2021 Session Discussion

April 23, 2021

Every other year, as the Indiana General Assembly’s biennial budget session comes to a close, legislative leaders — especially those in the majority — are wont to describe whatever they’ve accomplished as “HISTORIC.” This time around, it would be tough to find anybody who would argue with such an assessment. Despite existential health concerns and day-to-day logistical challenges created by the pandemic, lawmakers passed a sweeping policing reform package, reined in the authority of the Governor and local officials, and crafted a 38.6-billion-dollar budget that includes unprecedented funding increases for schools and infrastructure improvements. What's more, in another first, lawmakers decided not to adjourn, but rather to recess, so they can return this fall to redraw congressional and legislative district maps, a process that’s on hold pending updated population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. Joining host Jon Schwantes on this week’s show to assess the 2021 legislative session will be the leaders of the General Assembly’s four caucuses, House Speaker Todd Huston, a Fishers Republican; House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, a Fort Wayne Democrat; Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, a Martinsville Republican; and Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor, an Indianapolis Democrat.