It’s been a ‘Banner” season for Hoosier Action members, who gave testimony twice in the Indiana state legislature in January, and got a shoutout on the Why Is This Happening? podcast with MSNBC host Chris Hayes.
Stephanie Zhang, Hoosier Action’s stateswide housing organizer, spoke in support of SB 243, a bill to close a loophole that allows landlords to avoid making repairs to address code violations.
“To me, it says that the people that we elect to represent us in Indiana continue to fail to even move the needle forward an inch to help Hoosier renters stay in safe, quality homes,” Zhang said.
Tony Hostetter, a member of the Ohio Valley chapter of Hoosier Action, spoke in favor of HB 1053, a bill that would decriminalize fentanyl test strips, which are currently considered ‘drug paraphernalia’ under Indiana law, but are a key tool to save lives from overdose.
“It’s shocking to me that I can carry it like this,” Hostetler told the Indiana House Courts and Criminal Code Committee, showing members a test strip. “And it’s harmless. But once I dip it in the substance and test for fentanyl, then it becomes illegal. It’s a misdemeanor, could send me back into a county jail.”
Hoosier Action also got a shoutout from Deepak Bhargava, the president of the JPB Foundation and coauthor of Practical Radicals: Seven Strategies to Change the World, on Why Is This Happening?, a podcast hosted by MSNBC host Chris Hayes.
