Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Nov. 21 marked the ceremonial start to the 2018 legislative session, commonly referred to as Organization Day. On this day, the Indiana General Assembly gathers to provide legislators the opportunity to meet with other lawmakers and staff to discuss issues in anticipation of the upcoming session.
Organization Day is the first annual roll call for state legislators, and allows caucuses from the Senate and the House of Representatives to organize for when the session officially begins.
The 2018 legislative session will reconvene Jan. 3 and, by law, must end no later than March 14. The Indiana General Assembly is set up as a part-time, citizen legislature, which means lawmakers meet for only a portion of the year so that everyday citizens can serve as a representative or senator while still being able to live and work in the communities they serve.
The General Assembly alternates between “short” and “long” sessions. Even-numbered years are “short” sessions while odd-numbered years are “long” sessions.
Long sessions accommodate the larger workload that goes into crafting the state’s biennial budget, which funds all government services.
This year, a short session, lawmakers will be examining and voting on a wide variety of issues like enhancing the state’s education system, combating the opioid epidemic, and creating legislation that is business-friendly in order to attract high-wage, high-paying jobs to Indiana.
If you would like to stay updated on what’s going on at the Statehouse, visit iga.in.gov. On the website, you can stream committee hearings and session meetings as well as view event calendars, vote tallies, meeting agendas and proposed legislation.
To receive regular email updates on issues being discussed at the Statehouse, visit your state senator’s webpage to sign up.
