Indiana Legislative Council Unveils Summer Study Topics

The Indiana Legislative Council convened on Tuesday, May 21 at the Indiana State House to approve the topics that will be studied in the 2019 interim study committees. Throughout the legislative session, lawmakers urged the Legislative Council to consider studying 155 proposed topics. The list was narrowed down to 46 topics between 17 standing subcommittees and two separate commissions.

Of these 46, major issues being studied will include: prescription drug prices, rising health care costs, ticket scalping, adoption subsidies, how schools use money from property taxes, how the state funds education for students in poverty, e-cigarette and CBD oil taxes, criminal penalties, taxation for regional development authorities, and the revision of statutes governing state and local governmental public works projects.

The four caucus leaders met prior to the meeting on Tuesday to discuss the different recommendations. For a topic to be studied in a committee, it needed to receive three out of four votes from the leaders. The full list of study topics can be viewed in the Legislative Council Resolution from May 21, 2019.

In addition to discussing summer study committees, the legislative council agreed to not having a technical corrections day for the 2019 session due to no problems in the code causing significant confusion to the public.

All committees will be limited to three meetings, except for the following four committees which will be limited to five:

• Public health
• Financial institutions and insurance
• Governmental
• Fiscal policy

The legislative council is as follows:

Council Leadership

• Sen. Rodric Bray (R – Martinsville), Chairperson
• Rep. Brian C. Bosma (R – Indianapolis), Vice Chairperson

Senate Members

• Sen. Jean Breaux (D – Indianapolis)
• Sen. Susan Glick (R – LaGrange)
• Sen. Randall Head (R – Logansport)
• Sen. Timothy Lanane (D – Anderson)
• Sen. James Merritt (R – Indianapolis)
• Sen. Mark Messmer (R – Jasper)
• Sen. Karen Tallian (D – Portage)

House Members

• Rep. Timothy Brown (R – Crawfordsville)
• Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon (D – Munster)
• Rep. Philip GiaQuinta (D – Fort Wayne)
• Rep. Todd Huston (R – Fishers)
• Rep. Matt Lehman (R – Berne)
• Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D – Indianapolis)
• Rep. Gregory Steuerwald (R – Avon)