It’s the halfway point of Indiana’s 2025 legislative session.

That means hundreds of bills have already received approval from one chamber. There are also lots of dead bills that didn’t make it through the major deadlines this week.

When House and Senate lawmakers return from their session break on March 3, they will swap bills and consider more changes to proposed legislation before anything is sent to Gov. Mike Braun’s desk.

IndyStar is tracking the prominent bills that are moving through the legislative process and that would impact a wide variety of Hoosiers.

Here are some of the major bills that have advanced, and what happened to them last week.

Editor’s note: There will be no bill tracker next week due to a break for lawmakers before the second half of the session.

House Bill 1001: State budget

Lead author: Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton

What it does: This bill funds Indiana’s government, health care programs like Medicaid, public K-12 schools and colleges for the next two years. Republican proponents say it’s a “vanilla” budget that helps the state live within its fiscal means while funding key priorities such as removing the income cap for private school vouchers and a new workforce tax credit for employers. But Democratic opponents say the bill funds the wealthy at the expense of the poor, for example, by defunding the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program and failing to expand preschool.

Status: The bill passed the House by a 66-28 vote on Feb. 20 and now heads to the Senate.

More: Indiana House passes budget with universal school choice. What else the budget means for you

Senate Bill 1: Property taxes

Lead author: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle

What it does: The bill, which Gov. Mike Braun said he would not sign in its current form, aims to slow property tax increases by limiting how much local governments can raise their property tax rates and proposes limiting tax referendums to general elections. It would give first-time homebuyers a tax credit and enable more Hoosiers to take advantage of tax credits and deductions for disabled veterans and seniors. Finally, it allows counties to create programs to allow taxpayers to defer up to $500 of their property taxes annually.

Status: The Senate passed the bill on Feb. 17 by a vote of 37-10. It now heads to the House.

More: Gov. Mike Braun threatens to not sign property tax relief bill passed by Senate

House Bill 1008: Illinois-Indiana boundary commission

Lead author: House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers

What it does: The bill creates a bipartisan group that would explore how Illinois counties could effectively secede from their state and join Indiana by redrawing state lines.

Status: The bill passed the house by a 69-25 vote on Feb. 20 and now heads to the Senate.

More: Illinois county secession bill passes Indiana House. What’s next?

Senate Bill 518: Sharing property tax dollars with charter schools

Lead author: Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger

What it does: The bill would require all traditional public-school districts, including Indianapolis Public Schools, to share property tax revenue with charter schools in their attendance boundaries, if 100 or more kids leave the traditional district for charter schools, starting in 2028.

Status: The bill passed out of the Senate by a 28-21 vote on Feb. 20 and now heads to the House.

More: Bill forcing schools to share property taxes with charters passes. But 40% of senators voted no

House Bill 1041: Transgender athlete ban

Lead author: Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland

What it does: This is virtually the same bill lawmakers passed in 2022, which banned transgender girls from participating in girls’ K-12 sports. This year’s bill extends that ban to collegiate athletics.

Status: The bill passed the House on Feb. 18 by a vote of 71-25. It now heads to the Senate.

House Bill 1531: Immigration enforcement penalties

Lead author: Rep. JD Prescott, R-Union City

What it does: The bill gives the governor power to withhold funding from local governments if the attorney general determines the entity does not comply with federal immigration enforcement. It says federal immigration law can be enforced by local, state and federal officials. The bill also prohibits employers from knowingly hiring someone who is not legally allowed in the U.S.

Status: The bill passed the full House on Feb. 20 by a vote of 64-26.

More: Indiana House approves bill tying state funding to immigration enforcement

House Bill 1006: Prosecutors

Lead author: Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers

What it does: The bill establishes a fund to help counties pay their deputy prosecutors and creates a prosecutor review board to investigate complaints against prosecutors. If the board determines the prosecutor is “noncompliant,” their office would be denied funds available through the bill. Democrats see the measure as an attack on Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears.

Status: The bill passed the full House on Feb. 19 by a vote of 72-24. It now heads to the Senate.

More: A House GOP bill would help pay deputy prosecutors. It could also penalize Ryan Mears

Senate Bill 2: Medicaid eligibility

Lead author: Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka

What it does: The bill adds far more stringent and regular government reviews of the eligibility of Medicaid recipients and adds work requirements in order for someone to be eligible for the Healthy Indiana Plan, the state Medicaid expansion plan. In addition, if the federal government allows, it limits enrollment in the Healthy Indiana Plan.

Status: The Senate passed the bill on Feb. 18 by a vote of 40-9. It now heads to the House.

More: As Medicaid costs outpace state revenue, Indiana lawmakers want to scrutinize eligibility

House Bill 1004: Price-controlling hospitals

Lead author: Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne

What it does: This is one of the key bills seeking to control health care costs in Indiana. This bill does it by penalizing hospitals with an excise tax if they charge facility fees higher than a certain benchmark. It also sets another price benchmark over which their nonprofit tax status could be revoked.

Status: Passed the House on Feb. 20 by a 68-26 vote and now heads to the Senate.

Senate Bill 516: IEDC transparency changes

Lead author: Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon

What it does: The bill would require the Indiana Economic Development Corporation make mandatory notifications to local governments if the quasi-government agency seeks to purchase 100 acres or more in a community and provide annual reports on Innovation Development Districts, like the LEAP project in Boone County. Additionally, the bill creates a new entrepreneurship and innovation office and a new role of president of the IEDC.

Status: The bill unanimously passed the full Senate on Feb. 20. It now heads to the House.

More: Did the IEDC make mistakes with the LEAP district? Senate passes bill increasing transparency

Senate Bill 284: Shrinking early voting

Lead author: Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville

What it does: The bill would have shrunk Indiana’s period for early in-person voting from 28 days to 14 days. It died on Feb. 19 after Byrne said he did not have the support to advance the bill.

Status: Died in the Senate on Feb. 19 after the author did not open it for amendments by the deadline.

Senate Bill 201: Closing Indiana’s primaries

Lead author: Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton

What it does: By requiring voters to register with a political party in order to vote in that party’s primary, this bill would have made Indiana a closed-primary state. It died on Feb. 19 after Gaskill said he did not have the support to advance the bill.

Status: Died in the Senate on Feb. 19 after the author did not open it for amendments by the deadline.

House Bill 1461: Road funding

Lead author: Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie

What it does: The bill offers a platter of tools local governments could use to beef up their road budgets. Those tools initially included a tax on food deliveries and rideshares, and for Indianapolis, the ability to levy a property tax referendum, but these were later taken out. The bill also makes it easier for the state to establish more toll roads.

Status: The House passed the bill by a 72-21 vote on Feb. 20. It now heads to the Senate.

House Bill 1432: Online gambling

Lead author: Rep. Ethan Manning, R-Logansport

What it does: The bill would have allowed people to play online poker and other casino games virtually and allow the Hoosier Lottery to operate virtually as well.

Status: The bill died after not receiving a hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee before the Feb. 17 deadline.

Senate Bill 523: Chaplains in public schools

Lead author: Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport

What it does: The bill would allow public schools to hire or bring in on a volunteer basis religious chaplains, with an eye toward alleviating the burden on school counselors.

Status: Passed the Senate on Feb. 11 by a 32-16 vote.

More: Indiana lawmakers revive bill to allow public schools to hire chaplains as councilors

House Bill 1007: Small nuclear reactors

Lead author: Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso

What it does: The bill provides a state tax credit for expenses incurred in manufacturing small modular nuclear reactors in Indiana. The bill could result in costs shifted to utility customers to pay back project expenses before construction starts.

Status: Passed the full House by a 67-25 vote on Feb. 13.

Senate Bill 4: Water pipeline oversight

Lead author: Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford

What it does: The bill prohibits the construction, operation, purchase, sale and lease of a long-haul water pipeline unless the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission signs off on it. However, the Citizens deal to provide water to the LEAP district in Lebanon is exempted from those rules.

Status: Passed the Senate unanimously on Feb. 4. It now heads to the House.

Senate Bill 13: Spinning

Lead author: Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville

What it does: The bill makes intentional and reckless skidding while driving, known as “spinning”, a Class B misdemeanor and increases the penalties further if the spinning endangers, injures or kills another person. If the bill becomes law, a person found spinning could have their vehicle seized in a civil forfeiture.

Status: Passed the Senate 48-1 on Feb. 3.

More: Indiana lawmakers revive fight to combat ‘dangerous’ street takeovers

House Bill 1002: Education deregulation

Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis

What it does: The bill aims to loosen restrictions for Indiana schools and education systems, including by nixing the education credential requirement for the Indiana secretary of education, changing the timing of when teachers are paid and removing certain training and professional development requirements.

Status: Passed the House by a 75-16 vote on Feb. 3. It now heads to the Senate.

Senate Bill 10: Student voter ID

Lead author: Sen. Blake Doriot, R- Goshen

What it does: The bill would ban college students from being able to use their student IDs as a form of acceptable voter identification at the ballot box.

Status: Passed the full Senate Feb. 4 by a 39-11 vote. It now heads to the House.

Senate Bill 235: Banning DEI

Lead authors: Sen. Tyler Johnson, R-Leo, Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville

What it does: This bill bans all state spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — from trainings to diverse hiring initiatives — at state agencies, educational institutions and health profession licensing boards.

Status: The contents of this bill were amended into a different bill, Senate Bill 289, on the Senate floor on Feb. 4. That bill then passed the Senate on Feb. 6 by a 34-13 vote.

More: This anti-DEI bill is not law yet. State-funded colleges are ending programs already anyway

House Bill 1393: Illegal immigration notices

Lead author: Rep. Garrett Bascom, R-Lawrenceburg

What it does: The bill requires law enforcement officers to report individuals to their county sheriff if the person is arrested for a felony or misdemeanor and the officer has probable cause to believe the person lacks permanent legal status. It then requires county sheriffs to report the person to proper authorities.

Status: Passed the House on Feb. 4 by a 67-26 vote.

Senate Bill 11: Social media for minors

Lead author: Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores

What it does: The bill requires parental consent for social media use for people under age 16, and allows Indiana’s attorney general to sue social media operators that don’t comply.

Status: Passed by the full Senate by a 42-7 vote on Jan. 23. It now goes to the House for consideration.

More: Should kids need parental consent to use social media? Here’s what this bill would do

Senate Bill 451: Income tax cut

Lead Author: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle

What it does: The bill would further decrease Indiana’s individual income tax rate if state revenues grow by more than 3% compared to previous years.

Status: The bill unanimously passed the Senate on Jan. 28. It now heads to the House.

More: Indiana Senate approves income tax cut. Here’s how much you would save.

Senate Bill 143: Parental rights

Lead Author: Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne

What it does: The bill restricts government entities, including school districts and the Indiana Department of Child Services, from intruding on parental rights or keeping information from parents, unless there is a compelling governmental interest.

Status: Passed the Senate by a 44-5 vote on Jan. 27. It now heads to the House.

More: Should DCS, schools be able to keep information from parents? Indiana Senate bill says no

Senate Bill 475: Physician noncompetes

Lead author: Sen. Justin Busch, R-Fort Wayne

What it does: Lawmakers tried in 2023 to outlaw noncompete agreements for Indiana doctors — contracts that prevent doctors from taking jobs at competing hospitals within a certain radius. The compromise that year was to only apply this to family doctors. This year, Senate Bill 475 attempts the ban for all physicians, again, hoping it will encourage competition and reduce prices in the health care market.

Status: Passed the Senate by a 47-2 vote on Jan. 28. The bill now heads to the House.

House Bill 1201: Chronic absenteeism

Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis

What it does: The bill prohibits a public school from expelling or suspending a student because they are chronically absent or habitually truant and expands the number of days for a school to hold an attendance conference about a student’s absences from five days to 10. It also requires the Department of Education to establish best practices for student discipline on chronic absenteeism.

Status: Passed the House unanimously on Jan 30. A bill that similarly addresses absenteeism, Senate Bill 482, passed the Senate unanimously on Feb. 4.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.

Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@indystar.com or follow her on X at @hayleighcolombo.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.