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On the next Indiana Lawmakers, we discuss a proposed state constitutional amendment for Bail. Would it protect Hoosiers by allowing judges to deny bail for suspects thought to pose a threat to the public? Or would it erode bedrock civil liberties?

It's 2023 and that means our Indiana Lawmakers are back to work and so are we. Join us as we kick off this legislative session with caucus leadership on next and first episode. Indiana Lawmakers from the State House to your house.

On the next “Indiana Lawmakers” - the last show of the 2022 season - host Jon Schwantes is joined by four of the state’s most respected Statehouse journalists to assess the just-concluded General Assembly session. Joining host Jon Schwantes: IndyStar Education Reporter, Arika Herron IndyStar Statehouse Reporter, Kaitlin Lange IPB Reporter and Host of Indiana Week in Review, Brandon Smith The Journal Gazette Statehouse Reporter, Niki Kelly

Which bills from the Indiana legislature might have the greatest impact on Hoosiers in the years to come? On the next Indiana Lawmakers, the four caucus leaders join host Jon Schwantes to review the General Assembly’s 2022 session. The panel joining host Jon Schwantes is: House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D) Fort Wayne Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor (D) Indianapolis Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R) Martinsville House Speaker Todd Huston (R) Fishers

Who is better equipped to shape the state’s regulatory landscape - members of the part-time General Assembly or full-time government employees who, while unelected, may have spent decades of expertise in a given field? On the next Indiana Lawmakers.

This week on Indiana Lawmakers - our state’s energy future. We discuss transitioning from coal to natural gas, and increasingly to energy sources like wind, solar, and possibly small modular nuclear reactors! Join us for an electric discussion!

The Second Amendment is just 27 words. On the next “Indiana Lawmakers” we discuss the 34-page bill being considered at the Indiana Statehouse that would allow most adults to carry a handgun without a permit.

On this week’s edition of Indiana Lawmakers we look at Indiana’s ongoing debate over the legalization — or at least decriminalization — of marijuana. Host Jon Schwantes and his panel of experts will venture into the policy weeds of weed.

On this week’s edition of Indiana Lawmakers we look at the spike in violent crime which has left the public, police, and policymakers asking TWO fundamental questions: HOW did we get to this point, and, more importantly, WHERE do we go from here?

On this week’s edition of Indiana Lawmakers we look at how hot-button social issues have dominated the General Assembly session and are impacting the highly charged education debate.

On this week’s edition of Indiana Lawmakers we look at how the Covid-19 vaccine mandates might play out in the Hoosier state, and what it means, both short term and long term, for our healthcare facilities, our schools, and our workplaces.

On this edition of “Indiana Lawmakers” host Jon Schwantes welcomes Governor Eric Holcomb for a one-on-one interview. The governor discusses his State of the State message and his vision for the state of Indiana.

The 2022 legislative session is picking up pretty much where the 2021 session left off, and not surprisingly, the same goes for this week’s “Indiana Lawmakers”. Join host Jon Schwantes and the four caucus leaders as they discuss the session.

We’ve heard from the Governor. We’ve heard from legislative leadership. And we’ve heard from lawmakers — in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle. As we take stock of the Indiana General Assembly’s unprecedented 2021 session, it’s time we heard from the people who chronicled lawmakers’ actions, day in and day out, for the past four months. On this week’s show, our last of the season, we’ll do just that, as we sit down with three highly respected members of the Statehouse press corps. Joining host Jon Schwantes to assess the just-completed 2021 legislative session will be Brandon Smith, Statehouse reporter for Indiana Public Broadcasting and host of Indiana Week in Review; Lindsey Erdody, WFYI digital editor for education and health; and Arika Herron, education reporter for The Indianapolis Star.

Every other year, as the Indiana General Assembly’s biennial budget session comes to a close, legislative leaders — especially those in the majority — are wont to describe whatever they’ve accomplished as “HISTORIC.” This time around, it would be tough to find anybody who would argue with such an assessment. Despite existential health concerns and day-to-day logistical challenges created by the pandemic, lawmakers passed a sweeping policing reform package, reined in the authority of the Governor and local officials, and crafted a 38.6-billion-dollar budget that includes unprecedented funding increases for schools and infrastructure improvements. What's more, in another first, lawmakers decided not to adjourn, but rather to recess, so they can return this fall to redraw congressional and legislative district maps, a process that’s on hold pending updated population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. Joining host Jon Schwantes on this week’s show to assess the 2021 legislative session will be the leaders of the General Assembly’s four caucuses, House Speaker Todd Huston, a Fishers Republican; House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, a Fort Wayne Democrat; Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, a Martinsville Republican; and Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor, an Indianapolis Democrat.

One of the reasons Georgia's new election law has created such a national stir is that similar measures have been introduced in at least 46 other states, Indiana among them. On this week's show we look at the increasingly heated debate over proposals that, depending on your point of view, are designed either to enhance election security or facilitate voter suppression. Joining host Jon Schwantes to talk about voting laws - in this state and others - are Democratic Senator J.D. Ford of Indianapolis, the ranking minority member of the Senate Elections Committee; Republican Representative Tim Wesco of Osceola, Chair of the House Elections and Apportionment Committee; and Indianapolis attorney Bill Groth, who specializes in election law and is currently asking the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate Indiana's restrictions on absentee voting.

With all due respect to Simon and Garfunkel, forget about that troubled water under the bridge. Here in Indiana, the water’s just fine, aside from some antiquated treatment plants and miles and miles of aging pipes, including some made of lead. Here, as in many parts of the country, the more troubling problem, or at least more visible problem, is the condition of the bridges over the water, not to mention the roads that run between them. On the next edition of Indiana Lawmakers, we’ll focus on infrastructure, in all its manifestations. The issue is front and center, thanks to the two-year state budget that’s now being crafted by the General Assembly and the two-trillion-dollar infrastructure plan that’s now being promoted by the White House. Joining host Jon Schwantes to talk about Indiana’s ongoing effort to maintain and build upon its longstanding reputation as the “Crossroads of America” will be Republican Senator Eric Koch of Bedford, chair of the Senate Utilities Committee; House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta of Fort Wayne; Jamie Palmer, senior policy analyst at the Indiana University Public Policy Institute; and Gary Langston, President of the Indiana Motor Truck Association.

In every odd-numbered year, members of the Indiana General Assembly face one task that cannot be avoided or deferred — at least not without serious consequences. Unless they want state government to shut down for lack of funding, legislators have to craft a two-year budget. In theory, the process unfolds over months, as agency requests are reviewed, budget committee recommendations are rendered, revenue projections are compiled, and spending plans are drafted and dissected. Of course stakeholders and taxpayers provide input during a series of formal public hearings. Usually, in practice, though, the final budget is hammered out in the session’s closing hours, mostly behind closed doors, by a House-Senate conference committee. On this week’s show, we’ll explore one of the General Assembly’s most structured, yet most arcane processes. Joining host Jon Schwantes to make sense of all the hubbub over dollars and cents will be Republican Representative Tim Brown of Crawfordsville, Chairman of the budget-writing House Ways and Means Committee; Democratic Representative Greg Porter of Indianapolis, the ranking minority member on that committee; Republican Senator Eric Bassler of Washington, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee; and Democratic Senator Eddie Melton of Gary, the ranking minority member of that panel.

Most of us would be pleased to lighten our loads but not the trucking industry’s biggest movers and shakers. They're driving legislation that would effectively raise the weight limit for many of the semis that traverse Indiana’s roadways. They say the permit overhaul they favor would boost the state’s economy, generate more money for road repairs and level the playing field for all freight carriers, regardless of their cargo. Under current law, exceptions to Indiana’s 80,000-pound weight limit are available only to haulers of agricultural commodities or steel. Critics argue that the proposed changes would wreak havoc on the state’s roads and bridges, lead to deadlier crashes, and undermine the rail industry. On this week’s show, Jon Schwantes and his panelists will, ahem, weigh in on the debate. So buckle up for what promises to be a pedal-to-the-metal discussion. Our panelists this week will be Republican Representative Jim Pressel of Rolling Prairie, first-year chairman of the House Roads and Transportation Committee; Republican Representative Tom Saunders of Lewisville, a member of that panel; Peter Mills, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Indiana Rail Road Company; and Kendell Culp of Rensselaer, President of the Jasper County Commissioners and immediate past president of the Indiana Association of County Commissioners.

The congressional and legislative district boundaries are redrawn every 10 years, based on data gleaned from the U.S. Census. Over the years — in Indiana and elsewhere — these lines have been drawn to diminish the electoral clout of racial minorities and/or keep a dominant political party in power. The result: noncompetitive districts that resemble the inkblots used in a Rorschach test, millions of frustrated voters, and a whole bunch of legal challenges, including some that have gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. On this week’s show, we’ll examine the long-running debate over how Hoosiers’ congressional and legislative district maps take shape. Joining Host Jon Schwantes this week to talk about Indiana’s redistricting process will be Senator Tim Lanane, a Democrat from Anderson, Julia Vaughn, policy director of Common Cause Indiana and Jay Yeager, an Indianapolis attorney who’s been at the forefront of several recent legal battles over gerrymandering.