Statehouse Report 13
April 11, 2011
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
Re-Cap of Last Week
With just a few weeks left before the statutory end to the legislative session on April 29, the pace of activity at the Statehouse increased considerably as numerous bills were heard in both House and Senate committees. As more bills were voted out of committee, the volume of bills heard on second and third reading on the floors of each Chamber increased throughout the week. In fact, the House convened for an unusual Friday session to finish up all bills at that point that were eligible for third reading.
Bills that moved through the legislative process bills being tracked by IU included:
HB 1177: The bill, which would make a number of revisions to Indiana University Trustee statute, was amended in the Senate Education committee and will be eligible for second reading this week.
HB 1406: This legislation, which would permit extension of university police jurisdiction beyond campuses, if authorized by the Trustees of the institution, passed the Senate.
SB 431: The bill, which would transfer administration of the State Department of Toxicology by the IU School of Medicine to the state, was amended and voted out of House Judiciary committee and amended on second reading before passing the House.
SB 497: The bill, an initiative of the Governor, would permit a high school student who completes graduation requirements in three years to be eligible for an early graduation college scholarship (up to $3,500), was voted out of committee and will be eligible for 2nd reading this week.
SB 524: The bill, another initiative of the Daniels Administration, would establish a defined contribution plan as an option for new state employees and certain university employees who are eligible for participation in the state's Public Employee Retirement Fund. The bill passed the House un-amended and is now before the Governor for action.
SB 577: This bill was amended in committee to make revisions to the state's student assistance Commission's Children of Disabled Veterans program.
Preview of the This Week
With only three weeks remaining in the session, both the Senate and the House will be very busy hearing bills in committee and deliberating on them on the floors of each Chamber. The deadline for third reading of bills has been moved back one week until April 21, which means that the absolute last day for bills to be heard in committee will be Monday, April 18. However, we expect that most committees will complete their work this week.
Of greatest interest to IU, the biennial budget bill is schedule for action by the Senate Appropriations committee on the last possible day, April 18.
