More than 25 years of monitoring the Indiana General Assembly has taught me one clear thing — it’s time to vastly reform or eliminate interim study committees.

These panels so rarely result in advancing policy discussions that they are simply unnecessary.

And yet the state continues to spend money on them year after year.

The average cost the past four years is about $100,000 annually, though it has come down recently.

The spending is largely in increased per diem and mileage paid to lawmakers to attend the meetings, though there are some staff expenses as well.

I love the theory behind study committees — that sometimes the best law is not made in the heat of a fast-moving legislative session. Instead, there are complex topics that deserve a more thorough vetting.

So, legislative lea

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