This is where you can find information concerning bills that have been introduced in the Indiana General Assembly (IGA.)
Every year the IGA session begins in January. On odd-numbered years (budget years) the session will run through late-April. On even-numbered years (non-budget years) the session runs until late-March.
Our State Senators and Representatives draft bills, hundreds of bills every year. Good news! There are folks at the ISRPA, the National Rifle Association, and other pro-2nd Amendment groups who go through all the bills so you don’t have to! Bills that can affect 2nd Amendment Rights (for good or bad) as well as any bills that affect anything related to firearms.
See Legislation Currently Tracked by ISRPA (the “Bill Tracker”) for a summary of the IGA legislation that ISRPA is currently tracking.
These bills are read at the Statehouse (first reading) to the members in the Senate or House (where it was introduced) and the bills are assigned to a specific committee. The committee chair has significant influence over which bills get a hearing in the committee. If a bill does not get a hearing in committee, the bill does not go any further that year. About 75% of bills introduced every year never get a hearing.
The Bill Tracker will help narrow the search for specific bills (all are given a specific number, “SB” then the number for Senate bills, “HB” then the number for House bills) and the committee where it is assigned. The Indiana General Assembly Website Primer will help find everything from the full text of the bill, legislators on the committee of assignment, time and place of the hearing, committee action and votes, and how to contact legislators. There are also links to watch the committee hearings and meetings of the Senate and House sessions. All live video feeds are archived and are available to view from the IGA website within a few days of the hearing.
A committee hearing is where the public can make comments (supporting, opposing, or neutral) on specific bills. Individuals either speak on behalf of organizations, or testify for themselves.
See How a Bill Navigates the Legislative Process in Indiana for further details.
As mentioned earlier, there is a live video feed of committee hearings that can be accessed from the IGA website. One thing to remember: this starts with the committee convening and there are often several bills up for hearing each day. Sometimes the bills are heard in the order shown on the website, sometimes not. While watching the live feed gives you the same perspective as those in the hearing room, watching the archived video later gives you a fast-forward option.
ISRPA members will receive legislative updates via email concerning upcoming committee hearings (with bills on the bill tracker) as well as “Action Alerts” when our State Legislators need to hear from their constituents. Keep in mind you can contact any legislator whether they represent you or not. When bills of interest to gun owners are coming up for a committee hearing, emailing members of the committee is always an option. When there is a bill of interest to gun owners that hasn’t been scheduled for a committee hearing? Reaching out to the committee chair (via email/mail/or calling the Statehouse) is always an option.
Often there is only 48 hours notice that a bill will be up for a hearing in committee. An email “Action Alert” is the fastest way to get the word out to the ISRPA membership.
When reaching out to elected officials always remember two things: be polite, be professional.
