INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Indiana lawmakers have approved a number of bills but will try to settle some of the tougher fights during the 2014 legislative session later.
The General Assembly gave final approval Wednesday to measures that would improve state oversight of private bus inspections, help more veterans enter teaching and grant excused absences for students attending the state fair.
Lawmakers also created a task force to study long-term answers to the state's transportation funding troubles.
Republican Gov. Mike Pence will now decide whether to sign the bills on his desk into law. Pence can veto measures, but vetoes are easily overridden in Indiana with a simple majority in either chamber.
The major pieces of Pence's 2014 agenda are still being debated. They include business tax cuts and a preschool voucher program.
