The Legislature is full of deadlines; deadlines to file bills, deadlines to offer amendments and even deadlines regarding when we must adjourn. With the committee report deadline on the horizon, the last few bills are making their way through committees. Many others have already moved on to the House floor for amendment and vote, but as is the case each year, a number of bills will never even receive a committee hearing.
This session, there were a total of 669 bills filed in the House and 589 filed in the Senate. With only 16 weeks to our complete our work, we take very seriously the constituent feedback that we receive throughout the interim. We have a responsibility to address the most pressing issues facing our state, and that feedback dictates the issues that we address each session.
At the halfway point, all of the bills that have been heard in committee and passed by the House of Representatives will move over to the Senate for further consideration and debate. At the same time, all of the bills that have been heard in committee and passed by the Senate move over to the House as well. Once the bills switch, the entire process starts over again.
The process of a bill becoming a law is a long one; but it is a necessary and worthwhile process to ensure that only the best public policy makes it into Indiana Code. One piece of legislation that I am particularly pleased to see move over to the Senate is House Bill (HB) 1216, a bill which I co-authored to increase public safety not just in our local communities, but throughout the state.
HB 1216 protects Hoosier families by requiring the Superintendent of the Indiana State Police Department to create a pamphlet that would be distributed to anyone who reports a missing child. The pamphlet would include information for parents to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the National Runaway Safeline.
Currently, law enforcement is not required by law to give families any additional information to help them find their missing children. However, it is absolutely crucial that these parents have all the necessary information at their disposal when they are going through this extremely challenging time. On the surface this may seem like a minor adjustment in policy, but this minor adjustment will hopefully bring more Hoosier children home to their families.
It is my duty, and the duty of the Legislature, to keep your best interest in mind and in turn, enact the most responsible legislation. That is why the legislative process is so lengthy: to ensure that we exercise due diligence and properly vet each piece of legislation. With House bills soon moving to the Senate, and vice versa, your input continues to make a difference. To keep up to date on the happenings at the Statehouse, please visit iga.in.gov.
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