9 new laws business leaders should know go into effect Monday

A bevy of new state laws take effect Monday and several will impact Indiana businesses, offering some protections against lawsuits, expanding child care and offering guidance on the use of artificial intelligence. 

David Ober, a senior vice president at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said this year’s legislative session was productive for the day-to-day operations of businesses and for creating a prepared workforce by focusing on improving literacy in elementary school.

“Anything that the legislature brings up that may have an impact on that or may increase the number of Hoosiers who graduate high school or are able to achieve credentials while they’re in high school… is important to generating the workforce that we’ll need in the future,” he said.

Here’s a look at nine new laws that will impact Indiana businesses.

Tort lawsuit protections

House Enrolled Act 1160 will shield companies from some lawsuits by barring any foreign person or entity from lending money to plaintiffs to sue companies in Indiana. Any sealed proprietary information found during the course of litigation is also forbidden to be shared with the lender.

“The idea behind some of the changes that they were made is: how do we protect in the state of Indiana, our native companies,” he said. “They’re listed as a defendant, and it may have nothing to do with the underlying issue.”

Child care expansion

HEA 1102 will loosen some restrictions on child care facilities in hopes it provides more options for Hoosiers parents. 

The tweaking of some care center definitions will allow some facilities to operate without a license. It also allows for some school programs to contract with businesses for child care. 

Certain providers are also eligible to apply for vouchers if they do not receive regular compensation, serve migrant children or care for less than eight children. 

“Childcare and housing continue to be an issue,” Ober said. “So the chamber is very interested in working with our members and other stakeholders to come up with policy solutions as well as identifying market-based solutions to those problems.”

Artificial Intelligence task force

A new task force established by Senate Enrolled Act 150 will study how state agencies use AI, which could result in policy recommendations. It will be staffed by lawmakers, state officials and industry experts. 

The committee will convene later this summer and fall, resulting in an annual report before the end of October for the next few years.

The chamber is interested in seeing what the task force finds as it relates to data privacy and protection, Ober said. With the ever-changing nature of AI, he said it is important for the state to have established this task force to learn more and tailor policies to protect consumers. 

Administrative law restrictions

The Office of Administrative Law Proceedings will have the ultimate say on any administrative proceeding that is filed after June 30 under  HEA 1003. 

“Some of the administrative law provisions that were adopted this year may potentially be of interest to some businesses that … operate in the areas where there are specific regulatory structures,” Ober said. 

Literacy 

Starting next school year, third-graders who do not pass the IREAD-3 state reading assessment and do not have an exemption will be held back. The law also mandates second-graders start taking the test, which is a year earlier, and schools provide more support for children falling behind. 

SEA 1 seeks to address Indiana’s literacy “crisis.” Last year, 13,840 third-graders did not pass the test, including 8,337 without an exemption, according to test data. Ultimately, only 412 students were retained.

Another new law, SEA 6, will identify and require support for fourth- through eighth-graders struggling to read proficiently. 

‘Happy hour’ ban no more

Restaurant and bars will offer more deals on alcoholic drinks after a ban on “happy hours” is lifted Monday. 

The state banned the happy hour tradition of cheap drinks sold for a limited time in 1985, during an era in which several states outlawed happy hours because of concerns related to drunken driving and binge drinking.

IBJ’s Dave Lindquist has more on the Indiana HEA 1086’s impact on restaurant and bar owners.

Health-care merger notifications

Certain health care entities that are planning a merger or acquisition must notify the attorney general 90 days prior. A party must have over $10 million in assets for notification to be required. The attorney general will then review the deal for potential antitrust violations. 

Both the Indiana and Indy Chamber were opposed to SEA 9.

IBJ’s John Russell has more on the motivations and potential impacts. 

Bank contracts

Two laws will give more authority to banks and credit unions to amend contracts without explicit consent from consumers and amend a statute of limitations for charges. 

HEA 1284 requires financial institutions to give written notice of contract changes and 30 days to dispute them; if a person does not challenge such amendments through the closure of their account, non-response will constitute their agreement to the changes or new fees. Senate Enrolled Act 188 will also scale back the statute of limitations to dispute banking charges from six years to two. 

HEA 1284 is inspired by two lawsuits, including an Indiana Supreme Court decision siding with a Hoosier account holder who sued after they accrued overdraft fees tied to an addendum to their banking agreement. 

Wetlands definitions and classifications

Some wetlands will be reclassified to a less-protected group through a new law, allowing for more residential and commercial development. 

Through HEA 1383, certain Class III wetlands will now be considered Class II.