February 10, 2006

What happens next and abortion resources

“Cross-over” marks the midpoint of state lawmakers’ legislative business this session.

Bills “cross-over” from their house of origin to the other chamber in the Statehouse. House bills will “cross-over” to the Senate to be considered by the Senate. Senate bills will “cross-over” to the House of Representatives to be considered by the House.

House bills will be assigned to the appropriate Senate committee and scheduled for a hearing. Likewise, Senate bills will be assigned to the appropriate House committee and scheduled for a hearing. Committee chairs wield a lot of power over the fate of legislation assigned to their committee because if they choose not to hear the bill, then the bill will die.

Provided bills get a hearing and pass out of committee, they are then eligible for a second and third reading. During this process, almost anything can happen. A bill can be amended, remain the same, die or pass.

Both houses must adjourn by March 14.

To view the full report of Indiana abortions from 1999 to 2003, go to the Indiana State Department of Health’s Web page at www.in.gov/isdh/index.html. Click on data and statistics, then click on induced terminated pregnancies for abortion information. For more facts on abortion, go to the abortion facts’ Web page at www.abortionfacts.com or to Silent No More Awareness Campaign’s Web page at www.silentnomoreawareness.org.

To track legislative action or to contact your state legislators, go to www.in.gov/legislative/ or call the Indiana House of Representatives at 317-232-9600 or 800-382-9842. For the Indiana State Senate, call 317-232-9400 or 800-382-9467.

Indiana Catholic Conference Executive Director Glenn Tebbe’s report on the week’s legislative activities follows Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein’s weekly radio broadcast at 11:05 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings on Indianapolis Catholic Radio WSPM 89.1 FM. †

 

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