Ind. lawmakers work on smoking ban, other issues

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers are closing in on the end of the 2012 session with some big issues left on their plate.

Senate lawmakers are set to work on a statewide smoking ban this week. House lawmakers meanwhile will consider banning “bath salts” and other synthetic drugs. The Senate also is set to consider another $5 million for victims of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse and $80 million for full-day kindergarten.

Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said last week lawmakers could go home March 9 — well ahead of their March 14 deadline.

Lawmakers spent much of the first half of the session making Indiana the 23rd right-to-work state. Leaders in both chambers have killed efforts to teach creationism in public schools and legalize fenced-in hunting of deer and other wildlife.