State senators reject Rokita’s bill, 50-0

Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita’s political clout took a knock this week after all 50 state senators voted down an amendment on a banking bill lobbied for by his office.

Had the amendment passed, Rokita would have had free reign to spend roughly $1.5 million from a state investment fraud fund on advertisements in which he would appear.

Normally amendments receive only voice votes, but Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, the Senate president, granted a request for the roll call vote, which ended 50-0 against the amendment — and Rokita.

The amendment was even voted down by its author, Sen. Richard Bray, R-Martinsville.

At the beginning of this month Rokita announced he would be running for the open 4th Congressional District seat in Indiana, placing him in the Republican primary with current state senators Michael Young, Indianapolis, and Brandt Hershman, Lafayette, along with 10 others. Legislators feared Rokita would use the money to build up name recognition for his upcoming congressional campaign.

“We should not use the public’s dime to let people advertise on TV, whether running for public office or not,” Young said.

Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington, said an investment fraud fund had a balance of $5.3 million last June that now stands at $3.8 million. It is funded from securities fraud settlements, all through Rokita’s office.

“The motion to amend is defeated in a big way,” Skillman said.