The Indiana House on April 21 concurred with Senate changes to House Bill 12-53, a bill that revises child-care licensing rules and allows multi-site centers to operate under a single license.

Representative Heine, speaking for the House, said the Senate strengthened enforcement language to ensure “if we do have a bad apple in a multi site childcare facility, the enforcement will not affect the other locations,” and added a provision preserving a category of licensed child-care homes. He said the provision allows “A childcare home that was licensed to operate in a class 2 structure by the office of the secretary of FSSA before 07/01/2025 [to] continue to operate in that class 2 structure going forward.”

Why it matters: Heine told members the change protects existing providers and families, noting that without the language “we have 43 childcare facilities providing childcare to approximately 800 children THAT COULD BE AT RISK OF CLOSING DOWN.” Heine publicly thanked the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) and cited Representative Chris Judy and Senate leadership for work on the language.

House members voted to adopt the concurrence motion; the clerk recorded the vote as 72 ayes, 0 nays and the motion was adopted.

Details: Under the negotiated language, multi-site child-care centers may operate under one license while enforcement provisions were tightened to avoid penalizing compliant sites when violations occur at a separate location. The bill also grandfathered certain class 2 child-care homes licensed by the date specified above.

The House did not specify additional appropriations for the changes; sponsors said the bill does not seek new funding but modifies regulatory structure to preserve capacity.

The House will notify the Senate of the concurrence.