Smoking ban among key issues pending in Legislature

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.