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Lawmakers Meet For Ceremonial Session Kickoff

Lawmakers met Tuesday for what's called Organization Day, the ceremonial start to the 2018 legislative session.
Brandon Smith/IPB News
Lawmakers met Tuesday for what's called Organization Day, the ceremonial start to the 2018 legislative session.

House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) laid out his vision for the 2018 legislative session Tuesday during lawmakers’ ceremonial kickoff to the session.

After touting Indiana’s numerous positive business and economic climate rankings, Bosma focused on what he says are the state’s weak spots.

“Continued investment in our workforce, dealing with our opioid crisis – which has now become a job issue as well – and continuing improvement in education and government streamlining have to be top priorities this session,” Bosma says.

Bosma also decried what he describes as a break down in civil discourse.

He directed his remarks in part toward an Indiana anti-abortion group, some of whose supporters he says have sent vitriolic messages to him – including on the funeral memory page for his recently deceased mother.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state.
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