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The Statehouse
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
The Statehouse is home to many of Indiana’s government officials and their offices. In the Executive Branch, this includes the office of the Governor, who serves as the state executive officer, with the power to appoint State Supreme Court Justices, heads of state agencies, and state university board members. The Governor also controls the state National Guard and steers state priorities.
Serving alongside the Governor are his Cabinet Secretaries and the Lieutenant Governor, Micah Beckwith.
These statewide offices are also part of the Executive Branch:
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Secretary of State: chief election officer; maintains permanent state records
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Treasurer: manages state revenue and investment
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Comptroller (formerly known as Auditor): chief financial officer; state bookkeeper
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Attorney General: chief legal officer; represents state interests in legal matters.
JUDICIAL BRANCH
There are three courts at the state level in Indiana: the Tax Court, the Court of Appeals, and the State Supreme Court, known as the court of highest appeal.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Indiana General Assembly is the legislative branch. This is a bicameral legislature (meaning two chambers) made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, just like the US Congress.
The Indiana General Assembly passes state laws and develops the state budget, including funding for education, health departments, state agencies, parks, universities, and more, during the legislative session that occurs every year in the first quarter.
The Indiana House has 100 State Representatives who serve 2 year terms. Currently, 70 Republicans and 30 Democrats make up the Indiana House. Each State House District represents an average of 65,016 Hoosiers. The House controls the state budget process. The House Speaker is the leader of the House and presides over the daily sessions of the chamber. They appoint committee chairs and assign bills to committees.
The Indiana Senate has 50 Senators who serve staggered 4 year terms. Currently, 40 Republicans and 10 Democrats make up the Indiana Senate. Each State Senate District represents an average of 135,086 Hoosiers. The Senate President pro temp is the de facto leader of the Senate and presides over the daily sessions of the chamber. They appoint committee chairs and and assign bills to committee. In Indiana, the Lieutenant Governor is actually the Senate President, but their role is largely ceremonial and as a tie-breaker.
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THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
1. Filing: Bills are filed by legislators at the beginning of each legislative session. The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency assists in the drafting of these bills. There are usually over 1,000 bills filed each session, but only about a quarter make it through the entire process to become law.
2. Committee Assignments (First Reading): Bills are assigned to a committee for potential further study and action. The Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Temp assign bills to committees and appoint the committee chairs. At the beginning of the session, each bill title is read aloud before the General Assembly; this is the ceremonial “First Reading.”
3. Committee Hearing: The committee chair decides which bills the committee will consider. Not all bills assigned to the committee actually receive a hearing. If the committee decides to “hear” a bill, the public can testify in support of or opposition to the bill. Committee hearings are the ONLY opportunity for the public to speak directly to legislators about the bill. Then, the committee votes whether to pass the bill as-is, offer amendments to the bill, or reject the bill. Of the 45 committees, all are chaired by Republicans because they are currently the majority party. 39 are chaired by men.
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4. Amendments (Second Reading): Bills that are passed by the Committee go to the full Chamber for consideration. During the Second Reading, amendments are proposed on the bill by any legislator within the Chamber. This is where lawmakers can debate each other on the bill. While the public cannot testify on the bill at this stage, they can observe the proceedings at the Statehouse or watch on the livesteam.
5. Vote (Third Reading): The “vote” is taken on the bill. If a simple majority (over one-half) of the chamber votes for the bill, the bill passes.
6. Crossover: Bills remaining in play that have passed thus far are sent to the opposite chamber, and the process repeats (steps 2-5). House bills go to the Senate, and Senate bills go to the House.
7. Concurrence: If the second chamber passes the bill without making any amendments, then it goes to the Governor’s desk for their signature and can become law. If changes were made, the bill goes back to the originating Chamber for a concurrence vote (agreement on the newly amended bill). If the concurrence doesn’t pass, then a Conference Committee is formed to create a version of the bill that is acceptable to both chambers, who vote on the amended version.
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Conference committees are made up of legislators who authored or sponsored the bill. The committee chairperson is usually the bill’s author. There are 4 voting members of the committee, including the chairperson. The committee is initially made up of 2 Representatives and two Senators from both parties.
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But, the chairperson can remove conferees if they don’t agree to the proposed changes. Newly-appointed conferees can all be of the same party, meaning there is no differing perspective or representation of the other party while the final version of the bill is developed.
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These conference committees can completely overhaul a bill behind closed doors. The "hearing" may only last seconds to put changes on the record.
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The final version of the bill is presented to the chamber for a vote and sent to the Governor to be signed into law - bypassing public input and bipartisan collaboration.
8. Becoming Law: The governor has 7 days in which they can sign the bill into law; do nothing and the bill becomes law without their signature; or veto the bill. The legislature can override their veto with a majority vote from both chambers.