Lawmakers are in the final weeks of the 2017 legislative session. The Indiana House of Representatives passed 164 bills to be considered by the Indiana Senate, and the Senate passed 199 bills that the House is now looking over. Many of the bills that were amended in the opposite chamber of their origin will now have to be sent to conference committee for further consideration.
As of last week, the House voted in favor of 72 Senate bills with only 31 being amended. The Senate approved 79 House bills with 48 of those bills being amended.
There is only one state in the union that doesn’t have a bicameral legislature, which means legislation must be agreed upon by both chambers. In Indiana, for example, if the Senate makes changes to a House bill the original author has to decide whether to concur or disagree with the amendments. If the bill’s author agrees, the full House will take a concurrence vote. If passed, the amended bill becomes an enrolled act and is sent to the governor to await his consideration. However, if the author does not agree with the changes made by the Senate, the bill will then go to conference committee. This also applies to Senate bills that are amended and passed by the House.
Conference committees are made up of four legislators. Two are from the House and two are from the Senate. Leaders of the House and Senate appoint members from both parties to be involved in the conference committee process. One member from each chamber serves as conferee and an advisor. Usually the author of the bill serves as a conferee.
With the last day of session, known as Sine Die, fast approaching, it is now time for the General Assembly to move bills through this conference committee process. While no bill is as pressing as our state’s biennial budget, every piece of legislation impacts Hoosiers and their communities. Due to the few weeks left, conference committees can take place spur-of-the-moment. Sometimes, legislators receive only the minimum two-hour scheduling notice before a conference committee meeting.
During a conference committee, the conferees and advisors discuss matters. Very often, we are able to come to an agreement and pass commonsense legislation that benefits all Hoosiers. If all four legislators in the conference committee approve of the changes made to the bill, the legislation must be passed by both the House and Senate before moving on to the governor. Sometimes, however, agreement is just not possible and the legislation fails to move past the conference committee stage.
Conference committees ensure that even the smallest changes to a bill are fully vetted by both legislative chambers before becoming a law. If you are interested in what bills are being passed into law, follow the governor’s 2017 Bill Watch. If you have any questions, contact my office at 317-234-3827 or email h67@iga.in.gov.
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State Rep. Frye (R-Greensburg) represents House District 67, which includes Ohio, Ripley and Switzerland counties, as well as portions of Decatur, Jennings, Jefferson and Dearborn counties.
A high-resolution photo of Frye can be downloaded by clicking here.
