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Sunday, February 11, 2007

Ind. Law - Last Week in Review at the Indiana General Assembly

Here is the Evansville Courier & Press' Bryan Corbin's review of the past week in the General Assembly. Some quotes:

- A bill that would encourage parents to have their middle school-aged daughters vaccinated for the human papilloma virus is moving through the Senate. A group of six female Republican senators is advocating for Senate Bill 327, which encourages but does not mandate that girls ages 11 and 12 receive the immunization, which can prevent cervical cancer. Attempts to change the bill's wording failed in the Senate on Thursday. Now it's eligible for a third-reading vote by the entire Senate. * * *

Here are some issues on the agenda during the coming week at the Legislature:

- Senate Bill 1, the governor's plan to fund Interstate 69 construction through Southwest Indiana using proceeds from two privatized toll roads, could be voted on in the state Senate as early as Monday. The bill would give the governor and INDOT the tolling authority for the two proposed new toll roads, the Illiana Expressway in northwest Indiana and the Commerce Connector around the Indianapolis suburbs. On Thursday, the Senate defeated an attempt to separate the two projects, 29-19. It is now eligible for a conclusive third-reading vote; if it passes there, Senate Bill 1 would go to the House.

- A proposed amendment to the state constitution, to legally define marriage as between a man and a woman, also is eligible for a third-reading vote in the Senate. After a lengthy debate Thursday, senators voted down attempts to change the wording of the amendment, SJR 7.

It passed the Legislature once before, in 2005, but to be ratified it must pass again in identical form. Then it would go before the voters in a November 2008 referendum.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 11, 2007 10:54 AM
Posted to Indiana Government | Indiana Law