From a rocky start, the Indiana General Assembly has settled into a more contemplative, polite and even productive mode in the second half of its session.

With just four weeks left before scheduled adjournment, both the House and Senate are steadily working through bills that passed their original chambers, improving some while condemning others to a well-deserved death.

The angry tone of the session’s first days, roiled by Republicans’ urgency in passing a right-to-work bill and Democrats’ stubborn stand against it, threatened to leave lawmakers with little to show for their efforts.

But civility returned after the Super Bowl break. While there still are worthy bills languishing in committees and others that should be killed moving forward, lawmakers have done the right thing on several fronts. A few examples:

Creationism bill

Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, introduced a bill that would have allowed school districts to include the teaching of creationism in science class. The bill’s supporters didn’t seem to get the joke when Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington, offered an amendment allowing schools to offer instruction on various theories of the origin of life as long as they included theories from multiple religions: “which may include, but is not limited to, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Scientology.”

The amendment was approved; the bill passed the Senate by a 28-22 vote and moved to the House, where Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, rightly condemned it to procedural death in the Rules Committee.

“I felt, given the fact that we have a U.S. Supreme Court case that appears to me to be directly on point, that this is a fight that really should not be fought at this point,” Bosma said.

Exactly. Hoosiers shouldn’t have to pay to defend the unconstitutional measure, nor should they be subjected to any more ridicule than the “Saturday Night Live” laugh line the creationism bill already spawned this year.

Alcohol immunity

Good policy can emerge from the legislature, as it does in Senate Bill 274, a measure providing immunity from arrest for an alcohol consumption offense if someone contacts law enforcement to request emergency medical assistance. This Good Samaritan law could literally be a life-saver if an underage college student calls 911 to assist a friend who might be suffering from alcohol poisoning or another effect of overconsumption.

The bill was subject to some needed changes in the process, including the addition of language to ensure that someone doesn’t simply dial for emergency help just to avoid arrest.

“It’s really good public policy to help people make good decisions and stick around and help,” said Rep. Jud McMillin, R-Brookville, just before the House unanimously passed the bill Tuesday. It goes to conference committee but was already unanimously approved in similar form by the Senate.

Drug testing

Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield, cast the deciding vote against House Bill 1007, which would have required some public assistance recipients to submit to drug testing.

The Senate Health Committee’s 5-5 vote on the bill Wednesday sidelines it for now, as it should.

While the legislation would only have affected about 1 percent of Hoosiers, it carried an estimated price tag of as much as $1.1 million. Rep. Ryan Dvorak, D-South Bend, proposed an amendment to require legislators also to submit to drug testing. Like Simpson’s amendment to the creationism bill, it was intended to sidetrack bad policy, but it was approved by the House, softened by an opt-out provision.

Gard said she didn’t think adequate safety nets were in place for children who might be affected by the law if a parent failed a drug test. She also noted a summer study committee needed to look at the issue before it was approved.

In Florida, where a drug-testing law was approved last year, just 32 of more than 7,000 welfare recipients tested positive for drugs, mostly marijuana. A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction against the program.