Messmer Column: Serving constituents during the interim

Local Sources- On this week's Messmer Column, State Senator Mark Messmer discusses Serving Constituents during the Interim.

While a majority of the Indiana General Assembly's service occurs during the legislative session, there is still plenty of work to be done during the interim months.

Currently, senators and representatives are busy meeting in interim study committees to consider and study topics important to Hoosiers.

These committees help us prepare for the upcoming 2024 legislative session and allow us to talk to experts about major issues.

Topics are approved by the 16 members of the bipartisan Legislative Council, which has representation from all four caucuses in the Senate and House of Representatives.

This year, I am serving as a member of the Interim Study Committees on Commerce and Economic Development and Roads and Transportation.

The commerce and economic development committee is studying artificial intelligence, consumer data privacy and the legalization of adult-use cannabis in Indiana as it relates to workforce impacts and teen use. The committee will hold its first meeting Oct. 2.

In the roads and transportation committee, we will be studying ways to reduce and prevent fatalities on roads and highways, penalty assessments and enforcement of overweight loads.

We will also discuss road and bridge renaming proposals and advising the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles on the ability of a special group to have a special recognition license plate. The committee held its first meeting of 2023 on Sept. 12 and will meet again in October.

Other interim study committees meeting this year include the Interim Study Committees on Child Services, Corrections and Criminal Code, Employment and Labor, Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications, Financial Institutions and Insurance, Fiscal Policy, Pension Management Oversight, and Public Health, Behavioral Health, and Human Services.

As always, feel free to contact my office directly with your questions and concerns by email at [email protected] or by phone at 800-382-9467.