The Indianapolis Star
www.indystar.com
...It was supposed to be a discussion about expanding public health services available in local communities ― things like tobacco prevention programs and vision screenings for school-age kids.
Instead, a small group of Hoosiers used the hearing on Senate Bill 4 as a platform to spout misinformation about COVID-19, long-held grievances about Gov. Eric Holcomb's handling of the pandemic and a lingering distrust in state government that has some questioning whether the effort to overhaul county health departments with an infusion of new state funding is actually a Trojan horse, designed to wrest control from local communities.
Lawmakers on the Senate's Health and Provider Services committee had Holcomb's back, for now. The bill passed the committee unanimously, but lawmakers did express reservations after several hours of testimony from Hoosiers opposed to state mandates and some local officials concerned that it would require them to trade local control to receive an increase in funding...
...Lingering anger, distrust stems from COVID-19
Many conservatives were frustrated with Holcomb’s handling of the pandemic, criticizing mask mandates and lockdowns. In response, Republican lawmakers passed a bill last year to increase legislative oversight over state agencies — a bill that Holcomb later vetoed.
“Hoosiers aren’t interested in any additional government tyranny,” said Michelle Harter, a Greenwood-based attorney. Harter said she sees Senate Bill 4 as a part of a plan to exert greater control over citizens. The Republican supermajority should be taking a stand against it, she said, rather than sponsoring it.
“You’re elected to do the will of the people,” she said, “not the will of Holcomb and his health commission.”...
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bill passed.
