INDIANAPOLIS - A bill that would have required all teachers authorized to carry guns in school to undergo a personality screening and take firearms training died late Wednesday night.

Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, refused to sign a deal on House Bill 1253 because he considered it a "gun control" measure.

School districts already can allow teachers to carry guns under state law. But the bill would have mandated 38 hours of specialized weapons training to do so, as well as recurring training each year. The personality inventory is meant to weed out teachers or staffers who might not have the right temperament to carry a firearm in school.

"What's sad and frustrating is we had an excellent bill," Lucas said.

The House version developed a curriculum that schools could voluntarily use to train their teachers using state school grants.

But the Senate made the training a requirement - which Lucas opposes in general. He said it's a slippery slope to training for all gun owners.

___

A move to tax vaping products perished late Wednesday night after lawmakers couldn't reach agreement.

House Bill 1444 had several different iterations throughout the session but a last-minute effort to impose a 5 percent sales tax on e-cigarettes containing nicotine failed.

Supporters said a significant tax would help deter youth from picking up the vaping habit, which often leads to smoking tobacco cigarettes.

There was concern not only on the amount of the tax but the mechanism and who in the supply chain should collect it.

nkelly@jg.net