Guide to the 2015 #Legislative Session
Welcome to the 9th
edition of FV Indiana's Guide to the Legislative Session. This year brings
a "long session" that will begin on January 6, 2015, and is expected
to last through April 29, 2015. This upcoming session is known as a budget
year. This session will provide many opportunities for families to be involved,
share your experience, and build relationships with legislators that will
impact current and future decisions. This guide is intended to be a reference
issue; in it you will find information on how a bill becomes a law, definitions
and translations of acronyms and information on the House and Senate
leadership. We encourage you to contact your legislators, make the effort to
introduce yourself, share your perspective and continue to build a
relationship. Watch FV Indiana and other sources for action alerts as the
session progresses. If you have information about the session to share please
call us at 317.944.8982 or email info@fvindiana.org.
Hot Topics for 2015 (we will update these, as needed, as the
session progresses)
Budget impact on Medicaid programs
for children who have special health care needs
Increase of cigarette tax to
fund public health programs
Calendars have been
posted for the Senate and the House of Representatives. To help prepare,
you may also view final reports from the Interim Study Committees including Business and Personal Property Tax, Education, Public Health and Human Services and Employment and Labor. Continue checking for the Committee lists to be
updated.
Many community
organizations host "Third House" or "Meet Your
Legislator" events throughout the legislative session. These events
provide an opportunity for constituents to hear about the latest from the
Statehouse and to ask questions. You can find a calendar that lists those
events here:
How a Bill Becomes Law
Legislation 101
Any legislator in
either chamber (House or Senate) can initiate a bill on any matter. The Indiana
Constitution provides that all appropriations and revenue-raising bills MUST
originate in the House. To introduce a bill, a member files it with the Clerk.
The bill is first read to the chamber, at which time each member has a printed
copy to study. After the first reading, the bill is assigned to a committee. On
the next legislative day, the bill is read for the second time so it will be
ready for action when it comes out of the committee. Much of the
"work" on a bill comes in the committee. Members of key committees,
and particularly committee chairs, can be very influential in modifying the
language of a proposed bill and determining whether or not it advances to a
vote by the full house. Amendments (changes in the original bill) or even
complete bill substitutions may be offered by the committee that studies the
bill or by a member from the floor. Sometimes there may be several versions of
one bill before the committee can agree. If a committee reports favorably on a
bill (a majority of the committee votes for it), it is returned to the full
house for a third reading and possibly further debate. Most bills passed out of
committee are passed by the full house, but they may be altered, sometimes
dramatically, or perhaps not voted upon at all.
Parliamentary
maneuvers are sometimes very confusing to spectators, but these rules help to
maintain order. Sometimes a bill's opponents can use parliamentary procedures
to block a vote on a bill they cannot defeat or amend to their liking. Assuming
that a bill survives such parliamentary maneuvers, the vote is taken. If a
measure receives a majority of votes, it is passed and sent to the other
chamber for consideration and goes through the whole process again. The second
chamber can amend the bill, pass it as is or defeat it. If the legislation is
amended, it is returned for consideration by the originating chamber. When the
House and Senate disagree about amended portions, the presiding officers of
each body appoint members to a conference committee which tries to find an
acceptable compromise which must be approved in identical form by a majority of
both houses. If the second chamber passes the bill without any changes, it is
sent to the Governor, who can sign it or veto it. If he signs it, it becomes
law; if he vetoes it, the bill "dies" and would have to be
reintroduced another year unless the veto is overridden by the legislature,
which is rare.
All bills vetoed by
the Governor are sent back to the presiding officer of the house of the General
Assembly where it originated with a list of reasons for the veto. The
Governor's veto can be overridden by two-thirds of the votes in each house.
When this happens, the bill becomes law. All bills introduced in the current
session, as well as their current status in the process and any amendments, can
be viewed on the state website at http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/
Take Action!
Advocacy Questions and Answers
How can I take action
on legislation?
1. Form a relationship
with your representatives and senators by calling, emailing, faxing, and
scheduling meetings to tell them about how their decisions on the budget and
laws affect the quality of life for you and your family.
2. Consider focusing
your efforts on key issues such as the Medicaid services, ensuring that any
plans for K-12 supports inclusive education practices or First Steps issues.
How can I contact my
state representative or senator?
Every member has an
email address and an office phone number at the statehouse. The most effective
ways to communicate are by personal contacts, be they emails, phone calls or
face-to-face meetings. Legislators prefer to hear from their own constituents
directly and may not pay attention to mass emails or form letters, especially
from people outside their districts. Many legislators even invite constituents
with concerns to contact them at home or via cell phone. Information about
legislators is available on the state website at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2014/legislators/
You can mail and phone
your legislators at the following:
House of
Representatives
Indiana House of
Representatives
200 W. Washington
Street
Indianapolis, IN
46204-2786
(317) 232-9600
(800) 382-9842
Senate
Indiana State Senate
200 W. Washington
Street
Indianapolis, IN
46204-2785
(317) 232-9400
(800) 382-9467
TDD Telephone Numbers
TDD (317) 232-0404
TDD (800) 548-9517
The Governor
The Honorable Mike
Pence
Office of the Governor
Statehouse
Indianapolis, Indiana
46204-2797
(317)232-4567
How do I contact other
state agencies?
The State of Indiana
website is found at: www.in.gov and contains links to all state as well as many
federal and local web resources. Many State Agency and programs have
email newsletters that you can sign up for on their Website, these are a great
way to get up to date information about the agency.
When is the General
Assembly in session?
The 2015 General
Assembly will convene on Jan. 6th.
Stay Informed
Groups that provide
legislative updates and Action Alerts
Family Voices Indiana
The Arc of Indiana
Information on the
Arc's legislative agenda and general legislative information including link to
sign up for action alerts.
Indiana Government
Session information
including Bill Watch (information on bills, votes, resolutions, etc.).
Indiana General
Assembly
Indiana General
Assembly website.
Indiana DOE
Legislative agenda by
the Indiana Department of Education.
Glossary
Become familiar with
these commonly used acronyms
Appropriation: a
specific amount of money that is intended for use by a specific state program
FSSA: Family and
Social Services Administration (in charge of Medicaid & First Steps)
DD: Developmental
Disabilities
DOE: Department of
Education
FY: Fiscal Year
HB: House Bill
HR: House Resolution
SB: Senate Bill
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