Statehouse update: Session is underway. Here's how I'm advocating for you
Indiana House District 32 legislative & community update from Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn
Dear neighbors,
As we conclude the second week of the 2025 legislative session, I want you to know that I’m busy working for you and the rest of House District 32 at the Statehouse.
My priorities this session are simple:
Support our first responders
Lower the cost of living
Fund our excellent public schools
Read on for more information about how I’m working to make these priorities a reality, as well as community updates and resources.
As always, please reach out to my legislative office at h32@iga.in.gov with questions, concerns, and feedback.
In service,
My filed legislation for this session
All of my bills have been filed for this year. In sum, my bills focus on keeping Hoosiers safe, supporting our public safety officials, promoting public and mental health, championing families, and working with young advocates in our community.
Here’s a quick summary of them and what they do:
Keeping Hoosiers Safe
House Bill 1093 will expand sexual assault victims' rights by increasing annual reporting to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and State Sexual Assault Response Team (State SART) with the goal of eliminating institutional silos standing in the way of justice for survivors. It will also require the State SART to study best practices and make recommendations concerning sexual assault response and victims' rights.
I am proud that HB 1093 is the result of many conversations with sexual assault survivors, advocates, law enforcement and prosecutors. The justice system needs to do right by sexual assault survivors. Right now, however, institutional barriers are preventing us from getting a full picture of how well the state is ensuring that cases are prosecuted and justice is served. HB 1093 will help us fully assess our successes and failures so we can better deliver results for survivors in the future.
Supporting Our Public Safety Officials
HB 1091 will enhance the penalty for sexual battery against a law enforcement officer on duty. HB 1092 will build upon my 2023 law to implement first responder mental health and wellness training by providing sustainable funding for the program into the future. The program enacted by my 2023 law was recently recognized by Police1 as a national model for first responder wellness training.
Our district’s communities of Carmel, Fishers and Nora care deeply about supporting the first responders who keep us safe. No law enforcement officer should have to fear sexual violence while on the job, but it's a sad reality that some people want to harm our LEOs. HB 1091 will serve as a deterrent against this. Additionally, a day on the job as a first responder is often more difficult and traumatic than civilians experience over the course of years. We need to continue building on 2023's House Enrolled Act 1321 to ensure that police, fire and EMS are sustainable careers for the brave men and women in them.
Championing Families
HB 1090 would make joint custody the standard in custody proceedings unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that joint physical custody is not in the child's best interests. HB 1107 establishes the Family Recovery Court Fund and provides that money in the fund is continuously appropriated to fund family recovery courts. The bill also would ensure that family recovery courts target cases of abuse or neglect where a parent or primary caregiver suffers from a substance use disorder or co-occurring disorders.
Ensuring families can thrive in Indiana is a priority for me. This year, I plan to continue this mission with HB 1090 and HB 1107. HB 1090 requires that every parent who is capable and can be trusted to care for their child can do so. This bill would require courts to find clear and convincing evidence that joint custody is not in the child’s best interest. HB 1107 establishes the Family Recovery Court Fund to ensure that children are protected from parents who have a pattern of abuse or neglect as a result of substance use disorder.
Here’s a full list of my filed legislation:
HB 1089: High value workforce ready credit-bearing grants
HB 1090: Joint child custody
HB 1091: Sexual battery against a law enforcement officer
HB 1092: Funding for public safety training
HB 1093: Sexual assault victims' rights
HB 1107: Funding for family recovery courts
HB 1154: Behavioral health preceptorship tax credit
HB 1237: State mammal
HB 1238: School based health services and report
Committee assignments for this session + taking on a leadership position
I’ve been appointed to three House committees: Employment, Labor and Pensions; Judiciary; and Public Health.
I'm honored to return to the Judiciary Committee again this year, this time in a new leadership role. As ranking member, I look forward to working with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to make our legal system more efficient for Hoosiers.
This session, I'll also be returning to the Employment, Labor and Pensions committee. Workers deserve living wages and safe working conditions. Our public retirees, including law enforcement and teachers, deserve the peace of mind that a pension provides after a lifetime of contributing to our state. I will be serving this committee with these Hoosiers in mind.
As a new member of the Public Health Committee, I hope to highlight the great work Hamilton County is already doing to prioritize public health and help incorporate some of these strategies statewide. Even though Indiana has been making progress on issues like overdose rates, the statistics elsewhere are still jarring – Hoosiers are more likely than the average American to have heart disease and diabetes. It doesn't have to be this way, and I'm ready to continue my work to improve public health here in Indiana.
Have you taken my legislative survey?
Each session, my legislative priorities are based on the concerns of my constituents. Your feedback is essential to my success as a representative, and I want your voice to be heard. One of the easiest ways to share your thoughts and concerns is through my legislative survey.
My survey is available online at IN.gov/H32 by clicking the button at the top of the page. If you’re a registered voter in our community, you should have received my legislative survey in the mail. Please do not complete the online survey if you have returned the survey by mail or if you do not reside in House District 32. To find your state legislator, you can visit https://iga.in.gov/information/find-legislators. Please know that a question on my survey does not indicate my support for or opposition to an issue.
MLK Day of Service Food Drive
With local food pantries experiencing an increase in demand and a decrease in supply after the holidays, the City of Fishers will host a community-wide food drive as part of the National Day of Service on MLK Day. On Monday, January 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., please join the city to volunteer or donate at any Fishers Kroger location. For a list of donation needs and locations, visit FishersIN.gov/MLKDay.
Register for Carmel PD’s Citizen’s Police Academy!
Registration for Carmel Police Department's Citizen's Police Academy is now available. If you are interested in learning more about all of the different functions within the Carmel Police Department, we encourage you to sign up for this free class.
The spring 2025 academy is an eleven-week program and will be held on Thursday evenings from 6 - 8:30 p.m. beginning Thursday, Feb. 6.
This link takes you to more information about the Citizen's Police Academy including how to register.
Fishers PD is now hiring
The Fishers Police Department is hiring! If you're looking for a rewarding career serving and protecting our community, now is the time to apply. Don’t miss out—submit your application by February 14th at police.fishersin.gov.
Congratulations to Mayor Hogsett, IMPD, and Indianapolis First Responders for the new Unified Mental Health Response Initiative!
Earlier this month, Indianapolis launched a unified response initiative to better serve the entire Indianapolis community as well as the responding personnel during mental health crises. This 24/7 collaborative effort reflects a shared commitment to addressing the complexities of mental health calls with compassion, efficiency, and resources.
This unified response is activated when Mobile Crisis Assistance Teams (MCAT) or the Clinician Led Community Response (CLCR) teams are not available. The unified mental health response is a joint response to mental health calls to enhance coordination among IMPD, IFD, and IEMS personnel. It focuses on understanding the situation and whether there are any active safety concerns, while determining the needs of the individual in crisis. It then allows one agency to take the lead for appropriate care.
This unified response represents a significant step forward in the city's efforts to address mental health issues holistically and proactively. Through training, collaboration, and shared expertise, first responders are equipped to provide safer, more effective care during some of the toughest times for Indianapolis residents.
Want to recognize a Fishers disability advocate? Nominations are open for Inclusion and Accessibility Awards through Jan. 24!
Applications are now open for The Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability’s 2025 Inclusion and Accessibility Awards! Nominations are due by end of day, January 24. Awards will be announced at the March Disability Awareness Month Kick Off on March 3, 2025 at the Fishers Municipal Center Theater, 1 Municipal Drive, Fishers, IN 46038. Nominate someone here. This year's theme is Connected Through Language.
