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5 Key Takeaways From The 2015 Legislative Session

Statehouse

The legislative term has drawn to a close, and members of the General Assembly are heading back to their districts.

Between crafting the next two-year state budget, amending the state's "religious freedom" law amid national outrage and addressing a slew of other bills, it was a pretty busy session for state lawmakers.

Here are our top five takeaways from this year's legislative session.

1. It's likely the Religious Freedom Restoration Act defined the 2015 session.

After passing the measure in late March, Gov. Mike Pence and the Indiana General Assembly received criticism from what seemed like every corner of the country. Opponents of the law were concerned it would allow discrimination against LGBT people and same-sex couples.

That criticism worsened after the governor appeared on national television saying the law did not permit discrimination, but that adding statewide protections for gays and lesbians wasn't on his agenda.

Legislators, worried the law would harm Indiana's economy, amended it the following week to clarify that it did not allow for discrimination.

Though lawmakers' clarification of the law may have mollified some critics, state tourism officials and businesses have continued saying they're worried about damage to the state's image.

And across the state many communities are now working to institute or strengthen their  own non-discrimination ordinances.

"Its most lasting impact may be a discussion about enshrining LGBT rights in the state civil rights statute – a debate that could happen at the Statehouse next year, much sooner than likely would have been possible," Indiana Public Broadcasting's Statehouse reporter Brandon Smith says.

Those local efforts will likely feed into the larger dialogue about more civil protections at the statewide level.

2. Legislators' Common Construction Wage repeal efforts took some by surprise.

The repeal effort, which removes an 80-year-old kind of minimum wage for public construction projects and which Gov. Pence supported, appeared late in the first half of the session. It wasn't long, though, before it caught the eyes of contractors and construction workers across the state.

"Republicans have talked about repealing the policy for a few years but never advanced it very far," Smith says. "The Senate took a broader look at bidding on public construction projects in an attempt to quell the concerns of many – mostly union – contractors."

In what would be the largest and, perhaps, the loudest Statehouse protest of the session, more than 2,000 construction workers and contractors gathered outside the Statehouse just two days before the legislature passed the measure.

3. There's some debate whether 2015's session was really the "education session."

Although other issues-the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, for example-appeared to be at the forefront of the session, lawmakers did not overlook education issues this year.

Both lawmaking bodies crafted legislation reshaping the Indiana State Board of Education, and, during budget talks, the school funding formula took center stage.

Legislators added more money for education to the overall budget, but they altered the school funding formula in a way that likely means less money for poorer school districts.

It's also unclear how changes to the State Board of Education will affects schools and students. Though Ritz will remain chair of the board through 2016, everyone else on the board could be replaced as soon as June 1, when the law goes into effect.

4. Changes to the state's gaming industry were a priority, but they didn't come easily.

This was a hotly debated issue that was still being debated on the final day of the session.

"Negotiations on the measure lasted until the late hours of the final day, but ended up comfortably passing both the House and Senate," Smith says.

Smith says it was also "one of the most delicately balanced bills of the session."

The bill  gives riverboats the opportunity move inland within their existing footprint. The state's casinos and racinos have struggled to compete with those in nearby states and have witnessed falling profits and tax revenues over several years.

But those in the gaming industry were advocating for the addition of live dealers to the state's racetrack casinos, but they'll have to wait until March of 2021 to ask to the gaming commission for permission.

5. It will take a little while to examine how the state's new energy efficiency program will work.

Energizing Indiana had proven to be cost effective, but critics of the now-defunct plan said it was too costly.

Under the program laid out by legislators and passed this session, energy companies can set their own efficiency goals, which the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission must then approve every three years.

"Environmental and consumer advocates fought hard last year to avoid elimination of the Energizing Indiana program because they were worried any replacement wouldn't be as robust," Â Smith says. "They say those fears came true with the replacement created this session."

Critics of the new plan worry ratepayers will suffer since, under the new program, utilities can now periodically raise rates to recover lost revenues for electricity they no longer have to generate.

Take the survey below and share your thoughts on the biggest issue of the 2015 legislative session.

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