The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus has raised concerns about Gov. Eric Holcomb’s 2021 agenda because it does not address racial justice.

During the 2021 session, the IBLC will focus on a justice reform agenda that covers five pillars: save lives, hold accountable, empower communities, change culture and improve transparency, according to a news release.

IBLC lawmakers will propose and amend legislation to that end, such as increasing protections for protesters, establishing more frequent audits on public safety funds, funding police body and dash cameras, reducing law enforcement in schools and studying racism as a public health crisis, according to a release.

“After the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, we saw people all across the globe stand in solidarity with urban communities in the fight for racial justice and equality,” Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, said. “It’s essential that our state makes progress in this area; requiring body cameras, and only for state police, is not nearly enough.”

Holcomb’s “2021 Next Level Agenda,” released late last week, laid out five points for the next year “focused on safely navigating out of the pandemic and emerging a stronger Indiana,” according to a release.

The governor’s plan makes calls to: cultivate a strong and diverse economy; maintain and build the state’s infrastructure; education, training and workforce development; public health; and deliver great government service, according to the release.

The governor calls on the legislators to pass the state’s ninth straight balanced budget, according to the release. The plan to maintain and build the state’s infrastructure includes continuing projects including the South Shore’s West Lake Corridor expansion and double tracking the South Shore Line from Gary to Michigan City projects, according to the release.

A portion of the education goals is to “continue to prioritize finding long-term sustainable solutions to improve teacher compensation,” according to the release. A top public health goal is to become “the best state in the Midwest for infant mortality by 2024” by protecting pregnant workers through more workplace accommodations, according to the release.

The government service goal stems from the changes made amid the COVID-19 pandemic, like expanding telemedicine services and making virtual meeting options permanent, according to the release.

But the governor’s agenda omits on important issue, addressing racial justice reform, according to area members of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus.

“The biggest issue I see with the governor’s agenda; there’s nothing in here that specifically addresses the African American community, period,” said Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago.

“The only place I see the word diverse in the governor’s agenda is where he says diverse economy. What does diverse economy mean?”

Randolph and Melton both said they were concerned that the governor did not address racial justice reform as an administrative priority because the IBLC met with the governor over the summer — amid protests calling for police reform — to address racial inequality.

“The fact that police reform is not a top priority for the governor, following the events of this summer and after several meetings with the IBLC, is deeply worrisome. I hope the governor renews his promise to create a plan to address these glaring issues in our criminal justice system,” Melton said in a statement.

IBLC Chairwoman Robin Shackleford, D-Indianapolis, said in a statement last week that she is “extremely disappointed” in Holcomb’s “failure to address the racial justice issues and disproportionate effect of COVID-19 on Black and Brown communities in our state.”

“While we join Gov. Holcomb in celebrating the arrival of the first COVID-19 vaccines, we cannot help but wonder how many Black and Brown lives could have been saved if the governor had heeded our recommendations and seriously tackled the racial disparity among cases,” Schackleford said.

Shackleford said that she will co-author a “game-changing, bipartisan bill” that will address the hiring and training process for police officers.

“This bill has the potential to change the course of the relationship between law enforcement and minority communities, but will fail without the governor’s support. I urge Governor Holcomb to speak up and keep justice reform alive for the sake of all Hoosiers,” Shackleford said.

Melton said he will propose a bill that bans no-knock warrants, which would reform current policies on how police officers enter someone’s home. He will also propose legislation that will ban chokeholds.

“Our state government cannot put this on the back burner, and I hope the governor will show support for the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus’s agenda this year.”