INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana House and Senate convened Monday afternoon to kick off the 2022 General Assembly session at the Indiana Statehouse.
There are plenty of important dates for bills and votes in the session that will affect you and your family.
The biggest issues lawmakers will take on this year include COVID-19 and vaccines, taxes and schools.
First up is House Bill 1001, which will eliminate Governor Eric Holcomb's state of emergency. It will also limit COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the workplace.
Lawmakers are expected to make changes to the bill on Thursday. As it is currently written, there has been opposition to the bill from leaders in both the healthcare and business communities.
Education
Parents and students have several school bills to keep an eye on.
Senate Bill 167 and House Bill 1040 both appear to be a response to debates over Critical Race Theory, which, by the way, is not being taught in local schools. But the bills would lead to more parental review of teaching materials and also require more parental consent for certain activities.
Taxes
Both Holcomb and lawmakers want to cut taxes. The question is, how far will they cut?
There are some bills that focus on certain groups, like businesses, veterans or teachers. House Bill 1027 would cut the income tax rate for everyone, dropping it from 3.23% to a flat 3%.
Marijuana
We will also see several marijuana bills come up for debate during the session.
Indiana Democrats say they plan to champion the issue, but we're seeing legislation from both sides of the aisle proposing everything from simple decriminalization to legalizing pot for everyone.
In the past, these bills have died without a hearing. But the question is if 2022 is the year Republican leaders will allow a debate on dope.
See all the bills
As of Tuesday morning, 275 bills have been filed and posted online, but more are coming.
The filing deadline for state senators is the end of this week. Representatives have until next week.