(NETWORK INDIANA)
The governor has signed a lot of bills into law in the last three days. Kurt Darling reports on what some of them will do…
After his bill signing frenzy on Monday, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed more bills into law on Tuesday.
Holcomb signed 78 more bills into the Indiana code. Among them was a bill that will now require Hoosiers to verify their age to access porn websites. The new law was authored by State Sen. Mike Bohacek (R-Michiana Shores).
“We have children that are seeing this hardcore content before they have their first kiss,” he said while discussing the bill during the legislative session. “We have a real mental health problem with our children in the state of Indiana. Our kids are growing up too fast and they do not have the cognitive functioning to deal with that.”
The new law would require porn sites to verify a person’s age by means of “a reasonable verification method.” This could be a driver’s license number or even a social security number. Some lawmakers were skeptical of that saying it may be too risky for Hoosiers to give such information.
“When I verify my age with a verifying agency, what confidence do any of us have that they will not take our personal information and sell it,” said State. Sen. Greg Taylor.
Another high-profile bill signed by the governor was a bill that would place restrictions on anyone or any company associated with a foreign adversary when it comes to buying farmland in Indiana. The law exempts people with dual citizenship from the U.S.
The new law will make it illegal for people from China, Iran, Russia, Cuba, North Korea, and the “Maduro Regime” of Venezuela, to own farmland near military bases. Many Democrats were skeptical of the bill taking the side of the ACLU of Indiana who argued the bill discriminates against people trying to flee these countries.
“You are telling them they are no longer welcome here except as employees of someone else,” said Chris Daley with the ACLU of Indiana. “They cannot participate as owners of businesses if that includes owning or renting a storefront,” he said. “What about renewing a lease? What about when a lease changes?”
In the end though the bill passed the Statehouse with bipartisan support.
Finally, Holcomb also signed a bill that creates a task force to look into how artificial intelligence is or can be used by state agencies. He also signed a bill that will allow HOAs in Indiana to further regulate beekeeping on properties under their jurisdiction.
