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2020 Indiana legislative session

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Some states made changes to 2020 state legislative sessions and legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
Indiana: No changes impacting state legislative activities were made.
Indiana General Assembly

Seal of Indiana.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 6, 2020
Website:   Official General Assembly Page
Leadership
Senate President:  
Suzanne Crouch (R)
House Speaker:  Brian Bosma (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Mark Messmer (R)
House: Matthew Lehman (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Timothy Lanane (D)
House: Phil GiaQuinta (D)
Structure
Members:  50 (Senate), 100 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art 4, Indiana Constitution
Salary:   $25,435.98/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Redistricting:  Indiana General Assembly has control

In 2020, the Indiana State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 6 and adjourn on March 11.

Several state legislatures suspended their sessions or otherwise limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic. No modifications to state legislative activity in Indiana were made.

Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2019. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 40-10 supermajority in the Senate and a 67-33 supermajority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a veto-proof supermajority in the Indiana state House and state Senate.
  • Indiana was one of 21 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Indiana’s governor was Republican Eric Holcomb.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2020

    See also: State government trifectas

    Indiana was one of 21 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2020 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Indiana was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Indiana State Legislature in the 2020 legislative session.

    Indiana State Senate

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 10
         Republican Party 40
    Total 50

    From 1992 to 2020, the Indiana State Senate was controlled by the Republican Party. Republicans started with a slim majority in the early 1990s, but they increased their seat share over the next twenty years and held a strong majority by 2018. The table below shows the partisan history of the Indiana State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Indiana State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 22 20 19 19 18 18 17 17 17 14 13 10 9 10
    Republicans 28 30 31 31 32 32 33 33 33 36 37 40 41 40

    The Indiana State Senate was somewhat competitive from 1900 to 2020, switching partisan control 10 times during that period. Of the 10 times partisan control changed, six occurred between 1960 and 1978. Despite the changes in control, the chamber was mostly in Republican hands. When Democrats took control, they usually only held it for a few election cycles before losing to Republicans. After Republicans took back control from Democrats in 1978, Democrats did not regain control through the 2018 elections.

    In 1992, Republicans took a 28-22 majority in the chamber. In the elections that followed they almost always gained seats. By 2004, they held a 33-17 lead over Democrats. In 2010, Republicans gained three seats, putting them at 36. They gained another seat in 2012, even though the national climate favored Democrats, and then three more in 2014, when the national climate favored Republicans.

    In 2016, Republicans gained another seat, pushing the Democrats to less than 10 seats. The 41-9 GOP advantage following the 2016 election was the largest the chamber had seen since 1920. Republicans lost control of one seat during the 2018 elections, restoring the state Senate's 40-10 chamber balance. The chamber's Republican gains from 2010 to 2016 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats altogether.

    Indiana House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 33
         Republican Party 67
    Total 100

    From 1992 to 2020, partisan control of the Indiana House of Representatives changed five times before Republicans took over in the 2010 elections. From 2010 to 2018, Republicans built a strong majority in the chamber, turning what had been a partisan battleground into a one-party chamber. The table below shows the partisan history of the Indiana House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Indiana House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 55 44 50* 53 53 51 48 51 52 40 31 29 30 33
    Republicans 45 56 50 47 47 49 52 49 48 60 69 71 70 67

    *Democrat John Gregg served as speaker of the house because the governor's race was won by Frank O'Bannon (D) and a 1989 law said the party that won the governor's race was to elect the speaker of a tied chamber.

    The Indiana House of Representatives was competitive from 1900 to 2020. The chamber changed partisan control 15 times during that time period. Starting in 1990, Democrats held control of the chamber. This started a twenty-year period of competitiveness where partisan control frequently switched between Democrats and Republicans and the distance between the parties was never more than 12 seats.

    After taking control in 1990, Democrats held the chamber through the 1992 elections. Republicans won a 56-44 majority in 1994. In the 1996 elections, Democrats made gains and brought the chamber to a 50-50 tie. They also won the chamber's leadership positions because a 1989 Indiana law allows the party of the governor to select the speaker of the house in the event of a tie (Democrat Gov. Frank O'Bannon was elected in 1996).[1]

    Democrats held slim majorities following the 1998, 2000, and 2002 elections before Republicans took control with a 52-48 majority in 2004. Democratic gains in 2006 and 2008 swung control back in their favor, although they did not win more than 52 seats in either election. Starting in 2010, Republicans began building a majority in the chamber that lasted through 2018. In the 2010 election, they won a 60-40 majority, the largest either party had held since the 1984 elections. Despite a national trend back toward Democrats in 2012, Republicans won another nine seats.

    The 2014 and 2016 elections yielded a few more seats to Republicans, leaving them with a 71-29 majority after 2014 and a 70-30 majority after 2016. Republicans lost three seats in the 2018 election, holding a 67-33 majority. These were the largest margins in the chamber since 1972 and signaled an end to the decades where both parties had a chance at a majority. The chamber's Republican gains from 2010 to 2016 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats altogether.

    Leadership in 2020

    Indiana State Senate

    Indiana House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2020 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2020. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Indiana state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session, there were 44 standing committees in Indiana's state government, including no joint legislative committees, 20 state Senate committees, and 24 state House committees.

    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Indiana Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article 16 of the Indiana Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Indiana

    The Indiana Constitution provides for a legislative process to amend the constitution.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions for the Indiana State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 51 votes in the Indiana House of Representatives and 26 votes in the Indiana State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Indiana.

    Indiana Party Control: 1992-2025
    No Democratic trifectas  •  Seventeen years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House D D D R R D D D D D D D D R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    See also

    Elections Indiana State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "In Case of a Tie......," accessed October 23, 2017
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