Maureen Hayden
CNHI
INDIANAPOLIS —
Indiana state lawmakers aren’t in session, but the process of lawmaking is about to resume again.
A range of issues, from “sexting” to cloud computing, are set to come under review this summer by out-of-session study committees whose work may shape the legislative agenda in the months to come.
Some of the issues to be studied are mandated by law. But the fate of other hot topics, such as the state’s school funding formula, await the decision of legislative leaders scheduled to meet later this month.
A range of factors will influence not only what issues lawmakers take up for study during the coming summer months, but also how effective legislators are as they carry out their assignments. Among the variables in play this summer: Election-year politics and a dwindling budget for lawmakers’ travel and per diem.
“It’s hard to forecast what to expect will come out of the summer study committees,” said John Ross, head of the Legislative Services Agency, the bill-drafting and research arm of the Indiana General Assembly.
The issues known to be destined for a study committee are those that lawmakers voted on before they adjourned in March. Among them is the penalty for “sexting” by teenagers. Currently, teens who send sexually explicit photographs by cell phone or computer are subject to felony child pornography charges; if convicted, they would be listed on the state’s sex-offender registry for decades to come.
Indiana lawmakers had considered a bill that would treat “sexting” teens differently than adult pornographers and sexual predators. Instead of voting on the bill, though, lawmakers decided to send the issue to a study committee this summer.
It’s been assigned to the Sentencing Study Policy Committee, made up of Republican and Democrat lawmakers who will invite legal experts to weigh in on the implications of changing the law.
Indiana Deputy Attorney General David Miller cited it as an example of how important study committees can be. “The drafting of language in legislation like this can be so critical,” said Miller, whose office advises county prosecutors who may take up such cases. “Study committees can take the time to look closely at an issue.”
Another example: The Regulatory Flexibility Study Committee – one of more than 30 study committees established by the Indiana General Assembly – will consider the issue of “cloud computing” this summer. It’s the term used to describe an Internet-based remote-storage system for information. It could potentially save the state government money, but it also raises security issues.
Maureen Hayden is statehouse bureau chief for CNHI‚s Indiana newspapers. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
