[2][3] Special sessions of the General Assembly were rarely called in the state's early history, but have become more commonplace in modern times.

The General Assembly could then override the court's decision by amending the state constitution to include the law.

[11][14] The General Assembly has historically been the most powerful branch of the state government, dominating a weak governor's office.

[9][11] The General Assembly is empowered to regulate the state's judiciary system by setting the size of the courts and the bounds of their districts.

[11][17] Under Indiana law, legislators cannot be arrested while the General Assembly is in session unless the crime they commit is treason, a felony, or breach of the peace.

Micah Beckwith, the Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, presides over the Senate while it is in session and casts the deciding vote in the event of a tie.

[24] Indiana's first constitution was ratified on June 10, 1816, and the election of the first General Assembly took place on August 5 of that year.

The body consisted of ten senators and twenty-nine representatives, sixteen of whom had been signers of the Indiana state constitution.

In response to the problem, they created the Bank of Indiana and sold nine million acres (36,000 km2) of public lands to finance their projects.

In 1836 the General Assembly passed the Mammoth Internal Improvement Act and set plans into motion to modernize the state's infrastructure.

The wilderness of northern and central Indiana was slowly developed as the General Assembly approved the construction of roads, canals, railroads, and numerous other infrastructure projects.

This led the state to near bankruptcy in the late 1830s, but it was avoided when the General Assembly spun off the failing canals, and half of their debts, to private companies in 1841.

The Democrats held the largest number of seats, but the Whigs and Republicans caucused to form a majority and control the assembly.

That year Governor Ashbel P. Willard called the first special session of the General Assembly because they had been unable to pass an appropriations bill.

[45] Governor Oliver Morton and the Republican minority were able to prevent the General Assembly from meeting in 1862 and 1863 by denying the body quorum.

In 1864, the Republicans gained a majority and convened the General Assembly to remedy the state's funding problems.

One of the events to occur during the period was the Black Day of the General Assembly, a situation arising from Governor Isaac P. Gray's desire to be elected to the United States Senate.

Beginning with the state senate's refusal to seat a new lieutenant governor, fighting broke out in the chamber and spread throughout the statehouse.

[46] A second bout of violence broke out in the 1894 regular session when Republicans locked the doors of the House chambers preventing Governor Claude Matthews from delivering a veto of a bill that repealed over a decade of Democratic legislation.

The governor personally led fellow party members in beating down the door and unsuccessfully attempting to fight their way to the podium to deliver the vetoed bill; one newspaper said Democrats and Republicans "fought like beasts of the forest.

"[47] During those decades, the General Assembly enacted a series of laws to protect the rights of workers and encourage more industrial growth.

[48] During 1907, the General Assembly made Indiana the first state to enact eugenics legislation, and the law remained in effect until 1921.

The law led to the forced sterilization of thousands of criminals until it was ruled unconstitutional by the Indiana Supreme Court in 1921.

Scandal erupted in 1925 when it was discovered that the Indiana Branch of the Ku Klux Klan controlled over half the seats in the General Assembly.

After the governor refused to pardon him, Stephenson indicted his co-conspirators, leading to many of the state government being charged with various crimes and removing much of the Klan's power.

The General Assembly passed the nation's first DUI laws in 1939, establishing a blood alcohol level of .15 as the legal limit.

The General Assembly also passed the Indiana Civil Rights bill in 1963, granting equal protection to minorities in seeking employment.

During the special session, the General Assembly passed the budget and also legalized the operation of riverboat casinos in the state, overriding the governor's veto to prevent it.