LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6280 NOTE PREPARED: Mar 4, 2022
BILL NUMBER: HB 1001 BILL AMENDED: Feb 24, 2022
SUBJECT: Administrative Authority; COVID-19 Immunizations.
FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Lehman BILL STATUS: Enrolled
FIRST SPONSOR: Sen. Messmer
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
XDEDICATED
XFEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: Medicaid: The bill allows the secretary of Family and Social Services (FSSA
Secretary) to issue a waiver of human services statutory provisions and administrative rules if the FSSA
Secretary determines that the waiver is necessary to claim certain enhanced federal matching funds available
to the Medicaid program.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): The bill allows the FSSA Secretary to issue an
emergency declaration for purposes of participating in specified authorized federal Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) emergency allotments.
Reporting: It requires the FSSA Secretary to prepare and submit any waivers or emergency declarations to
the Budget Committee.
Immunizations: The bill allows the State Health Commissioner of the State Department of Health (IDOH)
or the IDOH Commissioner's designated public health authority to issue standing orders, prescriptions, or
protocols to administer or dispense certain immunizations for individuals who are at least five years old.
(Current law limits the age for the Commissioner's issuance of standing orders, prescriptions, and protocols
for individuals who are at least 11 years old).
Immunization Passports: The bill defines "Indiana governmental entity" and specifies that an Indiana
governmental entity (current law refers to a state or local unit) may not issue or require an immunization
passport.
Unemployment Insurance: The bill provides that an individual is not disqualified from unemployment
LS 6280 1 benefits if the individual has complied with the requirements for seeking an exemption from an employer's
COVID-19 immunization requirements and was discharged from employment for failing or refusing to
receive an immunization against COVID-19.
Employers: The bill provides that an employer may not impose a requirement that employees receive an
immunization against COVID-19 unless the employer provides individual exemptions that allow an employee
to opt out of the requirement on the basis of medical reasons, religious reasons, or immunity from COVID-19
acquired from a prior infection with COVID-19.
Effective Date: Upon passage.
Explanation of State Expenditures: Employers: The Secretary of State’s office would have a minor
increase in workload to collect and maintain evidence that an employer is under a federal COVID-19
immunization requirement and make that information electronically available to the public.
The provisions related to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and employers may increase workload at the
Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL enforces Indiana’s labor laws. Enforcing labor laws are within the
DOL’s routine administrative functions and should be able to be implemented with no additional
appropriations, assuming near customary agency staffing and resource levels.
Unemployment Insurance: The bill could increase expenditures from the Unemployment Insurance Benefit
Fund. The bill allows individuals to receive unemployment benefits if they are fired for failure to get
vaccinated for COVID-19 and they requested an exemption.
If a state agency were to fire an employee for failure to receive a COVID-19 vaccine who requested an
exemption, the agency would have increased costs to pay unemployment benefits for the individual who was
fired. The state is a reimbursable employer for unemployment benefits. This means that rather than paying
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) into the Unemployment Insurance Benefit Fund, the state pays the actual
cost of unemployment benefits when state employees are laid off. [This bill has the potential to impact all
agencies as employers, thus impacting all funds that provide operating funds to agency staff.]
Unemployment Benefits are administered by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). DWD
should be able to process any additional claims for unemployment benefits within current resources.
Reporting: The FSSA Secretary would have very minimal increased workload to report on waivers or
emergency declarations to the Budget Committee.
Explanation of State Revenues: Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and
Immunizations: The bill would allow waivers to state law and rules, emergency declarations, standing orders,
prescriptions, or protocols to be issued by the FSSA Secretary or the IDOH Commissioner under state statute
rather than the Governor's Executive Orders (EO) concerning the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The authority granted under the bill is limited by the expiration of these provisions for SNAP on April 16,
2022, and for the other provisions at the conclusion of the federal public health emergency or a subsequent
renewal of the public health emergency.
Unemployment Insurance: The bill could increase SUTA revenues paid by employers to the Unemployment
Insurance Benefit Fund beginning in FY 2024 if individuals who requested an exemption are laid off for
LS 6280 2 failure to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Additional Information – Medicaid: Under EOs, the FSSA Secretary has had authority to waive state laws
or rules concerning Medicaid enrollment and cost-sharing, resulting in the state receiving additional federal
reimbursement of Medicaid costs estimated at $120 M per quarter. At the same time, caseload and provider
payments have also increased; Medicaid enrollment is estimated to be 470,000 more than prior to the
pandemic.
SNAP: SNAP benefits are paid with federal funds, and the program administration is shared between the state
and federal governments. During the federal public health emergency, the state’s declared emergency has
resulted in emergency allotments, pandemic electronic benefits transfers for households with school aged
children affected by school closures, and eased application processing requirements and reporting. Indiana's
initial request to the United States Department of Agriculture was in March 2020, and it has been extended
each month through February 2022.
The most recent extension of the federal public health emergency was renewed on January 16, 2022. The
enhanced federal reimbursement lasts until the last day of the calendar quarter after the expiration of the
public health emergency declaration, which currently would be June 30, 2022.
Unemployment Insurance: Typically, employer SUTA tax rates increase for employers who lay off
employees and use the unemployment system more frequently, except in certain cases. New employers pay
a fixed SUTA rate for the first three years in operation while employers who lay off employees most
frequently already pay the maximum SUTA rate of 9.4% on the first $9,500 of wages per employee per
calendar year. An employer’s SUTA tax rate is adjusted annually based on the employer’s experience
account status as of June 30 each year.
Explanation of Local Expenditures: Unemployment Insurance: If a local unit were to fire an employee for
failure to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and who requested an exemption, the local unit could have increased
costs related to unemployment insurance. Local units that are reimbursable employers pay the cost of
unemployment benefits when local employees are laid off. Local units with experience accounts could pay
a higher SUTA tax rate in the future when they lay off employees.
Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: Family and Social Services Agency; Department of Health; Department of Labor;
Professional Licensing Agency; Emergency Medical Services Commission; Department of Insurance;
Department of Workforce Development; Secretary of State.
Local Agencies Affected:
Information Sources: CMS, COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for State Medicaid and
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Agencies, updated January 6, 2021; CMS, Temporary Increases
to FMAP, SHO# 21-004; USDA, Administration for Children and Families, Pandemic Emergency Assistance
Fund - Allotment Request Form; Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Public Law 116-127- March 18,
2020; State of Indiana Executive Order 21-17.
Indiana Department of Workforce Development. (2021, December 22). Unemployment Insurance Employer
LS 6280 3 Handbook. https://www.in.gov/dwd/files/Employer_Handbook.pdf
Fiscal Analyst: Camille Tesch, 317-232-5293; Karen Rossen 317-234-2106.
LS 6280 4