What an exciting day to kick off the 2016 Short Session of the Indiana General Assembly in earnest! It's hard to believe that this is the 6th Session that I've had the privilege of representing my friends and neighbors in House District 21. I love serving the good people of Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties in the Indiana House!
Each year, we begin the first day of Session with a prayer service in the Statehouse Atrium. This is a wonderful, bi-partisan, voluntary opportunity to acknowledge Almighty God and to seek His wisdom and blessing in the affairs of our State. Just as our forefathers gratefully acknowledged Him in the Preamble of our 1851 State Constitution, so too, do we.
Things typically start out slowly the first week. Bills have to be handed down on first reading and assigned to committees by the Speaker before they can be acted upon. I expect we'll see committees begin to hear bills Monday of next week and the process will be in full swing by later next week. This Session promises to be a whirlwind, wrapping up no later than March 15, a mere ten weeks! If a bill is not passed out of committee in the first four weeks, it will be considered dead. Many bills will not be heard (and that is a good thing!).
2016 is a landmark year for our State as we celebrate Indiana's Bicentennial! There will be many celebrations across our State and I hope you take time to participate!
Thanks for reading! If you're interested in following the Legislature closely or are interested in any particular issue, see our website iga.in.gov. There you can watch all of our Sessions and Committee meetings live or on-demand and closely follow action on any piece of Legislation.
In God we Trust!
Tim Wesco
