Indiana General Assembly

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The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. The state legislature meets in the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.

Structure

Indiana has a part-time legislature, which means that it does not meet year-round. The General Assembly convenes on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January. (The Assembly also holds an Organization Day in mid-November to allow newly-elected members to be sworn into office. This day is always counted as the first day of the upcoming legislative session.) During odd-numbered years the legislature meets for 61 days (not necessarily consecutively) and must be adjourned by April 30. This is referred to as a long session. During even-numbered years the legislature meets for 30 days (not necessarily consecutively) and must be adjourned by March 15. This is referred to as a short session. The governor has the authority to convene what is called a special session if legislators are unable to complete necessary work within the allotted time.

Under Indiana law, legislators cannot be arrested while the General Assembly is in session.

Role in state budget

Main article: Indiana state budget

By January of every other year, the General Assembly of Indiana receives an biennial budget proposal from the Governor. The biennial budget proposal is for the next two fiscal years, which begin on July 1st. The Legislature then revises this budget over the course of the next couple of months. The General Assembly votes on a budget. For a budget to pass, a majority of legislatures must vote in support of it ^[1]

Indiana's General Assembly has failed to pass balanced budgets, having to draw upon reserves in the process. Indiana saw 1st Quarter FY 2010 state revenues drop $254 million, 8%, below forecast as announced by [Mitch Daniels|Gov. Mitch Daniels] on October 8, 2009. State budget officials estimate the FY 2010 budget could have a $1 billion deficit by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2010 if the trend continues. "Thank goodness we have built up reserves. And thank goodness we didn't spend them, or lots of them, as some people wanted to do," said Gov. Daniels. The state ended the last fiscal year with $1.3 billion in reserves. About $300 million of those reserves are slated to be used in the current budget.^[2]

Senate

The Indiana State Senate consists of 50 members elected to 4-year terms without term limits. The Lieutenant Governor, currently Becky Skillman, presides over the senate while it is in session and casts the deciding vote in the event of a tie. The current Senate Pro Tempore is Sen. David Long of Fort Wayne. The current-make up is 33 Republicans, 17 Democrats.

House of Representatives

The Indiana House of Representatives consists of 100 members elected to 2-year terms without term limits. The current The house currently has a Democratic majority with 51 Democratic representatives and 49 Republican representatives.

References

• Wikipedia: Indiana General Assembly

External links

• Official Indiana General Assembly web site

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