Indiana Lawmakers Return for Packed 2013 Session

Indiana’s General Assembly is reconvening for a 2013 session certain to be jammed with debate over the budget, taxes and a raft of divisive social issues.

Lawmakers return to Indianapolis on Monday for the start of their four-month session that will also feature dozens of new faces, including Gov.-elect Mike Pence and his new administration. Pence takes office Jan. 14.

Legislators will be busy drafting the state’s biennial budget, pondering the restoration of education spending and looking for ways to pay for road projects. They will also consider Pence’s proposed personal income tax cut.

Hot-button social issues have already popped up as well, including proposals to recite the Lord’s Prayer in public schools, challenge the teaching of evolution and write the state’s gay marriage ban into the state constitution.