Gov. Daniels sets goals for new year

Right-to-work legislation, a statewide smoking ban and higher education reforms are among Gov. Mitch Daniels’ New Year’s resolutions for the 2012 legislature.

In a speech at the Downtown Indianapolis Kiwanis Club last month, Daniels set his legislative goals for the upcoming year.

“I look forward to the next session, as I’ve looked forward to every session,” Daniels said. “We are going to be able to say we used every opportunity to leave a better state to our kids.”

While the governor did not spell out specific goals for primary and secondary education, he did express concern over the “credit creep” phenomenon in public colleges and universities.

Daniels said he would empower the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to work with colleges and universities to eliminate programs that call for more than 120 hours for a four-year degree or more than 60 hours for an associate’s degree.

“One-hundred-and-twenty-six hours to get a sociology degree?” Daniels said. “Not sure that’s necessary, but it’s costly and it means that kids are really struggling, no matter how hard they work, to get through in four years or even five.”

Daniels’ biggest fight in 2012 will be for his proposal to make Indiana the 23rd right-to-work state in the nation, which prompted the walkout of Democratic lawmakers this year and in 2011.

Democrats in the General Assembly have consistently opposed right-to-work legislation, saying that prohibiting contracts that require union membership restrict economic growth, and they have said they’ll do whatever it takes to keep right-to-work off the governor’s desk in 2012.

State Sen. Tim Skinner, D-Terre Haute, suggested bringing the fight to national attention during the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

“I know this last issue is going to be hotly debated and divisive, and I appreciate that,” Daniels said. “Not without a lot of thought and not without a lot of study and not without some reservations, I’ve decided that Indiana and our future will be well-served by this. It’s all about new job opportunities.”

The governor has also received praise from the American Cancer Society for calling on the General Assembly to pass a statewide smoking ban. Daniels said he believes the public and legislative support was abehind a smoking ban.

In an interview with the Indianapolis Star, Daniels said instating the ban before the Super Bowl wasn’t part of his motivation in supporting the ban, but cancer prevention advocates hope for a sense of urgency in the Statehouse.

“We hope that a law can be passed by the Super Bowl — however, we understand that businesses need adequate time for implementation,” said Amanda Estridge of the American Cancer Society Great Lakes Division in a prepared statement. “As the only state in the Midwest without such a law, we recommend that our Indiana legislature look to our neighboring states ... for model legislation.”