Take Jack Colwell's quiz about the just-completed session of the Indiana General Assembly

Hoosiers can breathe a sigh of relief. The Indiana General Assembly has adjourned.

Many legislators now brag about accomplishments. And there were some.

But here’s a quiz including some questions about things they can’t or certainly shouldn’t brag about.

1. In response to concerns about the environment and climate change, the legislature:

a. Approved solar panels atop the Statehouse.

b. Protected the state’s diminishing and threatened wetlands.

c. Paved the way for developers to pave over more wetlands.

d. Banned all hot air in legislative speeches.

2. The legislature showed the extent of belief in home rule for cities by debating whether:

a. Indianapolis can go ahead with new local bus lanes.

b. South Bend’s Dyngus Day celebration is an illegal holiday.

c. Princess Mishawaka is politically incorrect.

d. A city can accept infrastructure funds from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

3. To protect secrecy in government, the legislature:

a. Designated government decisions behind closed doors as top secret.

b. Decimated powers of the public access counselor.

c. Declared investigation of government is unpatriotic.

d. Made it a felony to question a government official.

4. High school students at the Statehouse to urge gun control laws were met by:

a. Enthusiastic support for restoring requirements for gun permits.

b. Shots fired at them by NRA lobbyists.

c. A legislator displaying to the kids that he was packing heat.

d. Threats of being jailed as truants.

5. A proposal for an estimated 700 additional officials and staff in the Statehouse and Capitol complex to carry guns was trimmed to cover just a few officials. If all 700 brought guns, what would be most likely?

a. The students seeking gun control laws would feel more welcome.

b. Terrorists would never dare to get even close to the Statehouse.

c. Parents statewide would plead for their kids to serve as pages in the safety of the Statehouse.

d. In a panic incident, hundreds of gun totters would rush to the rescue, resulting in a circular firing squad that would fire away.

6. Both Senate and House continued to have a supermajority. It’s called that because:

a. A majority of members bet on the winner of the Super Bowl.

b. The majority party is so big that the minority can’t even break a quorum.

c. A former House speaker leading a large majority coined it, declaring: “Look up in the sky. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Supermajority!”

d. It’s short for “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious majority.”

7. Although finally failing, determined legislators battled all session to reject warnings of science and seek to:

a. Define forever chemicals (PFAS) in a way to protect them from future regulation.

b. Define asbestos as a safe product not be regulated.

c. Define tobacco in a way to prevent future restrictions on smoking by children.

d. Do all of the stupid things listed above.

8. Indiana ranks very low in many areas of heath care. But it has universities that rank very high. To level things out, the legislature passed a bill on higher education to:

a. Threaten tenure in a way that could hinder attracting and retaining top faculty.

b. Clamp down on free expression on campus that doesn’t follow political philosophy approved by the legislature.

c. Follow the pattern of a similar Florida law that brought firings, resignations and campus discord.

d. Do all of the stupid things listed above.

9. Legislators defend conflict of interest in sponsoring bills that promote their financial interests, telling voters that:

a. It’s worth a lot of money.

b. It can’t be helped in a citizen legislature.

c. They should see “Oppenheimer” and worry about nuclear war instead.

d. They should just have green beer and mellow out on St. Patrick’s Day.

ANSWERS: 1-c; 2-a; 3-b; 4-c; 5-d; 6-b; 7-a; 8-d; 9-b.

Jack Colwell is a columnist for The Tribune. Write to him in care of The Tribune or by email at jcolwell@comcast.net.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: The Indiana General Assembly has adjourned. What did they do in 2024?