SUMMER STUDY TOPICS – Straight From The Senate

Each year during the General Assembly’s legislative session, a number of issues arise that require further in-depth study and discussion before being addressed with proposed legislation.

Based on these issues, members of the General Assembly’s Legislative Council meet after the session adjourns to assign topics for further examination by interim study committees. These committees meet during the summer and fall months to gather and analyze data and hear testimony from members of the public.

The Legislative Council consists of eight members from the Indiana Senate and eight members from the Indiana House of Representatives. This year, I am serving as chair of the Legislative Council and House Speaker Brian Bosma is serving as vice-chair.

Members of the Council have assigned a wide variety of issues to be examined by study committees this year. I’ve outlined a few important topics below.

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+The Interim Study Committee on Education will examine Indiana’s ISTEP testing program and consider whether it would better serve students if an alternative statewide assessment were used in our classrooms.

+The Commission on Improving the Status of Children will look into ways of reducing Indiana’s teen suicide rate.

+To help break the cycle of crime and expand our workforce, members of the Interim Study Committee on Corrections and Criminal Code will study methods to help criminal offenders find employment after serving their sentence, including the possibility of establishing programs to encourage employers to hire these individuals.

+To aid in the continued development and growth of rural Indiana, the Interim Study Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications will study the ability to provide affordable broadband services in under-served areas of the state.

+The Interim Study Committee on Fiscal Policy will study an alternative means of agricultural assessment to help ensure that farmland is fairly taxed.

Other topics that will be examined during the interim include alternative methods for drawing General Assembly and Congressional districts in Indiana, strategies for combating the HIV epidemic in Southern Indiana, and the effects of new annexation laws on economic development projects.

In the coming weeks, I will assign members of the Senate to serve on interim study committees. To learn more about these committees, assignments and agendas, visit www.in.gov/iga.

As always, I encourage you to contact my office with your input at Senator.Long@iga.in.gov or 800-382-9467.