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http://www.indystar.com/article/20110222/N...ey=mod|mostview

Seats on one side of the Indiana House were nearly empty today as House Democrats departed the the state rather than vote on anti-union legislation.

A source tells The Indianapolis Star that Democrats are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky. They need to go to a state with a Democratic governor to avoid being taken into police custody and returned to Indiana.

The House came into session twice this morning, with only three of the 40 Democrats present. Those were needed to make a motion, and a seconding motion, for any procedural steps Democrats would want to take to ensure Republicans don’t do anything official without quorum.

With only 58 legislators present, there was no quorum present to do business. The House needs 67 of its members to be present.

House Speaker Brian Bosma said he did not know yet whether he would ask the Indiana State Police to compel the lawmakers to attend, if they can be found.

Today’s fight was triggered by Republicans pushing a bill that would bar unions and companies from negotiating a contract that requires non-union members to kick-in fees for representation. It’s become the latest in what is becoming a national fight over Republican attempts to eliminate or limit collective bargaining.

Gov. Mitch Daniels had warned his party late last year against pursuing so-called “right to work” legislation. While he agreed with it philosophically, he said it was a big issue that needed a state-wide debate and noted no Republican had run on this in the November election.

But now that his party is pursuing it, Daniels has not spoken against it. He has so far issued no statement, has held no news conference and has not been interviewed by any Indiana reporters in the Statehouse. Daniels did do a radio interview Monday with National Public Radio in which he discussed the labor fight which has caused a government stalemate in Wisconsin — where Senate Democrats have fled to Illinois to prevent a vote on a bill that limits collective bargaining --a now, apparently, his state.

Today, the union members who have filled the Statehouse — an estimated 4,000 according to the Indiana State Police — held a rally, chanting such things as “Ditch Mitch” and “Save Our Families,” which he must have heard as he worked in his nearby Statehouse office.

Union supporters say the bill which has sparked the protests, House Bill 1468 such a measure would weaken bargaining power because companies under collective bargaining agreements would no longer have to hire union members. Supporters, including the state's Chamber of Commerce, say it would makes Indiana more appealing to business and will bring jobs to the state.

Tim Kilbourne, a plow truck mechanic for the city of Indianapolis, said he and other workers would keep coming to the Statehouse until legislators kill the bill.

"All these bills here is to kill the worker," he said.

House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, “has taken a page out of the Wisconsin Senate playbook apparently” by keeping his caucus in hiding, Bosma said. “They are shirking the job that they were hired to do.”

In Wisconsin, Senate Democrats have fled to Illinois to deny Republicans the quorum they need to pass legislation limiting collective bargaining for many public employees.

Asked at what point he would call in the Indiana State Police to attempt to round up the Democrats, Bosma said: “We’ll see how the day goes.”

Bosma said he spoke to Daniels and said the governor is “very supportive of our position to come in and try to do our work. He was not pleased that the Democrats weren’t here to do their work. And like me is just waiting to see how the course of the day proceeds.”

Austin told reporters that “it doesn’t matter where they (Democrats) are at this point. What matters is that they’re trying to figure out a way to save the state from this radical agenda.”

Asked if they were in the state, Austin said only: “They’re working hard.”

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said it’s not important where the Democrat lawmakers are.

“This is a principled fight,” Parker said.

What’s important, he said, is that they are standing up to an agenda they believe will cut wages for Indiana workers, both in unions and those who do not belong to unions. They’ll return, he said, when they drop the bills Democrats see as an “assault on the middle class.”

Bosma, though, said Republicans are “counting on common sense and a sense of responsibility to prevail and that they would get back here and do the job that they were elected to do."

The last time a prolonged walk-out happened in the Indiana legislature was in the mid-1990s, when Republicans were in control and tried to draw new legislative district maps, eliminating a district that likely would have been a Democrat one, in the middle of the decade. Democrats won that standoff, staying away several days until Republicans dropped the plan.

Call Star reporter Mary Beth Schneider at (317) 444-2772.

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Gov. Mitch Daniels said today that he will not send Indiana State Police to round-up Democrat lawmakers who have shut down the Indiana House over a bill they deem anti-union.

Daniels, in a red-plaid shirt and with his arm in a black sling from shoulder surgery he had last week, said he expected Democrats will return when the bill they are protesting — House Bill 1468, the so-called “right to work” bill — is dead.

Democrats went into a behind-closed-doors meeting Monday, refusing to return to the floor. Today, sources told The Indianapolis Star that Democrat lawmakers have left the state.

Daniels, a Republican, supported their right to deny Republicans a quorum to do business and the rights of labor unions to protest at the Statehouse.

“The activities of today are perfectly legitimate part of the process,” he said. “Even the smallest minority, and that’s what we’ve heard from in the last couple days, has every right to express the strength of its views and I salute those who did.”

And, he added, “I’m not sending the state police after anybody. I’m not going to divert a single trooper from their job protecting the Indiana public. I trust that the people’s consciences will bring them back to work. I choose to believe that our friends in the minority, having made their point, will come back and do their duty, the jobs that they are paid to do.”

Daniels had said in December that this session was not the right time to pursue right-to-work legislation, which bars a union and company from negotiating a contract that requires non-union members to pay fees for representation.

“My view on this is well-known to the leadership on both sides, well-known to the public. I haven’t changed a single thing,” he said today. “I don’t attempt to dictate the agenda. I’m not in a position to, really, of the separate and free-standing, superior, branch of government. And for that matter Speaker (Brian) Bosma can’t always dictate to his members when they have a strong point of view. But for reasons I’ve explained more than once I thought there was a better time and place to have this very important and legitimate issue raised.”

Asked if he’d ask the bill’s author, Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, to withdraw the bill, he said: “He knows what I think. The Speaker knows what I think.”

Of the other 22 bills that could also die if Democrats do not return tonight, Daniels said it would be “very unfortunate. These folks are paid by the taxpayers to do the people’s work. I choose to believe that they’ll come back and do the jobs that they are paid to do. There may be some places in this country where public employees, public servants, walk off the job but I don’t think Indiana is one of them.”

Call Star reporter Mary Beth Schneider at (317) 444-2772.

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http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20...2/-1/googleNews

How long will Indiana Statehouse standoff go?
Stalemate in House continues for 8th day.

By KEVIN ALLEN
Tribune Staff Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana House of Representatives remained frozen in place for the eighth straight day Tuesday, and party leaders offered few indications that a thaw might be negotiated in the near future.

The House adjourned about 3:30 p.m. with most Democrats still at a hotel in Urbana, Ill., where they have been writing amendments to several education and labor bills, and preventing Republicans from moving their agenda.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said Tuesday afternoon that he hadn't talked with Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, at all during the day. Bosma said Republicans are considering fines for those representatives who continue to avoid the Statehouse.

"The only thing left in our quiver is to begin fining," Bosma said, "and, you know, we're talking about it. But I'm just counting on people to show up, do their job. ... If they want to show up here and talk about issues, my door is always open."

Bauer said in a phone conference that Democrats want to come back to Indianapolis, but he didn't commit to any timeline for their return beyond saying, "I hope it's only a matter of days."

When asked about the length of the Democrats' hotel reservation, he said, "Well, a matter of days. But I will tell you those can always be extended — though we hope we don't have to."

House Democrats walked out of the chamber the afternoon of Feb. 21 and went to Illinois the next day. Republicans have a 60-40 majority in the House, but they have been unable to conduct business without Democrats there — the Legislature's rules require two-thirds of a chamber's members to be present for a quorum to conduct business.

In the meantime, the two parties have waged a war of words against each other but seem to have made little progress toward a compromise on 11 education and labor bills that Republicans wrote and Democrats find objectionable. Union members have rallied each day at the Statehouse in support of the Democrats' walkout. On the other side, Aiming Higher PAC, which was established by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, is running a radio ad with a jingle titled, "Won't You Come Home, Pat Bauer?"

House Ways and Means chairman Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, complained Tuesday on the House floor that Democrats are unfairly branding Republicans as attacking the middle class and being against workers and public education.

"It's all baloney," Espich said, "and it's hurtful."

Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said Democrats aren't asking Republicans to throw out their entire agenda, but they are asking for compromises on certain bills affecting public education and labor issues such as the common construction wage and collective bargaining for public employees.

"When you're the majority and you're elected to govern, that means you get to do most of what you want to do. It doesn't mean you get to do the most radical of what you dream about doing," said Pelath, who was on the House floor Tuesday to make sure Republicans didn't conduct business without a quorum.

"I hope they realize," he said, "that if they can set aside some of these things, they're going to be able to do most of what it is that they thought they were elected to do."

Staff writer Kevin Allen:
kallen@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6244

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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...bc445371576.txt

Pelath: Parties have talked

By Alicia Ebaugh
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, March 1, 2011 5:07 PM CST
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana House Democrats’ boycott against Republican-backed proposals is continuing, with Democratic leaders saying their caucus has no plans of returning anytime soon.

But leaders of both parties spoke by phone today, said Assistant House Minority Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, opening a line of communication.

“I’d stop short of saying they’ve started a conversation on what it will take to bring us back, but that’s a worthwhile step,” he said.

Pelath isn’t at the Comfort Inn in Urbana, Ill., where most of the remainder of his caucus has been for a week. They are continuing to deny the House the quorum it needs to conduct business. Pelath returned to Indianapolis late last week to trade positions with another Democrat at the Statehouse, and he has been speaking with protestors and national media about their cause.

“As a group, we’re open to compromise. That’s what the negotiation process ought to be, but we haven’t seen any willingness to do that. (Republicans) have to offer a few suggestions to soften the worst they want to do here, whether it’s dismantle public education or bring down wages by targeting unions,” Pelath said. “The majority party will under any circumstances do what they want, but that doesn’t mean they get everything all the time. If there are ways to make some real changes or to put these bills aside, let’s do them.”

The education bills Democrats are most against include one that would allow public funds to pay for up to 90 percent of private school tuition, and one that would limit teachers’ collective bargaining rights, Pelath said. Several “right to work” bills would make it illegal to make union membership a requirement of employment, throw out common wages for construction projects, even eliminate collective bargaining for public employees.

“These are all of grave concern,” he said. “Some bills have been dropped, but elements of them have been introduced in other places.”

Before Democrats return, House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer said he wants to sit down with Republicans and negotiate solutions to bills Democrats consider an attack on the middle class. Bauer told reporters by speakerphone from Illinois on Monday that he’s willing to negotiate “any time, any place.”

Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said Bauer should come to his office Tuesday to talk, and that he’d buy him a cup of coffee and a sandwich. But Bosma says he won’t make “back room deals” to take Republican proposals off the agenda.

If anything, Pelath said their constituents’ voices have made Democrats even more resolute in their position.

“People have been sending me messages of strong support,” he said. “They understand the implications if these bills become law. It’s nice to have that moral support from back home during times like this. But there are people who deeply disagree with me, and that’s fair. I try to at least have a conversation with them ... this is a matter where you are going to have strong feelings. I just want them to know it wasn’t decided without forethought.”

(The Associated Press contributed to this article.)

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$250 a Day

Speaker of the House Brian Bosma (left), R-Indianapolis, speaks with Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, before the start of the session Feb. 24 in the House chamber as Democrats continued their boycott at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. Associated Press
Indiana House sets daily fines for Dem. boycotters
By Alicia Ebaugh
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, March 4, 2011 5:07 PM CST
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s House Republicans have approved $250-a-day fines against Democratic legislators boycotting the Statehouse.

The fines start Monday.

“That is time-honored political posturing,” Assistant House Minority Leader Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said. “In living memory, whenever the minority party has been threatened with fines, those have usually been set aside once the impasse is over with. That type of talk is not helpful to the process.”

Even if the fines are enforced, Pelath said people standing on principle are “willing to endure unpleasant things.”

He and most other House Democrats skipped Thursday morning’s floor session, extending their stay at an Urbana, Ill., Comfort Inn to an 11th day and preventing action on labor and education bills they oppose. The walk-out denies the House the quorum needed to conduct business. Pelath was in Indianapolis for a week as part of his leadership duties, but returned to Urbana on Wednesday.

“I don’t know what we’re doing in the coming days, but I hope this will all be over with soon and we’ll be back to work,” he said.

House Speaker Brian Bosma said Democratic leader Patrick Bauer has told him the boycotting members will not return today either. Bosma says he will hold off on formally censuring them as he discussed earlier.

“What we can’t allow ourselves to do is get sidetracked by more inflammatory things. You have to keep your head upon yourself, you still have to keep your eye on the ultimate goal,” Pelath said. “What is important for our side is to convince Republicans to set aside measures that violate our core principals. They will certainly have enough votes to pass significant parts of their agenda ... Most of the time so far, they’ve been getting more than half of the loaf.”

Leaders of the two parties met in Indianapolis for the first time since the walkout Wednesday. Pelath said Bosma recognized there were some problems with a bill that would allow public money to be used to send students to private schools, and that some labor measures may have unintended consequences if not modified.

“The important thing is that the discussion happened,” Pelath said. “You find the heart of what you don’t like about others’ position and see if you can grope toward common ground.”

The good news from all the debate over the Democratic walkout is that it has inspired healthy public involvement, he said.

“At election time, the people of Indiana can judge if we’ve done what they sent us here to do,” Pelath said. “We’re also judged on the things we’ve set as our core values. It’s incumbent on us to stand up and accept the consequences of our views, and allow people to disagree with us.”

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)

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So here's what I learned this week during a field trip to a Comfort Suites in Urbana, Ill. -- home for two weeks and counting to about three dozen renegade House Democrats from Indiana.

For many of the Democrats, this stalemate has become a cause. The walkout might have started as a protest of anti-union legislation. But the Democrats have begun to believe this impasse stands for something bigger.

"The whole experience," said Rep. Mary Ann Sullivan, Indianapolis, "I don't know how to explain it. It's been very powerful."

Added Rep. Bill Crawford, also of Indianapolis: "It has the appearance of a movement as opposed to a typical political battle."

Such comments make clear that emotions are running high -- and those emotions are at least partly behind the decision to remain in Illinois. The Democrats have been away from their homes and families for more than two weeks now. They've been living in hotel rooms since late February. For many, the political fight has gotten personal. Every Democrat I talked to said that after fighting for this long, they desperately want to win. Many believe they are in the most important political battle of their careers.

"It would be disastrous for us to back down now," said Rep. Charlie Brown, Gary.

Leaving Urbana, I had the sense that Democrats are more dug in now than they were when they first fled the state.

Republicans couldn't have done a better job of uniting Democrats. That's not a judgment on the GOP's policies; it's simply political reality.

Putting aside the question of whether a walkout is appropriate -- and there are strong views on both sides of that question -- the issues at the center of this debate have made it much easier for Democratic leaders to unite their sometimes- fractured caucus. While Democrats often split on social issues, the key issues here -- union laws, middle-class wages and education policy -- are less contentious within the caucus.

"They've tapped into the things that bring us together," said Rep. Scott Pelath, Michigan City. "This is largely about our core economic principles."

Some of the Democrats' arguments make little sense. Indianapolis Rep. Gregory Porter, for example, was among a handful of lawmakers who told me they were protesting a bill that would allow the state to take over the state's worst-performing public schools. But the bill in question would only add to the landmark 1999 law that allowed such takeovers. Porter criticized the idea and said the issue would keep him in Urbana. But after being questioned, he acknowledged he co-authored the original bill that gave the state the authority to assume control of failing schools.

Democrats do not think they are losing the debate, at least in the eyes of their constituents. That doesn't mean they're winning. Although many Hoosiers have criticized the walkout, the condemnation has not been sweeping or fierce. Every lawmaker I talked to spoke of receiving more supportive e-mails than critical ones. Holding her cell phone in the hotel lobby, Sullivan scrolled through a long list of e-mails from constituents who urged her to keep fighting against Republican policies.

And remember, Democrats took such a beating in last year's elections that few remaining House members come from swing districts. That's important for two reasons. First, most of the Democrats who fled to Illinois come from solidly Democratic districts, where voters are likely to oppose the GOP agenda. Second, there is little political penalty to be paid, as Democrats who won during the GOP landslide of 2010 are in safe districts.

Additionally, party leaders have worked hard to make sure Democrats hear from key supporters, such as unions and teachers, while camped across the border. The rank-and-file members might not be receiving a balanced message, but they are hearing a supportive one. That fact appears to have given them more resolve.

No endgame is in sight. Over and over, I asked Democrats what it would take to lure them back to the Statehouse. Some insisted Republicans would have to scrap huge chunks of their legislative agenda, which is unlikely. Others offered more ambiguous answers, vaguely demanding "compromise."

The walkout started over one bill and expanded to include many others. So far, it remains unclear what Democrats would consider victory. With that question unanswered, and with the stakes now so high, it's hard to see how leaders in both parties can soon reach a deal to end this impasse.

Reach Matthew Tully at (317) 444-6033 or via e-mail at matthew.tully@indystar.com.

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Republicans control every Statehouse power base -- governor, Senate and House -- but they remain virtually powerless to enact laws so long as 39 House Democrats remain holed up in an Urbana, Ill., hotel.

For now, at least, Indiana's GOP majority has been outmaneuvered.

Those 39 Democrats managed to shut down the House for a month and win concessions from Republicans on labor and education bills -- and they're angling for more.

As long as they hang together -- and thus far the House Democrats are withstanding fines, the threat of censure and blistering accusations that they are derelict in their duty -- the legislature is at an impasse.

Without them, the House lacks the quorum it needs to do business.

As the stalemate headed toward its fifth week Thursday, Republicans said they were done playing around. They're going to move on without the House Democrats. The Senate will take control to salvage bills that have been caught up in the House ruckus.

But they can't get around the one inescapable truth:

Nothing that hasn't already passed the House can become law unless House Democrats return. Not a budget. Not new legislative maps. Not the education reforms that Gov. Mitch Daniels calls his top priority.

The need for a quorum is the Democrats' trump card. Republicans can shame them, fine them and ignore them. They can cut off their ability to offer amendments. But unlike Wisconsin, where Democrats also fled the state in a showdown over collective bargaining, they can't pass bills without them.

For this legislative session to end by the April 29 deadline, Republicans need to get Democrats to check out of their Illinois hotel and into their Statehouse seats. And for that to happen, someone will have to compromise.

And what then?

The fear that House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, and Senate President Pro Tempore David Long share: If Democrats, outnumbered 60-40 in the House and 37-13 in the Senate, think they are winning this battle of wills, boycotts could become a regular legislative tactic across the nation. Much the same way, Democrats point out, that minority Republicans have used the filibuster in the U.S. Senate to prevent votes on things they don't like.

That would mark a departure from past practice. Walkouts have been used by both parties. But they typically focus on a single issue and end after a couple of days when the majority makes a few tweaks that let the minority declare victory and return. Not this year.
Fines, censure

To say Republicans are frustrated is an understatement:

They imposed fines of $250 per session day, then jacked them up to $350 per session day. Democrats called it "a poke in the eye" but didn't blink. They say they are fighting an erosion of income for workers and public schools. That's why, they said, they are willing to accept the fines, which could total thousands of dollars per member. Although fines have been forgiven by House speakers as a kumbaya gesture in past walkouts, this time it will take a vote by at least 51 Republicans to erase them -- and right now House Republicans aren't in a kumbaya mood.

Republicans are talking now of censure, a public condemnation of the House Democrats that becomes part of the state's record.

Democrats practically yawned. They listen instead to the chants of "thank you, Democrats" from the protesters who have become Statehouse fixtures. And with the November election having weeded out most Democrats from GOP-leaning districts, they aren't feeling much pressure from their constituents to give up this fight.

And if Republicans thought they were showing Democrats a thing or two when they said they were through negotiating and that the Senate would now begin work on bills that have been in limbo in the House, you couldn't tell it by the reaction.

"Good news!" said House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, who seemed content to let the Senate take the lead.

Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, also cited Senate involvement as a good sign.

"Frankly, they have a lot more experienced members," he said. "They have longer terms. They weren't just all elected on the whim of the electorate in a given year. We think they will take a broader, longer-range view of some of these issues."

Democrats point to House Bill 1002, the bill expanding charter schools. The Senate last week rewrote that bill in ways that traditional schools support, as it protects more of their funding.

In contrast, Bosma expressed outrage that the Democrats had forced GOP leaders to initiate Plan B.

"Without being overly melodramatic, the future of the democratic process is at stake right now," he said -- words that, if indeed a bit melodramatic, do at least sum up GOP aggravation.
Walkout foreseen, not this

A monthlong impasse that shows no signs of ending isn't what anyone predicted when the session started. And few are now willing to predict an endgame that makes sense.

Dennis Costerison, executive director of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials, said it was a safe bet the Democrats would walk at some point this session to stop legislation they opposed. But Costerison, who has been working with the legislature for 31 years, is surprised by this prolonged impasse.

One of the issues driving the Democratic walkout is school funding. Costerison and others representing traditional public schools applaud the Democrats for trying to ameliorate bills that would shift funds to more charter schools and to students who go to private schools.

But even Costerison was twinging a bit at how far out on a limb Democrats have gone.

House Republicans have offered changes to HB 1003, the bill that would pay for private school tuition, to cap the number of vouchers available and to lower the income level at which a family would qualify to receive them. But they've threatened to yank those concessions, along with some made to a bill that affects wages and union jobs on public construction projects, since they didn't persuade Democrats to return.

"They may be coming off the table," Costerison said. "That would be a concern if that would happen."

But, he said, "the question that I get more than anything else is . . . What if they don't come back before June 30?"

That's when the current state budget expires. Failure to have a new one would force a partial shutdown of state government. While the governor would continue to operate services necessary for public safety, Costerison said, schools are concerned about whether the state would continue to fund them.
Lack of social interaction

Republicans are stumped about why this gridlock happened and what it will take for it to end.

Rep. Tom Saunders, R-Lewisville, blamed it in part on the increased political polarization, and on the news media, which have shone such a spotlight on lobbying that legislators no longer want to attend lobbyist-sponsored receptions or other events where lawmakers mingle.

"Nobody does that anymore," he said. "There's just no socializing anymore. I think our 19 freshman members just see those 40 Democrat seats over there. I don't think they see people. It's easier to negotiate with people you have some kind of relationship with, or an understanding of their districts and their families."

Those freshmen, elected in a Republican electoral tide, are particularly resistant to compromise.

Interviews with several revealed little sympathy for any additional concessions.

Rep. Robert Morris, R-Fort Wayne, said he disagreed with the decision by Republicans to pull one bill that affects collective bargaining, the right-to-work bill, and send it instead to a study committee. It was passage of that bill by a House committee on Feb. 21 that triggered the Democrats' walkout.

"I think we should have debated the issue on the floor, for sure. That was essentially thrown off the table," Morris said.
Senate not negotiating

Sen. Luke Kenley, the Noblesville Republican who as Senate appropriations chairman will have the lead role in shaping the next budget, said if the Senate makes changes to labor and education bills, it will be because members think they're the right things to do, and not because of the House standoff. Senate Republicans won't be negotiating with House Democrats, he said, adding: "I don't think we can afford to reward their behavior."

But he, too, singled out the Senate changes to the charter school bill as a possible road map for this standoff to end.

"If Pat (Bauer) sees, like the charter school bill, that the Senate is taking some of these key issues and key bills and that there's work being done on those that he feels is the right kinds of things to happen, Pat is not above using that as a justification for him to bring his caucus back," Kenley said. "Because I have to believe he feels in a box here. I think he'll be looking for an opening."

Democrats said that, no matter how this is resolved, the majority Republicans will still win most of their agenda.

"This isn't a 50-50 trade here. . . . Really, they're getting 90 percent of a loaf, and we're trying to keep 10 percent of a loaf," Pelath said.

But they get that 10 percent, he said, by staying out, at least for now. As long as they have the ability to deny Republicans a quorum, "we don't ever lose our leverage," Pelath said. "This was written into the constitution for a reason. It's to prevent overreach."

Democrats, though, could be in danger of overreach themselves.

If this standoff means a budget and new legislative district maps are not done by April 29, Daniels will be forced to call a special session. That costs money at a time when the state is strapped for cash, and the public won't have to look farther than an Illinois hotel to know whom to blame.

Call Star reporter Mary Beth Schneider at (317) 444-2772.

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Ind. Legislature moves on without boycotting Dems

By DEANNA MARTIN

INDIANAPOLIS

Republicans who control the Indiana General Assembly moved forward without the boycotting House Democrats on Monday, with senators discussing a proposal for a new state budget and GOP House leaders scheduling informal hearings of their own.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, directed Republican committee chairmen to hold meetings starting this week to discuss Senate bills, even though no official action or votes can be taken until Democrats return and provide the quorum required by the state constitution to conduct business.

Bosma said he's done directing attention to out-of-state Democrats, most of whom have been holed up in a hotel in Urbana, Ill., since Feb. 22 in an effort to derail bills they consider an attack on labor unions and public education.

"We're turning our attention to legislation now," Bosma said after unsuccessfully trying to convene the House as the boycott enters its fifth week. "We can't really cater to the desires of a few folks too much longer. We spent four weeks doing that without success. We're prepared to move on."

Two House committee meetings already have been scheduled for Tuesday and, like all House committee meetings, will be broadcast online. Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said Democrats are carefully monitoring Statehouse events from Illinois. He said Republicans can do what they want, but noted that no votes could be taken until Democrats return.

"It's too bad we find ourselves still at this spot," Pelath said. "But I think if we could just get back to calm, rational negotiations, we can have progress here. We can get back to the normal course of business."

Republicans said last week that they're done negotiating with boycotting Democrats and would start working around them. That process began Monday as the Senate started hearings on the state budget, which is one of the bills caught up in the House impasse.

The Senate Appropriations Committee used as its starting point a version of the budget bill that cleared a House committee because no version had passed the full House before Democrats left. Senators typically make plenty of changes to the budget anyway, so the starting point may not make much difference in the long run.

"In order for us to finish our work and do our constitutional duty we need to start moving in the Senate," said Committee Chairman Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville.

Rep. William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, was at the Statehouse on Monday to attend the meeting and told the committee his fellow boycotting Democrats were disheartened by the lack of public testimony about the budget while it was in a House committee.

"That is the main concern we have about the way the bill evolved in the Indiana House of Representatives," Crawford said. "There is going to be some harm done to school corporations in the state. We need to look at ways that we can mitigate that and have public input."

Republicans say the current version of the $28 billion, two-year state budget would hold most spending flat while avoiding tax increases. It would keep overall education spending steady, but include changes to the distribution formula that will hurt some urban and rural schools and help some suburban schools.

Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, said the funding formula would greatly harm some districts and urged Republicans to take a second look at the way the money is divided.

"I don't know what we're going to do in Gary," Rogers said.

Darrel Bobe, the superintendent of North Knox School Corporation in southern Indiana, told lawmakers that his district would have to make more cuts and increase class sizes under the proposed budget, but another nearby district wouldn't have to make such drastic changes. He said the system has flaws with consequences that effect children.

"These are real life situations," he said.

The Senate committee also heard from social services advocates and planned to continue listening to testimony at hearings all this week.

Also Monday, political parties tried new tactics to drive home their points of view about the ongoing boycott.

The state Republican Party launched a new website -- http://www.indemsgps.com -- to track House Democrats. It shows a map with braying donkeys marking sites where House Democrats have been spotted, both in Illinois and in Indiana as they return for town hall meetings or other events.

The national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, meanwhile, launched a new television ad running in the Indianapolis market. The commercial attacks Gov. Mitch Daniels and fellow Republican for wanting to "kill collective bargaining" and "decimate public schools" and says Democrats are standing up for the middle class.

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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...c5085611772.txt

Boycotts seen as having lasting political impact

By Alicia Ebaugh
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, March 24, 2011 5:07 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — It has now been a month since Indiana House Democrats left the state in protest of Republican-backed education and labor bills. Politicians and experts alike think boycotts like this could have a lasting impact on politics across the nation.

“It depends on whether Democrats feel they were successful with the maneuver,” said Jonathan Swarts, Purdue University-North Central assistant professor of political science. “If this is successful for them, if they get the concessions they want, then they might do it again. If it doesn’t work out well, if the Democrats end up getting blamed for bringing things to a grinding halt, maybe it would only be used short-term. Others could follow suit.”

Although walkouts to prevent a vote have been staged in different legislatures, it seems the action garnered national attention this year, first in Wisconsin over a bill to take collective bargaining rights from public employees, Swarts said. It’s not usual parliamentary procedure, he said, even though there are rules on the absence of a quorum.

“In virtually every legislature, you would have the opportunity to do this in some form,” he said. “Wisconsin’s quorum laws allowed them to deal with every issue except the budget outside a quorum, but in Indiana a quorum is required for everything. It makes me wonder if in the future some changes will be made to those rules.”

Overall, Swarts said, a walkout isn’t something the voters of Indiana would want to be repeated on a regular basis. And Assistant House Minority Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, agreed. Pelath said Democrats didn’t walk out on a whim.

“Something like this really only happens when you have one party that controls everything. Usually, we have had shared power in Indiana’s history between the parties, and shared checks and balances usually works,” he said. “Ordinarily, extreme ideas get thrown in the trash during debate, but this year that wasn’t happening. There really is no other tool of significance we could use.”

It’s also an action that requires strong public support, which Pelath said he and other Democrats are getting from their constituents. Residents from Michigan City and La Porte have “flooded” his e-mail inbox, he said. One 32-year steelworker told Pelath he was “showing by your words and your actions that we have a voice at the state capital,” and his facebook profile is flooded with messages of thanks. But there have been a few letters from residents who don’t agree as well.

“When most of them are saying, ‘Hang in there, you’re saving our jobs,’ that’s what we need to keep doing,” he said.

However, part of what may be prolonging the walkout is that Democrats have been unclear about what they want, Swarts said.

“When Republicans essentially dropped right-to-work legislation, then the Democrats started talking about other things,” he said.

Rep. Tom Dermody, R-La Porte, said he personally disapproves of any kind of walkout from Democrats or Republicans. Republicans apparently once considered a walkout on Democratic-sponsored bills when Dermody came to the legislature five years ago, but he said many didn’t support it and it didn’t happen.

“If people think what is happening is wrong, they will let you know in the next election. It’s not up to politicians to make that decision for them,” he said. “What happens if you set that standard across the nation, that if you don’t like the way things are going, you just walk out? If your team is behind, should you take your basketball and go home or make the score even?”

Pelath is at the statehouse this week taking care of procedural duties. Dermody said Republicans are moving forward with committee hearings and have amendments to bills ready for when Democrats return, although no one is sure when that will be.

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http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-0...ts-return_N.htm

Indiana Democrats return; now back to work
By Mary Beth Schneider and Heather Gillers, The Indianapolis Star

INDIANAPOLIS — With Democrats back in the Indiana House, ending a standoff that was one of the longest in Indiana's and the nation's legislative history, the legislature is now in a race against the clock.

* The Indiana House comes to order with nearly all members present at the Statehouse in Indianapolis on Monday.

By A.J. Mast, AP

The Indiana House comes to order with nearly all members present at the Statehouse in Indianapolis on Monday.

Legislators have just five weeks to complete work on a new state budget, draw new legislative and congressional district maps, address education and government reforms and consider hundreds of other bills that had been in limbo until the impasse ended Monday.

And they've got to get it done by April 29, the deadline for this session to end. Go into overtime, and it costs taxpayers money the state can ill afford.

After Republicans offered some final changes to a bill that affects labor union jobs and wages, Democrats checked out of their Urbana, Ill., hotel they'd called home since Feb. 22 and returned to Indiana. Shortly before 5 p.m., they gathered at the Indiana Democratic Party headquarters and paraded across the street to the Statehouse, where a couple of hundred labor union members greeted them with cheers, whistles and high-fives.

Then it was back to business.

The first bill up — after the House went into session with no demonstrations, no speeches and no recriminations — was mundane .

For four hours, the House debated and voted on amendments to as many bills as it could, including one to House Bill 1216. It was changes to that bill, which now covers wages and union jobs on public construction projects that cost at least $250,000 in 2012 and $350,000 in 2013, that cleared the way for the Democrats' return.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, an Indianapolis Republican, said the biggest effect of the Democratic walkout is simply the lost time.

"We're going to need every minute of time to make this a success," he said.

He warned members to expect late nights, and the usual Fridays off likely will become workdays.

"Taking five work-horse weeks out of the middle of the session will make it very difficult," Bosma said. "But we will stay on task and stay focused on the end result, and we'll make it happen."

Bosma said House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, assured him Democrats would work with Republicans to avoid a special session.

Bosma said Republicans have no plans to forgive the fines they have levied against the 39 of the 40 Democrats who participated in the walkout. Those fines began March 7 at $250 for each session day missed and were increased to $350 per session day March 21. The fines total $3,150 per person, though some Democrats who were either in the House on some of those days for procedural reasons or who have been sick during the standoff will owe less.

In all, Democrats will have to pay more than $100,000, money that Bosma said will go into the House's budget for now.

"Those fines are worth it," Bauer said.

He argued that Democrats had won this battle, by forcing changes to some bills and by making the public aware of what he called a "radical agenda" by Republicans.

Gov. Mitch Daniels saw it another way.

"The only thing 'radical' about this session has been the decision by one caucus to walk off the job for five weeks," he said. "Now that it's finally over, let's make up the lost time."

Democrats are outnumbered 60-40 in the House and 37-13 in the Senate. In fact, their numbers are so low in the Senate that Republicans would have a quorum to do business even if every Senate Democrat stayed out.

Democrats also don't control a single statewide office.

But by using the only tool they had — the constitutional requirement that two-thirds of the 100 House members be on the floor for any official action to take place — they forced changes they didn't have the votes to win otherwise.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/apr/...use-boycotters/

INDIANAPOLIS — Collection has started on the fines imposed upon Democratic members of the Indiana House who boycotted the chamber for five weeks.

The walkout by most House Democrats in protest of education- and labor-related bills backed by majority Republicans left the House with too few members to conduct official business until they returned March 28.

House Speaker Brian Bosma said Thursday that up to 20 percent was being deducted from the checks that the boycotters receive for personal expenses while on legislative business. Bosma says that rate would have the fines collected by year's end.

Republicans imposed $250-a-day fines against the absent Democrats two weeks into the boycott and increased it to $350 for the final week. Those fines topped $3,000 for most of the Democrats.

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http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/7806130-...IPoE8c.facebook

NDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana House has collected more than $100,000 in fines imposed on Democratic members for their five-week boycott during this year’s legislative session, House records show.

Most of the 39 Democrats who fled to Illinois to protest Republican-backed labor and education proposals — and left the 100-member House with too few members to take any legislative action until they returned — were fined roughly $3,000 each.

About $12,000 of the fines, most of which have come through deductions from the legislators’ expense checks, remain uncollected, according to published reportes Thursday.

A few lawmakers, such as Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne, chose to pay off their fines all at once with a personal check.

Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma of Indianapolis said the fine money will go into the House budget and if it is unspent at the end of the fiscal year, it will go to the state’s general fund.

“I made it very clear during the session that I was dead serious about the fines,” Bosma said. “It wasn’t a negotiating tool.”

Republicans imposed $250-a-day fines against the absent Democrats two weeks into the boycott and increased the daily fines to $350 for the final week. The amount varied based on how many days an individual member was gone.

Rep. Bill Crawford, D-Indianapolis, filed a lawsuit in June challenging the manner in which Bosma is collecting the fines. He contends state law prohibits employers from taking fines out of an employee’s check.

Bosma and Republican state Auditor Tim Berry, who is responsible for docking the checks, filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which is scheduled to be heard Oct. 6 by a Marion County judge.

The court filing focuses on the separation of powers between the judiciary and the Legislature, saying the judge has no right to intervene into House of Representatives’ discipline matters.

“The fines assessed against the absent legislators and their method of collection have been entirely proper, but even if not, the fined legislators have no recourse to state courts,” they argued in a memo supporting the motion to dismiss.

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http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsi...h+Gerry+Dick%29

Statehouse Standoff Stalling Session

InsideINdianaBusiness.com Report

Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma says he will try to conduct business this morning despite a Democrat threat to stay in caucus until the party's right-to-work demands are met. Minority Leader Pat Bauer tells our partners at WISH-TV Democrats will remain behind closed doors until Republicans agree to hold statewide hearings on the contentious issue.

Bauer says Democrats do not plan a repeat of last year's five-week retreat to Illinois, which ultimately led to right-to-work being taken off the table for that session. Bosma says he sees no scenario under which the issue would be dropped this year.

Bosma says he has made three attempts to meet with Bauer, but that hasn't happened as of yet. Bauer tells WISH-TV he does plan to meet with the Republican, but hasn't said when.

Republicans have said making Indiana the nation's 23rd right-to-work state is their top priority for this year's short session.

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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-reg..._medium=twitter

Home / News / State and Regional News / Indiana / Indiana
House Democrats continue boycott for second day

By Dan Carden dan.carden@nwi.com, (317) 637-9078 | Posted: Thursday, January 5, 2012 1:45 pm | (6)

Protesters wait to enter the Statehouse in Indianapolis on Thursday. Republicans vow to push to make Indiana the first state in a decade to enact labor legislation that would ban labor contracts requiring all workers to pay union fees, minority Democrats consider their options for blocking the bill.

INDIANAPOLIS | House Democrats boycotted session for a second consecutive day Thursday, preventing right-to-work legislation they oppose from being introduced for consideration by the Republican-controlled body.

Sixty-four representatives answered the attendance roll call shortly after 12:45 p.m. region time. At least 67 must be in the chamber for the House to take any action.

Most of the 40 Democratic representatives, which includes 10 from Northwest Indiana, met privately in a Statehouse committee room while the House tried to convene.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said he will try to gavel the House to order again at 2:30 p.m. region time.

The Democrats object to what they consider an unusually speedy process Bosma has set for consideration of the right-to-work proposal, which would allow non-union members at a union workplace to receive union services without paying for them.

A rare joint meeting of the House and Senate labor committees is scheduled for Friday, which could permit a vote on right-to-work in each chamber as soon as next week.

The Democrats' boycott prevents House Bill 1001, the right-to-work measure, from being formally introduced and assigned to a committee. If the boycott continues through Thursday, that mean the House labor committee will not be able to vote on the legislation when it meets Friday.

Democratic Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said Bosma should hold right-to-work committee hearings all over the state this month before voting on "the most controversial public policy bill of the decade."

Bosma said that proposal is just a delaying tactic and Friday's committee hearing will go on as scheduled even if the House committee cannot vote.

More than 2,000 sign-waving union members filled the Statehouse over the course of the day Thursday protesting right-to-work and urging lawmakers to vote against the legislation.

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-reg...l#ixzz1icUvDiWq

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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/national/fine...a9f1c66301.html

Fines pending for Ind. House Dems in labor battle

Indiana House Democrats could soon get hit with $1,000-a-day fines for stalling legislative work over a divisive labor bill.

House Democratic Leader Patrick Bauer said Thursday that Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma promised to begin fining Democrats on Friday under a new law designed to keep them from blocking business after a five-week walkout last year.

"It's a significant issue. We think it's another assault against free speech," Bauer said Thursday as he walked into a private meeting of the House Democrats.

But Bosma said he had not decided whether to begin implementing the fines Friday and that no legal paperwork had been started.

"We're just counting on folks having some common sense and showing up for work eventually," Bosma said.

Democrats stalled business Wednesday, the first day of the 2012 session, when they did not report to the House floor. That blocked consideration of a right-to-work measure that would make Indiana the first state in more than a decade to bar private unions from collecting mandatory fees.

Democrats met again Thursday but did not say how long they planned to stall. Instead, Bauer said, they are debating whether to hold public hearings on the proposal around the state as soon as this weekend.

But when Bosma took a roll call of House members Thursday afternoon, four Democrats had joined the 60 Republicans. Three more Democrats, for a total of 67 lawmakers, are needed to conduct business.

The new law levies a fine of $1,000 per day against each lawmaker who sits out more than three days in a row. Republicans established the new penalties after Democrats left the state last year to block the right-to-work measure.

Representatives filing into the Democratic caucus meeting Thursday said they would withstand the fines, which could reach into the tens of thousands of dollars depending on how long they stay away.

The House Democratic caucus meanwhile opened an account on the Democratic fundraising website ActBlue and sent out an appeal Wednesday on Facebook seeking donations of between $5 and $250. "The Indiana House Democrats NEED YOUR HELP! Please support our caucus as we fight another battle against the Republicans as they try to push RTW legislation through without listening to working Hoosiers," the Democrats wrote in their appeal.

Indiana Democratic Party spokeswoman Jen Wagner said her group did not pay for any of the penalties accrued last year and did not plan to pay any fines this year.

A lawsuit challenging fines from last year's session filed by Rep. Bill Crawford, D-Indianapolis, is still being weighed by a Marion County Superior Court judge.

---

Associated Press writer Tom Davies contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/national/fine...l#ixzz1icVRfMjM

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The title of Jim Arnold's latest email

Back to work at the Indiana General Assembly

oops.

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The title of Jim Arnold's latest email
oops.

Karen Tallian used the same title

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http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/9908191-...O0hW4E.facebook

House Dems ending boycott, won’t promise labor vote

By TOM LoBIANCO January 9, 2012 12:26PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana House Democrats are ending a three-day boycott of the Legislature over a contentious labor bill but are not promising to stay long enough to allow a final vote on the divisive measure.

House Democratic Leader Patrick Bauer told The Associated Press on Monday that Democrats are returning “just for today.”

Indiana Republicans are pushing a right-to-work bill that would ban contracts that require employees to pay mandatory fees for union representation.

House Democrats last week denied Republicans the 67 members on the floor they need to conduct any business. But as the week wore on Democrats signaled their holdout was unlikely to last in the face of fines Republicans imposed after a five-week walkout last year over the same issue.

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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-reg...a7ec098aea.html

Ind. justice urges deal over House boycott fines
Associated Press


Indiana's chief justice is urging Democratic and Republican lawmakers to work out their own differences that still linger from two straight years of legislative walkouts.

The state Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday in a dispute over the collection of fines that majority Republicans imposed on House Democrats who took part in boycotts in 2011 and 2012.

At the end of the hearing, Chief Justice Brent Dickson said the dispute was political and he urged both sides to reach a compromise.

Lawyers for the Indiana attorney general's office and Democratic legislators who filed the lawsuit say they believe both sides will be willing to talk.

Most House Democrats spent weeks at an Illinois hotel in 2011 to block action on several Republican initiatives.