November 19, 2013 is Indiana General Assembly Organization Day for the 2014 Session

14 November 2013

Tuesday 19 November 2013 will be Organization Day at the Indiana State House for the 119th session of the Indiana General Assembly. The date and duties of Organization Day for the second regular session are proscribed by statute as follows.

IC 2-2.1-1-3 Sec. 3. (a) The second regular session of each term of the general assembly shall convene on the third Tuesday after the first Monday of November of each odd-numbered year. The general assembly shall then adjourn until a day: (1) certain fixed by a concurrent resolution; or (2) when the gavel of each house falls in the presence of a quorum whether or not a day certain to reconvene in session has been fixed.

Organization Day is an opportunity for members to meet in caucus and set their agenda for the forthcoming legislative session that begins in January 2014 and by statute is set to end no later than 14 March.

What is likely to be the most hotly contested issue will be the second offering of HJR6 which is the bill to amend the Indiana Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The bill passed in the 2013 session but must also be passed in a subsequent session before a public referendum. Other key issues may be:
~ Addressing funding and sentencing issues following the overhaul of the state’s criminal code passed during 2013 which left those two major issues open. Those are likely to be issues that should not produce much controversy.
~ Implementation of the Common Core Standards will likely be the subject of multiple bills. This has been and is likely to be a hotly contested issue as proponents and opponents battle over whether Indiana should advance an educational plan or a training plan.
~ Funding for a Central Indiana mass transit expansion may be an issue that could include a public referendum on proposed light rail service from downtown Indianapolis to the NE suburbs.
~ The Children's Policy and Law initiative is seeking to introduce legislation to interrupt the school to prison pipeline. The school to prison pipeline is a loosely formed system designed for schools to guide certain youth into the criminal justice system and ultimately prison.
~ Services for Hoosier veterans will likely be the subject of multiple pieces of legislation.
~ In 2013 there were numerous laws enacted relating to oversight or initiatives to increase child well-being including the creation of the The Indiana Commission on Improving the Status of Children

Fort Wayne attorney Casey B. Cox will be sworn in as representative for House District 85. Cox will fill the seat previously held by the late Phyllis Pond.

Members generally start arriving to the Indiana State House around 10:00am. The House will meet in session at 1:00pm while the Senate will meet at 1:30pm. The day general concludes around 4:00-5:00pm.

While not in session or caucus members are free to tend to their own business or meet with constituents. 

Members of the public are invited to attend Organization Day so I encourage you to do so. If you are interested in affecting child well-being legislation and would like to meet your legislator please call me at 317.474.3143 or contact me by email. 

If you would like to assist in advancing child well-being legislation then please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me. There is no charge for initial attorney consultations.

If you would like to follow my activities more closely then send a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.

Subscribe to this blawg.

More information about my child custody and well-being policy efforts may be found on my LinkedIn page.

©2008, 2013 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.