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Policy Making in Indiana: Processes and Sources
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This guide is a supplement to the Federal Policy Process and outlines the steps and information sources related to policy development in the State of Indiana. The legal process begins with the introduction of a bill in the General Assembly and ends with its interpretation by the Indiana or federal court systems. There is far less documentation of the legislative history at the state level than at the federal level. Therefore, it will probably be necessary to use secondary sources such as newspapers to determine legislative intent.
How Laws are MadeKnowledge of the process by which a bill becomes a law is necessary for conducting legislative research. Here is a brief outline of the process:
When a bill is introduced by one or more members of the House or Senate, it is "read for the first time" and assigned to a standing committee by the speaker of the House or the president pro tem of the Senate. The Committee may hold public hearings. The Committee must decide whether to take no action (i.e. kill the bill) or to report the bill out of the Committee with or without recommendation. The bill is printed and then receives a second reading, then after amendment there is a third reading and a vote. If it is passed by the House or Senate (a simple majority is required), it is forwarded to the other chamber to proceed through a similar process.
Who Proposes Legislation?It is important to remember that much legislation at the state level is a direct result of legislation or rule-making at the national level. Proposed legislation also is suggested by the Governor, Interim Study Committees established by the Legislative Council, the individual legislators, lobbyists and citizens, as well as many state agencies and commissions.
A unique feature of the Indiana General Assembly are the Interim Study Committees that are established by the Legislative Council and the General Assembly to meet between sessions in order to study issues and bring recommendations to the General Assembly the following term. Testimony of witnesses who appear before the study committees is summarized in the reports and a list of findings and recommendations is included. Each study committee report is usually 5-10 pages in length and therefore not nearly so comprehensive as a U.S. Congressional hearing or report. But they do provide the only official documents that indicate intent on the part of the legislators.
| Title | Format | Location | Notes |
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Governor's State of the State Address and Agenda for Action | WWW | http://www.in.gov/gov/stateofstate.html | Each year the Governor reviews the accomplishments of the past year and proposes legislation for the current year. The Governor's agenda will be introduced as bills in the legislature and his or her message provides some indication of legislative intent. This site covers 1997 to present. | Interim Study Committees | WWW | http://www.state.in.us/legislative/interim/committees/ | List of study committees with links to minutes and reports . This page covers the current year. | Interim Study Committee Archive | WWW | http://www.state.in.us/legislative/interim/archive.html | Study committees for 1998 to the present. | Reports of study committees (various titles) | Paper | Search IUCAT, the online catalog (http://www.iucat.iu.edu) | Many titles are held by the IPFW library and the IU libraries in general | Access Indiana | WWW | http://www.ai.org/ | Agency descriptions and agenda are included in this official portal to Indiana government |
Proposed Legislation - Bills
Committee and Floor Action; VotesThere are no printed hearings for Indiana General Assembly committees that meet during the session. See the study committees above for committee reports that are issued intra-session. News accounts in local newspapers may be useful. The Indianapolis Star provides in-depth coverage of the Indiana General Assembly, but there is no online access to this paper.
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House Journals | WWW | http://www.in.gov/legislative/session/h_journals.jsp | Summary actions, full text of resolutions and of amendments to bills; motions to add co-authors; messages from the governor. Current session. | Senate Journals | WWW | Not available | | Journal of the House of Representatives, State of Indiana | Paper | KFI 3018.A19 H8 | Includes all of the above plus votes on all roll calls and both a roll-call index (legislative history information) and a miscellaneous index. IPFW has 1963 to date. | Journal of the Senate, State of Indiana | Paper | KFI 3018.A19 S4 | See above IPFW has 1972 to date. | Index to House and Senate Journals | Paper | KFI 3018.A19 | Legislators, committee members, legislation by legislator, financial statement and employees by legislator; histories of bills and resolutions; subject index to bills and resolutions. IPFW has 1975 to date. | Fort Wayne Newspapers | WWW | http://www.fortwayne.com/ | Searches current issues and archives of the Journal Gazette (1993 to date) and the News-Sentinel (1990 to date). Newspapers are available on microfilm. | Fort Wayne Newspaper Index | Paper | REF AN2 .F7 N7 (on index tables) | Subject index to the News Sentinel and the Journal Gazette covers 1978 to 1992. Some years on file cards. ALSO, ask for issue-oriented subject binders at the Service Desk. | Indiana Newspapers | WWW | IN: Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe> News> U.S. News> Select State> Indiana
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/ | Covers the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel (1996 to date) and the South Bend Tribune (1994 to date) full text as well as news wires. |
Governor ActionIf a bill passes both chambers of the General Assembly, it goes to the Governor. The Governor may comment on the bill and sign or veto it. Bills that the Governor signs become law, usually on July 1 of the same year. If the Governor takes no action within 7 days, the bill becomes law. If the Governor vetoes a bill, both chambers must override the veto by a constitutional majority; otherwise the bill dies.
| Title | Format | Location | Notes |
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House Journals | WWW | http://www.in.gov/legislative/session/h_journals.jsp | Summary actions, full text of resolutions and of amendments to bills; motions to add co-authors; messages from the governor. Current session. For archive of past sessions select http://www.in.gov/legislative/session/archives.html | Senate Journals 2001 | WWW | http://www.in.gov/legislative/session/s_journals.jsp | See above | Journal of the House of Representatives, State of Indiana | Paper | KFI 3018.A19 H8 | Includes all of the above plus votes on all roll calls and both a roll-call index (legislative history information) and a miscellaneous index. IPFW has 1963 to date. | Journal of the Senate, State of Indiana | Paper | KFI 3018.A19 S4 | See above.
IPFW has 1972 to date. | Index to House and Senate Journals | Paper | KFI 3018.A19 | Legislators, committee members, legislation by legislator, financial statement and employees by legislator; histories of bills and resolutions; subject index to bills and resolutions. IPFW has 1975 to date. |
LawsOnce a bill has passed both chambers of the General Assembly and has been signed by the Governor, it becomes a public law and is cited as P.L. # and year (e.g., P.L. 38-1999). At the conclusion of each biennial session of the General Assembly all of the public laws passed in the session are cumulated and bound together in order of their passage in the Indiana Acts. All of the Indiana laws currently in effect are codified or arranged into 36 broad categories called Titles in a publication called the Indiana Code. The annotated version of the Indiana Code is entitled Burns' Indiana Statutes.
| Title | Format | Location | Notes |
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Indiana Constitution Annotated | Paper | IN: Burns Indiana Statutes REF KFI 3030 1971 .A43 | Annotated version of the Indiana Constitution citing articles in law journals, opinions of the Indiana Attorney General, and notes to decisions. | Indiana Constitution | WWW | http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/const/ | Current. | Indiana Code | WWW | http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/ | Current. | Indiana Code | Paper | REF KFI 3030 1998 .A22 1998 | Current year only. Some earlier editions are available in the stacks. | Burns Indiana Statutes | Paper | REF KFI 3030 1971 .A43 | Annotated version of the Indiana Code, showing history of revisions and referencing court interpretations. A Tables volume equates statutes to code sections. Burns also includes the Rules of Court. Subject indexes are included for each title. A separate cumulative subject index is also available. Current edition, updated by pocket parts, is in reference; some earlier editions are in the general collections. | Indiana Acts | Paper | KFI 3030 .A2 (latest two years in reference) | Public laws in numerical order, with indexes. Printed to allow comparison of new law with text of prior law. IPFW has 1853 to present with some missing. | Indiana Non-Code Acts | WWW | http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/noncode/ | Current. | State codes | WWW | IN: Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe> Legal Research> State Codes> Indiana
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/ | Provides current edition of Burns Indiana Statutes as well as Indiana Attorney General Decisions 1977 to present. Select Legal Research>State Codes. |
RegulationsLaws are implemented by a series of regulations issued by the administrative units of Indiana government. As new regulations are issued, they are published in the Indiana Register. All regulations currently in effect are published in the Indiana Administrative Code.
Judicial ReviewJudicial review of Indiana law can occur within the state or the federal court systems. See the Judicial Review section of the Federal Policy Process for a review of publications and sources of federal decisions. This section focuses on the Indiana Court system.
| Title | Format | Location | Notes |
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Indiana Judicial Opinions | WWW | http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/ | Select a court for current day decisions. Use the archive to retrieve decisions from 2000 to present by court. Also available: rules amendments and oral arguments. Not searchable. | State case law | WWW | IN: Lexis Nexis Academic Universe> Legal Research> State Case Law> Indiana
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/ | Covers Indiana Court of Appeals 1891 to presnt (updated weekly), and Indiana Supreme Court decisions 1817 to present (updated weekly). | Indiana Supreme Court | WWW | http://www.state.in.us/judiciary/supreme/ | This site provides information about the court. See Indiana Judicial Opinions or State Case Law above for opinions of the court. | Indiana Court of Appeals | WWW | http://www.state.in.us/judiciary/appeals/ | This site provides information about the court. Includes webcasts. See Indiana Judicial Opinions or State Case Law above for opinions of the court. | Indiana Tax Court | WWW | http://www.state.in.us/judiciary/tax/ | This site provides information about the court. Includes webcasts. Oral arguments are available. See Indiana Judicial Opinions or State Case Law above for opinions of the court. | West's Indiana Digest. 2nd | Paper | REF KFI 3057 .W53 1991 | 1817 to 1995 (55 vols.) | Northeastern Reporter, 2nd series | Paper | KF 135 .N62 v. 1-513 (1936-1988) available at IPFW; all volumes available at Allen County Public Library. IPFW also has the complete original Northeastern Reporter 1885-1936) | Reports decisions of the Indiana Supreme and Appellate Courts along with several other states. See also West's Indiana Cases (KFI 3047.2 .I524) for Indiana portion of the Northeastern Reporter covering 1988-1997. |
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