Story highlights It appears to be the season for "outlandish ideas," history professor observes

Topics include abortions, protests and levies on the undocumented

(CNN) Old ideas that never had a realistic chance of becoming law are being brought out for another try.

A slew of bills are being proposed, some restricting speech and another seeming to target immigrants.

"This is about outlandish ideas, ideas that are not in the normal realm of liberal or conservative," said Julian E. Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

Many legislatures convene in January. Here are a few of the bills that may be discussed.

Indiana: Bill would criminalize abortion