Statehouse Report 4
January 27, 2009
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
Still Getting Settled In
The third week of the legislative session was shortened by the Martin Luther King holiday but also by the Presidential Inauguration. However, a number of committee hearings were held and bills have begun to be placed on the second reading calendar for amendment on the floor of each Chamber. Additional bills were introduced, now totaling more nearly 600 in the Senate and approximately 750 in the House.
Biennial Budget
There was little development that occurred relative to the biennial budget. However during the Indiana Economic Development Corporation's appearance before the House Ways and Means Committee, various committee members expressed their support for funding IU's life sciences initiatives.
The administration has also begun citing the potential for state fiscal relief from the federal government in the form of stimulus legislation. We are all awaiting details on how federal funding might help the state craft a budget.
Other Legislation
We believe that nearly all legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate. We had expected that the total number of bills introduced would be about 1,500 -typical during the "long" legislative session -- but we are not disappointed that the number is about 150 less. We have completed initial review of bills and are in the process of sending out the final bills for analysis by IU's expert reviewers.
Here are a few examples of legislation we are following:
Campus police jurisdiction: There are several bills extending the jurisdiction of university police departments beyond campus boundaries. In fact, we testified on a House bill this week and secured an amendment to the bill that enabled our support.
Access to Public Records: We are closely monitoring one bill we are concerned could dramatically increase public records requests.
Concurrent Enrollment: There are two bills in the House taking different approaches to expanding dual credit programs that permit high school students to earn both college and high school credit.
Energy Efficient Buildings: As was the case last year, there are multiple bills that would require LEED or other similar energy efficient construction for public facilities, including university buildings.
Firearms: Bills have been introduced in both the House and the Senate, again this year, to protect the rights of citizens to bear arms, including on college campuses.
Illegal Immigration: There are bills in both the House and Senate addressing illegal immigration issues, including employer responsibilities.
Looking Ahead
With all or most legislation introduced, and other start-of-the session activities out of the way, we expect committee hearings on bills to be in full schedule next week. As more legislation moves out of committee to the House and Senate Chambers, there will be second reading amendments to review and watch for adoption and third reading votes on bills in the chamber of origin.
