republic-os/legislation/us/states/in/2026/hb-1044.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Insurance coverage for public safety employees."
description: "Provides that a public safety employee who: (1) becomes disabled on or after January 1, 2020; (2) receives a Class 1 or a Class 2 impairment benefit; and (3) is eligible for group health insurance coverage for the public safety employee and the public safety employee's spouse or dependents; must pay no more than the amount that the public safety employee would have been required to pay if still serving as a current active public safety employee employed by the local unit public employer. Specifies that the public safety employee must file a written request for insurance coverage with the employer before June 1, 2026, or within 90 days after the public safety employee begins receiving disability benefits, whichever is later. Specifies that if a public safety agency closes, merges, or otherwise ceases to exist, the local unit public employer that caused the public safety agency to cease to exist, shall continue to provide certain insurance coverage. Provides that a surviving spouse or dependent of a public safety employee who dies in the line of duty must pay the same amount that the public safety employee would have been required to pay if still serving as a current active public safety employee employed by the local unit public employer for coverage selected by the surviving spouse or dependent under the group health insurance program."
jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 1044"
citation: "Indiana HB 1044 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["INSURANCE; Health Insurance", "LAW ENFORCEMENT; Generally"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Fady Qaddoura", "Jim Pressel", "Kyle Walker", "Michael Crider"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 26
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2025-12-02"
last_action: "2026-02-26"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d6466a79-adae-407b-a343-bebd51d2f766"
source_url: "https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/hb1044"
source_hash: "cdc9b990022eee86ed5f1c290358859576f8ca32ab17f0b6e8d12f2d3dda0c9a"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
---

# Indiana HB 1044 (2026) — Insurance coverage for public safety employees.

Provides that a public safety employee who: (1) becomes disabled on or after January 1, 2020; (2) receives a Class 1 or a Class 2 impairment benefit; and (3) is eligible for group health insurance coverage for the public safety employee and the public safety employee's spouse or dependents; must pay no more than the amount that the public safety employee would have been required to pay if still serving as a current active public safety employee employed by the local unit public employer. Specifies that the public safety employee must file a written request for insurance coverage with the employer before June 1, 2026, or within 90 days after the public safety employee begins receiving disability benefits, whichever is later. Specifies that if a public safety agency closes, merges, or otherwise ceases to exist, the local unit public employer that caused the public safety agency to cease to exist, shall continue to provide certain insurance coverage. Provides that a surviving spouse or dependent of a public safety employee who dies in the line of duty must pay the same amount that the public safety employee would have been required to pay if still serving as a current active public safety employee employed by the local unit public employer for coverage selected by the surviving spouse or dependent under the group health insurance program.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Engrossed House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1044/HB1044.04.ENGS.pdf)
2. **Enrolled House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1044/HB1044.05.ENRS.pdf)
3. **House Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1044/HB1044.03.COMS.pdf)
4. **Introduced House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1044/HB1044.01.INTR.pdf)

## Votes

- HB 1044 - Walker K - 3rd Reading — **45–0** (pass) · upper
- HB 1044 - Pressel - 3rd Reading — **92–0** (pass) · lower
- HB 1044 - Pressel — **93–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Fady Qaddoura — primary (person)
- Jim Pressel — primary (person)
- Kyle Walker — primary (person)
- Michael Crider — primary (person)
- Andrea Hunley — cosponsor (person)
- Ethan Lawson — coauthor (person)
- Lonnie Randolph — cosponsor (person)
- Lori Goss-Reaves — coauthor (person)
- Michelle Davis — coauthor (person)
- Shelli Yoder — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-12-02** Authored by Representative Pressel
- **2025-12-02** First reading: referred to Committee on Insurance `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2026-01-05** Representatives Lawson, Goss-Reaves added as coauthors
- **2026-01-08** Representative Davis added as coauthor
- **2026-01-13** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2026-01-15** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2026-01-20** Senate sponsors: Senators Walker K, Crider
- **2026-01-21** Referred to the Senate `referral`
- **2026-01-20** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 54: yeas 92, nays 0 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2026-01-26** First reading: referred to Committee on Insurance and Financial Institutions `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2026-02-12** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-12** Senator Qaddoura added as third sponsor
- **2026-02-12** Senator Randolph added as cosponsor
- **2026-02-16** Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2026-02-16** Senator Hunley added as cosponsor
- **2026-02-16** Senator Yoder added as cosponsor
- **2026-02-16** Amendment #1 (Walker K) prevailed; voice vote `amendment-passage`
- **2026-02-18** Returned to the House with amendments `receipt`
- **2026-02-17** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 176: yeas 45, nays 0 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2026-02-19** Motion to concur filed `filing`
- **2026-02-19** House concurred with Senate amendments; Roll Call 295: yeas 93, nays 0
- **2026-02-23** Signed by the Speaker `passage`
- **2026-02-24** Signed by the President Pro Tempore `passage`
- **2026-02-25** Signed by the President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-02-26** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`
- **2026-02-26** Public Law 38 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d6466a79-adae-407b-a343-bebd51d2f766`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).