ISTEP testing, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and redistricting are among more than 40 topics assigned to legislative study committees this summer. Legislators will review some topics they started to address in this year‘s session, including needle exchange programs, and some they deliberately put off for more study, like replacing ISTEP with a shorter test. House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) says the ISTEP review will be of particular interest.
"We do spend a lot of time in our schools testing our students," Bosma says. " We want to be sure it’s being done effectively, that we’re not spending more time on it than we should, a lot of us feel that we may be, so hopefully that group will have four great meetings on those topic and get to the bottom."
Legislators will also review whether the state smoking ban should be extended to bars and casinos, although Bosma says he has doubts whether a bill to that effect would – or should -- advance. The Public Policy study committee will also review the potential impact of a cigarette tax increase on smoking rates, including how much money it would raise and whether cigarette regulations and taxes should apply to vaping.