Bill 89, which would not allow the alcohol and tobacco commission to issue more than three new three-way permits to Schererville.
Dernulc did not respond to a request for comment about the legislation.
A three-way permit allows a business to sell beer, wine and spirits, according to Indiana code. According to the bill, the applicant for a permit must be a proprietor, owner or lessee of a restaurant in an economic development or redevelopment area. The cost of an initial permit is $40,000.
State Rep. David Abbott, R-Rome City, authored House Bill 1062, which would put restrictions on wakeboarding and wake surfing on public freshwater lakes.
According to the bill, people can’t operate a motorboat and wakeboard or wake surf on public freshwater lakes between sunset and sunrise. Violators could receive a Class C infraction or Class C misdemeanor, the bill says.
Abbott created the bill because the sports have grown in popularity in the last 10 years, he said, and the public has safety concerns. At night, boats cannot go faster than 10 miles per hour, Abbott said, but wake surfing consistently stays at that speed.
“They go out at night because it’s fun, and there’s less boats out there,” Abbott said. “But what happens is constituents call me because they were in the water swimming or just sitting on a pontoon, and they almost get run over by a wake surfer.”
Multiple constituents have called Abbott because the waves will get so large that they nearly capsize their boats.
Abbott has introduced this legislation for about seven years, he said, and he’s more optimistic about its chances to pass this session.
“I’m starting to see other legislators coming around after they maybe weren’t sure that this was an issue that warranted legislation,” Abbott said. “People sometimes aren’t aware of the rules when they’re on the lake, and they need to be reminded.”
akukulka@post-trib.com, mwilkins@chicagotribune.com