HJR-3 will not appear on November ballot

The Indiana Senate did not make any changes to House Joint Resolution 3, the controversial constitutional amendment defining marriage, during its session this afternoon.

The second reading of the legislation in the chamber today was the final opportunity to make wording changes. The Senate’s inaction means that even if the resolution is passed by the body, it will take another set of votes from the General Assembly before voters will be presented with the language, the Senate Republicans press office confirmed.

When no amendments were made to the language of the resolution, the Senate chamber erupted in cheers from HJR-3 opponents, the Indianapolis Star’s Barbara Berggoetz reported via Twitter.

Until two weeks ago, when the House removed the second sentence of the resolution – one which would ban any legal status “substantially similar” to marriage – HJR-3 was on track for a November referendum. It had passed the 2011 General Assembly and a House committee hearing.

But because the state constitution requires two consecutive legislatures to approve the language of constitutional amendments with an election in between, this substantial change means Hoosier voters won’t see it on the ballot until 2016 at the earliest.

— Michael Auslen