Pence, Pelath Reflect On First Half Of Legislative Session

The General Assembly passed the halfway mark of its 2015 legislative session Wednesday. Two of the state’s top lawmakers think their parties have accomplished so far, and what they hope to do as the session continues.

Gov. Mike Pence was the first to dub this the “education session” back in December, when he announced his administration’s legislative priorities.

How does he think it’s going?

"I’m very encouraged at the level of collaboration that’s taking place in broad and bipartisan fashion on priorities of this administration, chief among them is in the area of education," Pence said.

He says he’s pleased with the Republican supermajority’s dedication to change the school funding formula to give all schools more money, lifting the cap on the state’s voucher program, and moving forward with what he calls “common-sense reforms” for the State Board of Education.

On the other side of the aisle, House Minority Leader Scott Pelath says his party has major differences in approach when it comes to education – particularly in terms of restructuring the state board.

"We have reminded the House majority and the Senate majority and the governor that just because they might have 71 percent of the seats doesn’t mean that 71 percent of the people agree with them," Pelath said.

Both the House and Senate return to session Monday.