Indiana and Washington Legislatures Wrap 2026 Sessions Amid Redistricting Dispute in Indiana

In November 2025, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun called a special legislative session to address redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms, but the Republican-controlled Senate voted to adjourn Organization Day until January 5, 2026, effectively declining to convene as directed. Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said Senate attorneys advised the chamber had authority to set its own schedule, while Republican Sen. Mike Young called the move unprecedented. The dispute referenced a 2022 Indiana Supreme Court ruling that the governor alone has authority to call special sessions, though it left unresolved whether the legislature is obligated to comply once called; House Speaker Todd Huston was also reported as resistant to the special session call. The 2026 Indiana legislative session subsequently proceeded, with Braun and lawmakers highlighting outcomes including new social media protections for minors, revocation of commercial driver's licenses for people in the country illegally, measures addressing utility costs, and a framework for a potential new stadium in Northwest Indiana tied to speculation about a possible Chicago Bears relocation. Senate Bill 1, which tightens Medicaid and SNAP eligibility requirements, passed and was sent to the governor, and a ballot measure on changes to Indiana's bail system is set to appear before voters in November. Separately, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said the state's 2026 session produced a new tax on income above $1 million, affecting fewer than 0.5% of households, along with expanded Working Families Tax Credit eligibility for about 460,000 additional households, free K-12 breakfast and lunch, roughly $1.5 billion for road and bridge maintenance, and more than $200 million for affordable housing. Following the session, Braun and legislative leaders, including Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray, previewed 2027 priorities focused on expanding the social media restrictions for minors, describing the recently passed measure as an initial step. It remains unresolved whether the legal question over the legislature's authority to bypass a governor's special session call will be formally adjudicated or clarified in future sessions. The relationship between the Indiana redistricting standoff and the broader 2026 session agenda, as well as any direct connection between the two states' legislative sessions beyond shared timing, was not established in the available reporting.