Indiana lawmakers are preparing to finish the 2020 session this week a few days ahead of when state law says they have to.
The reason they’ll wrap up early: the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament in downtown Indianapolis. It begins Wednesday and lawmakers will get kicked out of their hotel rooms, making extending the session through the rest of the week difficult.
There are still dozens of bills unresolved – including, notably, several measures aimed at providing more transparency for health care costs. Those are priorities of both chambers and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) says the bills just need “tweaks.”
“So, we’re optimistic that we’re going to finish this session strong and have some really positive steps to take for health care cost issues that we’ve been trying to address all session long,” Bray says.
There are also some controversial measures aimed at Indianapolis, including bills over panhandling, mass transit and landlord-tenant regulations. House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) says he’s personally invested in those.
“Perhaps not critical for the state’s future but I think very important for our capital city’s economy and consequently our state’s economy,” Bosma says.
Lawmakers expect the session to finish Wednesday.
Contact Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.
