Bipartisan child care bill gets Gov. Eric Holcomb’s signature

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed a bipartisan bill to support child care in the state on top of 74 other measures, according to his office.

The signings on Wednesday included several contested proposals, such as an overhaul of faculty tenure at state colleges and universities, the repeal of a state statute letting Ukrainian refugees get driver’s licenses and broader gun rights for some state officials at the Capitol in Indianapolis.

Addressing the affordability of child care was a priority for both Republican and Democratic leaders this year, but lawmakers were limited in their action due to the nonbudget cycle. Indiana creates a biannual budget during odd numbered years.

Holcomb signed the state Senate agenda bill on Wednesday, expanding eligibility for a child care subsidy program for employees in the field with children of their own. The legislation also lowers the minimum age of child care workers to 18 and, in some instances, to 16.

The governor also put his signature to a Republican-backed bill that undoes some regulations on child care facilities. The legislation would make a facility license good for three years, up from two, and allow certain child care programs in schools to be exempt from licensure. It also would let child care centers in residential homes increase their hours and serve up to eight children, instead of six.

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