From bill filing to vetoes, here’s what you need to know to follow all the action at the Statehouse. (Getty Images)
A biennial budget of more than $40 billion is on the line come January, alongside hundreds of other proposals from Indiana lawmakers. Just a fraction become law. How do we get there?
Some might call it organized chaos, but the legislative session has an established trajectory that begins with filing bills.
The Indiana General Assembly’s website makes it easier to follow the action. But here’s a guide on what to expect, including some common twists and turns.
How do bill readings work?
Lawmakers write and file bills that they present to their respective chambers.
The speaker of the House or the Senate president pro tempore assigns each bill to a committee. If it’s given a hearing, that’s known as the first reading. (However, chamber leadership can decide not to refer the bill to a committee. In this case, the bill dies.)
And if you see something assigned to a Rules Committee it generally means that bill has slim prospects, if any. Though sometimes in the Senate they will hear a bill there and then vote.
The committee chair holds an immense amount of power in deciding which bills to discuss and hold hearings on. Sometimes, if a chair refuses to hear a bill, leadership can reassign it to a friendlier committee.
After hearing testimony and weighing the bill’s merits, committee members can vote whether to amend the bill or move it forward to their full chamber. If the vote fails, the bill is effectively killed — unless language from that bill is later added into another piece of legislation.
Bills are routinely overhauled after public testimony and right before committee votes on a bill. So, be sure to watch for what gets changed.
What’s next?
A bill then moves to the full body of legislators. If chamber leadership schedules the bill for second reading, any lawmaker in that chamber can suggest amendments to the bill.
But here are some important caveats.
Members can challenge an amendment on several key procedural grounds. Some of the routine challenges are if a similar bill is pending or if the topic of the amendment is unrelated or not germane to the underlying bill.
Also, Republicans — who hold supermajorities in both chambers — generally have to get approval from their respective caucuses to offer an amendment. While a member can defy their caucus, it usually results in failure and punishment.
To pass, amendments must simply get more votes in favor than in opposition.
Third reading
At this stage, a bill on is voted upon by the full chamber — as long as chamber leadership schedules it for a vote. If the bill is scheduled, amendments can once again be made. However, amendments on third reading cannot be approved unless two-thirds of the legislators agree to the change. Following a vote on amendments, the bill once again comes to a vote by the full body.
A constitutional majority of the chamber must vote in support to pass the bill. That means at least 26 votes in the Senate and 51 votes in the House. Similarly, a bill can only be defeated by reaching those thresholds.
If a vote does neither — for instance 49-46 (with several lawmakers absent) — the bill can be called for a vote on another day.
Then, the process starts over as surviving bills swap chambers.
If a bill advances through the second chamber without amendments, it goes straight to the governor for signature or veto.
If the bill advances out of the second chamber with amendments, though, it must return to the chamber from which it originated.
The final hurdle
The original chamber can vote to approve changes its colleagues made across the hall. If this happens, the bill is sent to the governor. That is called a concurrence.
Or, the Legislature could abandon the bill altogether, killing the measure.
If the author or caucus disagrees with the changes, the bill is assigned to a conference committee.
A conference committee is made up of two members from both chambers. Each chamber sends one member from both major political parties. The four members attempt to reconcile differences between the two legislative bodies.
This process is almost always behind closed doors. Most of the conference committees will hold one public meeting but recently don’t even take testimony from the public. Sometimes the committees last only a minute or two.
Republican leadership eventually removes Democrat conferees, which is allowed by the rules, to get four signatures on a final conference committee report. That report then moves to each chamber’s Rules Committee.
Both the House and Senate must approve this version of the bill before it can be sent to the governor.
Governor actions
All bills are then sent to the governor’s office. Once he receives them, he has seven days to sign or veto the legislation. If he does neither, the bill automatically becomes law.
Indiana governors rarely veto bills partially because it takes only a simple majority to override as opposed to a two-thirds vote in other states.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.