The past few weeks have flown by. My colleagues and I have spent our time debating major issues concerning unemployment insurance premiums, education and other topics facing Indiana.
With this week being the last week, we will mostly spend time in conference committees.
The conference committees are perhaps the most significant part of the legislative process. In addition to providing the opportunity to work out a compromise bill, they give legislation a chance to come back or be resurrected-meaning, significant or controversial legislation that was defeated earlier can be inserted in a bill in conference committee.
Bills must pass both chambers in identical form. If a bill is amended in the second house, then it must come back to the house of origin for "concurrence" or "dissent." If the majority of the full body votes to concur, then the bill is sent to the governor. If the chamber votes to dissent, then the bill goes to conference committee.
The conference committee is composed of two representatives and two senators, one from each caucus.
Once the four members work out a compromise bill and sign a committee report, the bill is sent back to both chambers for another vote. Approved bills are sent to the governor and defeated measures are sent back to the conference committee. Conference committee reports cannot be amended on the floor, only in conference committee.
When the governor receives a bill, he can sign it into law, veto it or do nothing. A bill can become law in seven days without his signature. However, the legislature can overturn a veto with 51 votes in the House and 26 in the Senate.
Speaker Bauer has scheduled to adjourn, or sine die, on Thursday, March 4. So we have only a handful of days to get our work done before we break for summer.
One of the most controversial bills we will be discussing in conference committee is Senate Bill (SB) 23, the unemployment insurance bill.
In an effort to help Indiana's Unemployment Insurance Fund, during the 2009 legislative session, the House Democrats passed one of the biggest tax increases in state history for businesses on their unemployment insurance premiums. House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1379 passed without a single House Republican vote.
SB23 was drafted this year to delay the employer tax increase from HEA 1379 by one year. However, House Democrats amended SB23 with poison pill language during committee.
The poison pills included five major problems: increasing the threshold for property tax referendums, adding employer misclassification language, expanding UI benefits and eligibility, increasing the maximum weekly benefit and suspending the one application per week requirement when unemployment is above 7.5 percent.
After the bill was passed out of committee by a party line vote, Rep. Terry Goodin (D-Crothersville) in a surprise move, offered an amendment on 2nd reading to completely repeal HEA1379.
House Republicans supported his amendment and are planning to work out an agreement to remove the poison pills from the bill during conference committee.
Other legislation moving into conference committee focuses on the Illiana Expressway, child support and illegal drug trafficking.
#SB 382 would allow the Illana Expressway and Ohio River bridges to be completed as public-private partnerships. Both of these projects not only have the potential to create thousands of jobs for Indiana, but also jobs associated with the improved infrastructure and the economic development.
#SB 163 would require casinos to withhold cash winnings from parents who are at least $2,000 or 3 months past due on child support payments.
In addition, the bill would require a court to immediately withhold a parent's income under a court order if a parent chooses not to pay their child support.
In my opinion, if a parent has the money to gamble, there is no excuse not to pay child support.
#Indiana is 2nd in the nation for the number of methamphetamine (commonly referred to as "meth") labs discovered. Meth is a highly addictive drug and SB 285 is an attempt to restrain its use and manufacturing in Indiana.
The legislation would strengthen the current system tracking the sale of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (PSE), the common ingredients used to make meth.
As session comes to a close, I encourage you to log onto www.in.gov/legislative to track bills as they move through conference committee.
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