Ind. General Assembly to reconvene Jan. 7

The 113th Congress was sworn in Jan. 3, 2013. Democrats now fill 201 seats in the House, while Republicans fill 234 seats, still maintaining House majority. In the Senate, Democrats are now the majority with 55 seats, while the Republicans have 45.

Now that all nine Indiana congressmen representing the state’s nine districts have been sworn in, constituents await action.

Each of Indiana’s nine districts are outlined to the left and correspond with the respective representative.

WHAT'S AHEAD

The first regular session of the Indiana General Assembly reconvenes Jan. 7, bringing many national issues to the forefront.

Firearms
After the Newtown, Conn. shootings, gun control is a matter President Barack Obama has made a priority. Senate Bill 0097 of the Indiana General Assembly addressing the possession of firearms on state property. It could potentially prohibit a state agency, including state supported universities, from regulating the possession of firearms, ammunition or firearm accessories.

Education
The General Assembly also has education and the state of schools in Indiana. The Senate Bill 0129 discusses an education roundtable which would require the roundtable to make recommendations to the state board of education about what would be the best way to improve the services and support provided by a school.

Senate Bill 0160 introduces school employee background checks. This would require a national criminal history background check, eliminating other types of permissible record searches. Higher education grading practices and faculty organization is introduced in Senate Bill 0180. This bill would require state educational institution to provide the commission for higher education with the necessary information concerning grading practices for courses that are required to fill general education requirements at the state educational institution.

Senate Bill 0189 states performance-qualified school districts to provide flexibility in administration and instruction to school corporations that meet certain performance criteria. This would allow a performance-qualified school district to be exempt from most statutes, rules and guidelines applicable to school boards or corporations.
Opportunities and services for veterans are also a topic of discussion. House Bill 0150 proposes veterans’ property tax deduction. Allowing totally disabled veterans who are at least 62 years of age and have a disability of at least 10 percent to not have the assessed value of their property be considered when determining their eligibility for the property tax deduction.

Disabled veteran benefits
House Bill 0130 and Senate Bill 0166 would allow certain disabled veterans, or their surviving spouses, to claim a credit against the annual motor vehicle excise tax, in addition to the property tax deduction. Additionally, Senate Bill 0165  eliminates the assessed value cap of $143,160 that applies to the property tax deduction for veterans who are totally disabled or are at least 62 with at least a 10 percent disability.