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(01/30/10 2:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS - Republican Rep. Steve Buyer’s announcement Friday that he will not seek re-election after 18 years in Congress could give Democrats their best chance in years to pick up his district. Still, they were not too hopeful.“It’s still a difficult district, but anything is possible,” said Jeff Fites, Democratic chairman of the district that stretches from the Lafayette area through the western and southern suburbs of Indianapolis to Bedford.Buyer won re-election in 2008 with 60 percent of the vote even as Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Indiana since 1964. And Robert Dion, a professor of American politics at the University of Evansville, said Democrats shouldn’t get too excited about their chances in the 4th District this year.“This is a decidedly Republican district,” Dion said. “This would be a tough one for Democrats to pick up. It doesn’t present itself as a top-tier target.”Buyer choked back tears Friday as he announced his wife, Joni, had been diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease that killed her sister 21 months ago, and he would not seek re-election this year.“As part of Joni’s prognosis, she has been advised to de-stress her life,” Buyer said. “Therefore, I believe it is in my family’s best interest for me to complete my service to the nation in military uniform and in Congress.”Buyer, 51, a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, is the top Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. He was the committee’s chairman for two years before Democrats won the House majority in the 2006 election.But Buyer has been dogged in recent months by questions about a private scholarship foundation he created that has raised more than $880,000 since 2003 without awarding any scholarships. He has defended his handling of the foundation, but didn’t mention it during Friday’s announcement and didn’t take any questions.Buyer said he would complete his term, which runs through the end of this year.“Politically, the easiest thing for me to do would have been to run again, especially with the present wave that is coming for the American people eager to take back their country,” he said. “There are many things I will miss doing, but now is the time to step back and focus on Joni.”A possible Republican candidate for the seat is state Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Lafayette, who is Buyer’s district operations director. Hershman, who has a family farm in Wheatfield and works in Monticello, said Friday he would consider running.Purdue University biology professor David Sanders, who lost badly to Buyer in the 2004 and 2006 elections, is the only Democrat to announce a campaign. Candidates face a Feb. 19 deadline to file for the May 4 primary.Buyer has come under fire recently for The Frontier Foundation, which was to award scholarships to Indiana high school seniors who promise to work in the state for one to two years after their college graduation.Critics say no scholarships have been awarded, and much of the foundation’s money comes from companies or trade associations interested in issues before the veterans committee or the Energy and Commerce Committee, on which Buyer also serves.Internal Revenue Service documents show the foundation received more than $200,000 from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies. Other top contributors include RJR tobacco, biotech firm Amgen, drug maker Eli Lilly, T-Mobile and the National Association of Broadcasters.The Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics on Monday asked the IRS and the Office of Congressional Ethics to take a look at the foundation.Buyer helped kill a three-year ban on advertising new drugs that drug manufacturers and broadcasters opposed, and he voted against a bill that would have allowed the FDA to regulate tobacco, the watchdog group said.Melanie Sloan, the group’s executive director, said she wishes Joni Buyer well but Buyer’s decision coming so soon after a complaint was filed “can’t be a coincidence.”Buyer was an attorney in the northern Indiana city of Monticello. Called for active duty during the Persian Gulf War in 1990, he served as a lawyer in a prisoner of war camp. Upon his return, he began his campaign for Congress and defeated third-term Democrat Jim Jontz in the 1992 election.He also served as one of the House prosecutors during former President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial.
(01/12/10 3:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana House approved legislation Monday to put property tax bill caps into the state constitution.The House also approved a bill that would tighten lobbying and ethics rules.The Senate is expected to pass the same property tax measure, which would allow voters to decide in November whether to amend the state constitution to limit property taxes.State law already limits property tax bills to 1 percent of homes’ assessed value, with 2 percent caps on rental property and 3 percent limits on business property. But adding the limits to the constitution would make it harder for future legislatures to undo them.The House voted 75-23 for the property tax measure, with proponents saying putting the caps in the constitution will give taxpayers security.“For the first time, taxpayers will now have peace of mind in knowing how much taxes they will have to pay,” said Rep. Milo Smith, R-Columbus.The property tax caps are expected to save taxpayers about $450 million this year. Some lawmakers oppose not only writing the limits into the constitution but the caps themselves. They say the caps mean less money for local governments and schools and will result in layoffs and reduced services.“People don’t like paying taxes, but we know there is a need for taxes,” said Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary. “I believe taxes are a necessary evil. People want services. I don’t believe we know the ramifications of these caps.”The General Assembly passed the same legislation in 2008, but it takes passage by two consecutively elected legislatures to put a constitutional amendment before the people.The House voted 97-2 for an ethics and lobbying bill sponsored by House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend.The bill would prohibit lawmakers from becoming lobbyists for one year after their terms expire, regardless of whether they complete their terms. It also would require lobbyists to report gifts worth $50 or more, including meals, drinks and tickets to events. The current threshold is $100.The bill also would bar the governor from raising campaign contributions during the long, budget-writing sessions of the General Assembly held in odd-numbered years. Lawmakers are already prohibited from fundraising during that time.Also, anyone with a state contract or bidding on one worth $100,000 or more per year would not be able to donate to the campaigns of people running for state office.Bauer said he believed that all current lawmakers were honest, and there were no scandals in the General Assembly.But, he said, “This tries to bring clearness to many issues and bring more public confidence. This tries to improve the perception of the process.”Republican Reps. David Wolkins of Winona Lake and Tim Brown of Crawfordsville were the only House members to vote against the bill.Wolkins said many of the provisions were questionable, and the issue should be sent to a summer study committee for further review.A Senate committee on Monday endorsed an ethics bill by Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, and advanced it to the full Senate.Miller’s bill also would require lawmakers to report gifts worth $50 or more and wait a year before becoming a lobbyist.It would also expand state registration and reporting requirements to include university officials who lobby the legislature and increase penalties for failing to file lobbyist registrations and reports in a timely manner. The penalties would go up from $10 per day to $100 and the maximum would go from $100 to $9,000.
(12/04/09 7:11pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says the state will cut $150 million in funding for state colleges and universities because of a continuing decline in tax revenues.Daniels also said Friday that other steps will be taken because revenues are missing their targets significantly.Tax collections for November were $144 million below forecast, and for the first five months of the fiscal year are $475 million below target. Daniels says if previously announced budget cuts and the new steps were not made, what was a $1.3 billion surplus in July would be wiped out by next summer.Daniels says universities will work with the Commission for Higher Education in deciding how the $150 million in cuts will be made. A new revenue forecast will be presented on Dec. 15.
(11/10/09 1:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Ohio voters have approved the opening of casinos in Toledo and three other cities, leaving officials and gambling interests in neighboring Indiana and Michigan worried that millions of dollars in gambling revenues – and taxes – are at risk.Indiana’s casinos pay more than $900 million in state and local taxes annually. A report released last month by the Indiana Legislative Services Agency predicted the competition from Ohio would lead to the state losing more than $100 million of that slice of the gambling pie.Any loss of casino tax revenue would also hurt Detroit and Michigan, which already face towering budget deficits. The state took a $121 million share of the Detroit casinos’ $1.36 billion in revenues last year.Last Tuesday, Ohio voters approved a ballot issue to allow one casino each in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo.“We’re cautiously optimistic there’s going to be a bit of an impact but not a profound impact,” Richard Kalm, executive director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board, told The Associated Press. He said Detroit’s casinos get most of their business from people within 50 miles and are “not as much of a destination market as, say, Las Vegas or Atlantic City.”The analysis released Oct. 19 by the Indiana Legislative Services Agency, the General Assembly’s nonpartisan research arm, predicts that three casinos in southeastern Indiana – which rely heavily on patrons from the Cincinnati area – would be hit the hardest.The Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Grand Victoria Casino & Resort in Rising Sun and Belterra Casino near Vevay – all downstream from Cincinnati – could lose 38 percent of their admissions and $260 million in gambling revenues in the first year after the Ohio casinos open, amounting to a $93 million cut in the taxes they pay, according to the report.Furthermore, Hoosier Park’s casino in Anderson, about 25 miles northeast of Indianapolis, would lose gambling customers to a new Toledo casino, costing the state another $9 million, it said.“They’re going to get smacked, and I’m not sure what the right solution is for them,” Indiana Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said.“It is a big hit, a significant hit,” said Mike Smith, president of the Casino Association of Indiana.Mike Rozow, president of the Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce, said the Hollywood Casino had turned “an old town into a modern attraction” and would be able to compete with a Cincinnati casino, even though it will lose some customers.Detroit casinos also put on a positive face.“We believe that Ohio casinos would have a minimal impact on our revenue,” said Jamaine Dickens, spokesman for Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage Inc., which owns MGM Grand Detroit. He said Ohioans account for 7 percent of its revenue.“Regardless of what is going on in Ohio, we believe that customers will continue to visit MotorCity because of the unique, high-quality products and services,” said Jacci Woods, a spokeswoman for the Detroit casino.Nevertheless, gambling industry analyst Jake Miklojcik said Detroit risks a hemorrhage of Michigan gamblers as well as those who now visit from Ohio.At MotorCity Casino, patron Greg Romps said he would probably sample Ohio’s casinos, especially the one planned for nearby Toledo.“These new casinos are so nice. They make them like Vegas,” said Romps, 67, of Livonia, Mich.Kenley said voter approval of the Ohio establishments would increase pressure on Indiana lawmakers to do something to keep the state’s casinos competitive, including restructuring the way they are taxed.Smith suggested lawmakers approve tax credits for casino investments to help them become more regional resort locations.A big mover behind the Ohio casino campaign is Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Michigan-based Quicken Loans Inc. and owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.He said he remains committed to Detroit’s development, as well as to Ohio’s, and said Ohio voters showed they see casinos as “the right plan at the right time.”
(10/21/09 5:36pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana legislative committee recommends carryout sales of alcohol remain banned on Sundays, and liquor stores stay the only place to buy cold beer.A coalition of retail groups is pushing to change both laws, saying the proposed changes would create more tax revenue for the state and provide consumers with more choices and convenience.But the Interim Study Committee on Alcoholic Beverage Issues voted to recommend to the General Assembly that neither law be changed. It did support a proposal to allow alcohol sales during election hours.The coalition of retail groups still plans to pursue the other two proposed changes in the legislative session that starts in January.
(08/30/09 8:52pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>BAINBRIDGE, Ind. — Republican Mitch Daniels has repeatedly insisted that his 2008 run for a second term as Indiana's governor was his last election and that he's not interested in the "savagery" of a national campaign.But like it or not, Daniels' name is being dropped in conservative GOP circles as someone to watch in 2012. Many say Daniels is just what the battered GOP needs, a blend of conservative values, cool demeanor and fiscal discipline."Mitch has been steady to the cause; he's stayed principled," said Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee. "The nation is going to recognize him."Some political observers say Daniels is as good a bet as any for a national party reeling from Democrats' solid victory last year and the recent stumbles of former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and two other rising GOP stars — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Nevada Sen. John Ensign.Palin resigned as Alaska's governor abruptly in July, and an independent investigator said he found probable cause she had violated ethics laws by trading on her position as she sought money for legal fees. Sanford and Ensign admitted extramarital affairs. Another person often mentioned as a contender, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, was widely panned after he delivered the national GOP response to Obama's first address to Congress in February.Given the turmoil, Daniels may not stay on the sidelines, said John Pitney Jr., a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College in California."If you look at the list of presidents who said they weren't going to run for president, it's a long list," he said.The 60-year-old millionaire governor is equally at home in Washington and Indiana after serving as President George W. Bush's budget director and an adviser to President Ronald Reagan. He earned a reputation in Washington as "the blade" for his efforts to promote fiscal responsibility in Congress and carried that to Indiana, where he took over a state with a $800 million deficit and worked with lawmakers to pass a balanced budget in his first year. The state's fiscal year ended June 30 with a $1.3 billion surplus.Republican observers believe his track record in Indiana would resonate with voters weary of billions in federal bailouts for banks and the auto industry and record federal red ink."First of all, he's a successful governor. Secondly, he is deeply informed on the subject about which deep information is now particularly needed, and that is budgeting," said conservative commentator George Will. "Third, he has an all-purpose general intelligence, and fourth, he is funny. He is a witty man and a graceful writer."Daniels is popular with voters, winning Indiana easily in a year in which Barack Obama gave Democrats their first presidential victory in the state in 40 years. And he doesn't hesitate to speak his mind, criticizing his own party for being too placid and putting politics above policy and saying the GOP needs to get in touch with average citizens — something he excels at.He's even taken jabs at fellow baby boomers, telling a Butler University commencement crowd, "We were pampered in ways no children in human history would recognize" and chastising his generation for fiscal irresponsibility.The speech prompted conservative columnist Bill Kristol to ask whether the nation is "ready to elect a boomer president who disdains his own generation, and urges younger Americans to reject boomer vanities and self-indulgence in the name of freedom and greatness."Daniels' businesslike approach to state government — including a highly criticized move to privatize many state welfare eligibility functions and a 75-year lease of the Indiana Toll Road to a foreign consortium — has caught the eyes of other states looking for savings and revenue-generating ideas.His philosophies and potential appeal to the GOP have been the focus of articles in National Review magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times and The Washington Post. He was an hour-long guest on C-SPAN and delivered a weekly radio address for the GOP, criticizing Obama's "cap and trade" energy policy as too costly.Daniels says he didn't seek out the attention and attributes the speculation about a White House run in part to "how slim the pickin's are" among potential GOP contenders. He says he wouldn't inflict the intensity of a national campaign on his wife, Cheri, and four grown daughters."To me the level of not just scrutiny, but savagery is the word that comes to mind, that has attached itself to national politics is pretty sobering," Daniels told The Associated Press. "I mean, we've not just seen people's own personal backgrounds but their spouses and even their children get dragged into this."If Daniels does change his mind, he'll have an uphill battle.Richard Parker, a professor of public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, said he considered Daniels in the "junior varsity" among potential contenders, behind former governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Alaska's Palin. He said Daniels' name recognition even among registered Republicans is probably 10 percent or less.Daniels would need to make fundraising appearances around the country and meet with the "elite press" in Washington and New York City, Parker said. He also would have to consider some of the steps taken by Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who was on John McCain's vice presidential short list in 2008. Pawlenty is headlining GOP fundraisers, has taken an influential job at the Republican Governors Association and is mulling his own political action committee.Neil Pickett, a former aide to Daniels who also worked with him at the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co., said he believes Daniels doesn't intend to run for the White House but cares very much about the party."If there is some kind of enormous draft movement that he's the right person for the right time, I think he will take that very seriously," Pickett said.
(07/02/09 12:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana General Assembly passed a two-year state budget Tuesday, narrowly avoiding a large-scale state government shutdown that would have begun just after midnight.The Democrat-led House voted 62-37 for the $28.7 billion budget late Tuesday afternoon, and the Republican-ruled Senate passed it 34-16 about two hours later. The bill was quickly signed into law by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels.“Like any compromise, this budget has its defects,” Daniels said in a statement moments after the Senate passed the bill. “But it meets the fundamental condition I laid down in January and every day since: to limit total spending enough to preserve our surplus and thereby protect taxpayers against the tax increases happening in virtually every other state.”Daniels had warned lawmakers and the public that besides essential services such as state police and prisons, most of state government would shutdown beginning at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if a new budget or stopgap funding measure was not in place.It was the closest lawmakers had come to such a deadline since 1993, when they also passed a budget on June 30 – the last day of the fiscal year – by overriding a veto by then-Gov. Evan Bayh.“We’ve done it yet again,” said Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne. “Let’s pray that times get better and the next time we have a budget, we’ll have a little bit more to deal with, better times to talk about.”The General Assembly did not pass a budget by a regular session deadline of April 29, forcing a special session that began June 11.The bill would increase overall spending on public schools by 1.1 percent in the first year and 0.3 percent the second. It would keep operating spending for public colleges and universities essentially flat, but provide more than $600 million in bonding authority for higher education building projects.Total state funding for all eight IU campuses was cut by 4.5 percent for fiscal year 2010 and by 1.5 percent for fiscal year 2011. A one-time allocation from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act makes up the difference from the state budget cuts, so total IU funding will remain consistent at about $600 million. The state and federal funding represents about 23 percent of IU’s overall $2.7 billion budget.The bill would leave a projected surplus of $1 billion at the end of two years, which Daniels said was needed as a cushion against a lingering or new economic downturn.The votes followed impassioned debate in both chambers, with many Democrats blasting the plan because it would result in spending cuts to numerous rural and urban school districts with declining enrollments.They also said there was a growing resentment against Indianapolis, because the budget included money for the city’s struggling sports agency but did not steer help to projects that some Democrats wanted in their districts.“What about Gary, Indiana? Stop treating it as a stepchild, as a reject of the state,” Democratic Rep. Vernon Smith said of his home city near Chicago. “I came to tell Indianapolis that you are not the center of the world. I love Gary, and Gary counts.”House Minority Leader Brian Bosma and other Republicans said a budget bill passed previously by House Democrats would spend too much, erode the state’s surplus and force drastic cuts in services or a tax increase.“I can tell you who the biggest winner is in Indiana, and that is the taxpayers because legislators were willing to swallow difficult medicine,” said Bosma, R-Indianapolis. “We have to be frugal when times are tough.”Republican leaders noted that state tax collections have plummeted in recent months, and a revenue forecast issued in May predicted the state would take in about $1.1 billion less through June 2011 than predicted in April.“I’m going to ask you to vote yes even though you hate this budget,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville. “This budget passed by the General Assembly is better than no budget.”House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said Democrats had done all they could to at least secure larger overall spending increases for schools than was included in a budget bill previously passed by Senate Republicans.In the House, 14 Democrats joined all 48 Republicans in voting for the budget. Thirty-seven Democrats voted against it. In the Senate, 30 Republicans and four Democrats voted yes, and three Republicans and 13 Democrats voted no.
(06/28/09 11:24pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana drivers under age 18 will soon be breaking the law if they use a cell phone while driving, as will school bus drivers who fail to make sure all students are off the bus at the end of their routes.The new laws, which take effect Wednesday, are among dozens enacted during the regular legislative session that ended April 29. Supporters say they hope the laws better protect the state’s teens.Those caught ignoring the cell phone ban could face a fine of up to $500. Republican Sen. Thomas Wyss of Fort Wayne, a co-sponsor of the ban, said teens are inexperienced drivers and cell phones are a major distraction. He also said teens should do more than just mail in their fines.“I would suspect there are going to be areas, and I encourage it, where judges make them come into the courtroom and really answer to the charge,” he said.School bus drivers also could face $500 fines if they fail to check for children on board at the end of their routes. The law arose after three South Bend students were left on school buses last year and a 4-year-old was left alone inside a parked school bus in Richmond, Ind., earlier this year.Another new law increases the prison term for anyone who murders or attempts to murder a pregnant woman and causes the loss of her unborn child.The law came in response to the shooting of an Indianapolis bank teller in April 2008. Katherin Shuffield was five months pregnant with twin girls when she was wounded in the abdomen during a robbery. She survived, but her unborn twins did not.Under current Indiana law, prosecutors are allowed to file murder charges if the mother is at least seven months pregnant, even if the fetus isn’t yet viable outside the womb. That law allows for a prison sentence of two to eight years, which supporters said wasn’t enough.The new law allows six to 20 years of additional prison time for people convicted of attempted murder, murder or felony murder of a mother if they cause the loss of an unborn child. The new law allows the same prison sentence if only the unborn child dies.Sen. Jim Merritt, an Indianapolis republican who sponsored the bill, said Shuffield’s loss needed to be recognized.“The penalty did not match the crime,” Merritt said of previous law.
(05/21/09 12:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Thirty-one Republican state senators have asked U.S. Sens. Evan Bayh and Dick Lugar to oppose the nomination of an IU law professor nominated by President Obama for a senior position in the U.S. Department of Justice.The state senators said Dawn Johnsen’s advocacy of abortion rights “is more than simply pro-choice. She is pro-choice in an extremely radical way.”The letter, citing statements and writings by Johnsen, asks Bayh, a Democrat, and Lugar, a Republican, to oppose Johnsen’s nomination to be assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department.“It’s a statement from a very strong pro-life caucus,” said Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne. “It is not based on the fact she is pro-choice. It is based on the fact that she is radically so.”Johnsen, in response to an e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment, replied with an e-mail saying that as a nominee, she was not to talk with the media.White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said Johnsen “will bring unquestioned integrity and a commitment to non-partisan interpretation of the law to the Office of Legal Counsel, and we’re pleased that both of Indiana’s senators have expressed support for her nomination.”Lugar spokesman Andy Fisher said in an e-mail Monday that although Lugar has said he would not oppose her nomination, Democrats who control the U.S. Senate do not currently have enough votes to move it forward.Bayh spokesman Eric Kleiman said Bayh supports Johnsen’s nomination.The letter from 31 of the 33 Republicans who control the Indiana Senate asks Bayh and Lugar to consider what Johnsen’s nomination “could mean for the future of the country.”Long said he was contacted by Indiana Right to Life and was asked to send the letter to Bayh and Lugar requesting that they oppose the nomination. Indiana Right to Life issued a news release about the letter on Monday.Long said he had the letter circulated among fellow Republican state senators, and that he and 30 others signed onto it.Vaneta Becker of Evansville and Teresa Lubbers of Indianapolis were the only state Senate Republicans who did not sign the letter.Becker said she had not seen the letter and did not know enough about Johnsen to have an opinion. Lubbers said she declined to sign the letter because she believed the decision was up to Lugar. She said her decision had nothing to do with the abortion issue.Walter Dellinger, who served as assistant attorney general and head of the Office of Legal Counsel from 1993 to 1996, said Monday that he once worked with Johnsen at the Justice Department, where she was a deputy assistant attorney general. Johnsen was acting assistant attorney general in the office in 1997 and 1998 after Dellinger moved on to become solicitor general.Dellinger, now a private attorney in Washington, said the Office of Legal Counsel is chiefly concerned with presidential authority and the separation of powers, a field in which he said Johnsen was a legal scholar.He also sent an e-mail that stated her legal work at the outset of her career for an abortion rights advocacy organization came at a time when it seemed the U.S. Supreme Court might overturn Roe v. Wade.“But the relevant question is not what causes or parties an individual has worked for in the past, but whether this is a person who can put those prior public service efforts aside when entering into the United States Department of Justice,” the e-mail stated. “Officials of both parties have shown that men and women of character do just that.”
(05/19/09 4:02pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS — Thirty-one Republican state senators have asked U.S. Sens. Evan Bayh and Dick Lugar to oppose the nomination of an Indiana University law professor nominated by President Barack Obama for a senior position in the U.S. Department of Justice.In a letter May 15, the state senators said Dawn Johnsen's advocacy of abortion rights "is more than simply pro-choice — she is pro-choice in an extremely radical way."The letter, citing statements and writings by Johnsen, asks Bayh, a Democrat, and Lugar, a Republican, to oppose Johnsen's nomination to be assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department."It's a statement from a very strong pro-life caucus," said Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne. "It is not based on the fact she is pro-choice, it is based on the fact that she is radically so."Johnsen, in response to an e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment, replied with an e-mail saying that as a nominee she was not to talk with the media.White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said Johnsen "will bring unquestioned integrity and a commitment to non-partisan interpretation of the law to the Office of Legal Counsel, and we're pleased that both of Indiana's senators have expressed support for her nomination."Lugar spokesman Andy Fisher said in an e-mail Monday that although Lugar has said he would not oppose her nomination, Democrats who control the U.S. Senate do not currently have enough votes to move it forward.Bayh spokesman Eric Kleiman said Bayh supports her nomination.The letter from 31 of the 33 Republicans who control the Indiana Senate asks Bayh and Lugar to consider what Johnsen's nomination "could mean for the future of the country."Long said he was contacted by Indiana Right to Life and was asked to send the letter to Bayh and Lugar requesting that they oppose the nomination. Indiana Right to Life issued a news release about the letter on Monday.Long said he had the letter circulated among fellow Republican state senators, and he and 30 others signed onto it.Vaneta Becker of Evansville and Teresa Lubbers of Indianapolis were the only state Senate Republicans who did not sign the letter.Becker said she had not seen the letter and did not know enough about Johnsen to have an opinion. Lubbers said she declined to sign the letter because she believed the decision was up to Lugar. She said her decision had nothing to do with the abortion issue.Walter Dellinger, who served as assistant attorney general and head of the Office of Legal Counsel from 1993 to 1996, said Monday that he once worked with Johnsen at the Justice Department, where she was a deputy assistant attorney general. Johnsen was acting assistant attorney general in the office in 1997 and 1998 after Dellinger moved on to become solicitor general.Dellinger, now a private attorney in Washington, said the Office of Legal Counsel is chiefly concerned with presidential authority and the separation of powers — a field in which he said Johnsen was a legal scholar.He also sent an e-mail that said her legal work at the outset of her career for an abortion rights advocacy organization came at a time when it seemed the U.S. Supreme Court might overturn Roe V. Wade."But the relevant question is not what causes or parties an individual has worked for in the past, but whether this is a person who can put those prior public service efforts aside when entering into the United States Department of Justice," the e-mail said. "Officials of both parties have shown that men and women of character do just that."
(04/28/09 2:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Thousands of union workers packed the Statehouse on Monday to protest proposed cuts in jobless benefits as lawmakers try to compromise on legislation to fix Indiana’s bankrupt unemployment insurance fund.Republicans who control the Senate have proposed a plan that would increase employer taxes, reduce benefits for most jobless claimants and tighten eligibility standards. Democrats who rule the House have proposed higher employer taxes, but they oppose benefit cuts.Lawmakers face a midnight Wednesday deadline for adjourning the regular session. Their biggest priorities are to agree on a new state budget and a solution for the unemployment fund.Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, said Monday that negotiators on the unemployment legislation met privately over the weekend, and he was optimistic a deal could be struck. But he said benefit cuts remained a big “stumbling block” in negotiations.The union workers who attended the rally came from across the state, many of them riding in buses. They packed the north atrium of the Statehouse, crowded wide staircases to the third floor, and looked down from the railings on the third and fourth floors. Hundreds more remained outside.Many carried signs. One read, “Don’t want to be a welfare recipient,” while another said, “Which way to the poor house.”House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, drew cheers when he pledged to keep benefits intact.“We will not cut your benefits,” he said. “You have worked too hard and you earned those benefits, and you will keep those benefits. We will continue to tell the other side to join us in helping you keep your benefits, and we think in the end they will.”But lawmakers agree something must be done. Indiana’s unemployment insurance fund has been paying out hundreds of millions of dollars more in benefits than it has been collecting in employer taxes. The fund has had to borrow more than $700 million from the federal government to remain solvent.Currently, the maximum weekly benefit is $390, while the average is $298.Under the Senate Republican plan, benefits would be paid on a sliding scale that would decline the longer a jobless person is in the system. The maximum benefit of $390 would be increased to $424 for the first four weeks but ultimately drop to $310 in weeks eight through 26. Only those making maximum benefit would get a temporary increase.The Senate Republican plan also would tighten eligibility standards.One provision would allow companies that lay off employees for several weeks at a time every year to opt out of the system, so their laid-off workers would not get benefits. The companies also could choose to reimburse the state for nearly all the costs of benefits for their laid-off employees.Democrats say that unfairly targets certain industries such as construction, in which workers often lose their jobs temporarily when a project ends.David Packwood of Indianapolis, a carpenter who attended Monday’s rally, said he has been out of work at times and was most recently laid off on Friday.“Even if I draw $351 (a week) in unemployment, my house payment is $1,700 a month, and then I have my gas bill and my electric bill,” Packwood said. “I want to work just as much as they don’t want me to be unemployed, but if the work is not there, it’s not there.”
(02/18/09 5:35pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Democrats who control the Indiana House moved forward Tuesday on their version of a one-year budget plan that includes some key differences from a proposal recommended by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels. The plan was approved by the Ways and Means Committee on a 14-9 party-line vote and now moves to the full House, where passage is expected because Democrats control the chamber 52-48. Republicans who rule the Senate 33-17 will pass their own version of a budget, setting the stage for later compromise. Combined budget plans by House Democrats would spend about $14.5 billion in the next fiscal year that begins July 1. That compares to about $14.15 billion Daniels proposed in first-year spending. The House Democrat plan would increase spending for higher education operating expenses by 1 percent in the next fiscal year, and restore a 1 percent cut Daniels implemented this year. Daniels had proposed cutting basic spending for colleges and universities by an average of 4 percent over the next two years. Among other differences: — A separate House Democrat plan would increase basic funding for public schools by an average of 2 percent next year, while Daniels had recommended that their funding essentially remain flat. — The House Democrat proposal would spend more than $100 million in new money for prison operating costs, as Daniels had requested. But it would not authorize $40 million in bonding authority the governor wants to expand the Miami Correctional Facility near Peru and the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility near Sullivan to house an increasing number of inmates. — House Democrats also want to authorize bonding for hundreds of millions of dollars in building projects, including some Daniels had put on hold in hopes of keeping the budget balanced. The bill also would restore $35 million for a joint life-sciences project between Indiana and Purdue universities. Democratic Rep. Scott Pelath of Michigan City, vice chairman of Ways and Means, said funding for education was a priority for House Democrats. In a break from tradition, House Democrats are proposing spending plans that would cover just one year instead of two. They also separated their budget into three bills, one covering education, one for child welfare services and the one endorsed Tuesday for spending on almost everything else. Pelath said the continuing sagging economy was the reason behind a one-year budget proposal. "We think it makes sense for the times we are in," Pelath said. "We have a very conservative measure — one that keeps reserves and one that gives us the flexibility to come back next year and make adjustments as needed because we just don't know what our economic future is going to hold." But Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, said a one-year budget could set a precedent resulting in lawmakers becoming a full-time Legislature that would be inclined to spend more money each year. He said that could lead to tax increases. Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, indicated that the House Democrat version of a budget is likely to undergo many changes in the Senate — in part because he said it spent too much. Daniels and the two chambers ultimately will seek compromises before the session is scheduled to end on April 29. Kenley said he wanted to stick with a two-year budget because he said it gives residents and businesses more certainty on what to expect over a longer time. He said lawmakers could always make adjustments to a two-year budget next session if necessary. Kenley said he considered the House Democrat spending plans statements of priorities, and he could understand why they might want to stick to a one-year budget proposal for now. That was in part, he said, because analysts are still trying to determine exactly how Indiana can spend more than $4 billion in federal dollars the state expects to receive from a federal stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama on Tuesday.
(02/12/09 7:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS — Smoking ban light. That's how Democratic state Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary described his bill to ban smoking in public places in Indiana after a House committee on Wednesday carved out exemptions for casinos, some bars and certain hotels. "Very, very light, and I don't like it," Brown said after his amended bill cleared the Democrat-controlled House Public Policy Committee on a 7-5 party-line vote and moved to the full House for consideration. Brown's bill in its initial form would have banned smoking in any enclosed places where the public is allowed, including restaurants, bars, bowling alleys and casinos. Brown and other proponents said the bill would lower health care costs and save lives by protecting more people from the ills of secondhand smoke. But during a hearing last week, bar owners and those who testified on behalf of casinos said the ban would hurt their businesses and prohibit adults from using a legal product in their venues, and that in turn would cost jobs. They said business owners should have the right to decide whether smoking in their establishments is allowed, and people already can choose what venues to visit. A lobbyist for the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns had said that smoking bans in public places should be decided at the local level. More than 30 counties and communities in Indiana have smoke-free ordinances of some kind, and several colleges and universities have smoke-free campus policies. Rep. Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, said he offered several changes that were approved to address concerns some people had with the original bill. They include allowing casinos to permit smoking, but 20 percent of their gaming positions would have to be in a designated nonsmoking area. That means if a casino had 1,000 slot machines, smoking would not be allowed at 200 of them. Smoking would be allowed in places that serve alcohol, as long as nobody under age 18 were permitted to visit or work in those locations. Hotels could allow smoking in up to 20 percent of their rooms. The bill would allow communities to pass more restrictive smoking bans as long as the ordinances were approved by 2010. The exemptions did not go far enough for Rep. Jackie Walorski of Elkhart. The unemployment rate in the area soared to 15.3 percent in December — up 10.6 percentage points from December 2007. "I can't have one job endangered in my district," said Walorski, who voted against the amended bill. Brown, who is not on the Public Policy Committee, said he was disappointed that the exemptions were added but pleased the panel at least approved a ban in some form. The bill will be eligible for more amendments on the House floor.
(01/16/09 4:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Higher Education Commissioner Stan Jones, a top architect of initiatives including a community college system and an advisory group that developed higher academic standards for public schools, will resign in April.Jones’ resignation, announced Thursday, will end his more than three decades in state government positions. Jones was a state representative from West Lafayette from 1974 to 1990, a top aide to then-Gov. Evan Bayh from 1990 to 1995, and higher education commissioner since then.“I feel fortunate I have had those opportunities,” the 59-year-old Democrat said. “Thirty-five years is a long time, and so I’m ready to do something else.”He said he had some new job opportunities to choose from, but did not elaborate.The Higher Education Commission coordinates and reviews programs and budgets from the state’s public colleges and universities. The 14-member commission, appointed by the governor, will choose Jones’ successor.Jones carved out a reputation of helping forge bipartisan consensus on efforts to improve public schools and higher education while striving to link the two.He was no grandstander, instead earning respect quietly through private discussions with many Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature and public education system. It was partly out of necessity, he said, because he served most of his years as a lawmaker under Republican governors with both houses of the General Assembly controlled by Republicans.In his final year as a lawmaker in 1990, when the House was split 50-50, he carried legislation that created a new scholarship program for low-income students.Jones ran for state schools superintendent in 1992, losing to Republican Suellen Reed, who did not seek re-election in November after 16 years in the post.Jones played a leading role in 1999 in creating a community college system, one of the last states to do so.
(06/26/08 12:05am)
INDIANAPOLIS – A new state law that would have allowed the computers of sex offenders to be searched long after their sentences had been served violates their constitutional privacy rights, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.\nStarting July 1, the law would require sex offenders enrolling in the state’s public registry to submit e-mail addresses and user names for instant-messaging programs, chat rooms and social-networking sites.\nThose who provide that information would have to sign a consent form allowing searches of their computers or other Internet-enabled devices at any time. They would also have to install software that monitors their Internet activity at their expense.\nFailure to consent to those measures would be a felony.\nThe restrictions already were conditions of probation, but the American Civil Liberties Union challenged their use on privacy grounds for sex offenders who must still register but have finished serving parole or probation.\nU.S. District Judge David Hamilton agreed with their claims.\n“The unprecedented new law, however well-intentioned, violates the Fourth Amendment rights of the plaintiff class, who have completed their sentences and are no longer on probation, parole or any other kind of court supervision,” Hamilton wrote in a 51-page ruling.\n“The state may not force them to waive those rights under threat of criminal prosecution for failing or refusing to do so,” the ruling said.\nIn defending the lawsuit, the state argued among other things that sex crimes were a serious threat in the U.S. and there was a “special need” to conduct suspicionless searches of sex offenders’ Internet-capable computers and telephones at any time to protect the public.\nThe state attorney general’s office was reviewing the ruling and had no immediate comment, said spokeswoman Staci Schneider.\nSex offenders generally must be actively registered for 10 years after their release from prison, but some face the restriction for life.\nState Sen. John Waterman, R-Shelburn, sponsored the bill that ultimately included the new computer search language. The bill originally had nothing to do with sex offenders.\nBut late in the session, a conference committee inserted several provisions — including the ones dealing with computers — that Waterman said he supported.\nA message seeking comment was left at Waterman’s home on Tuesday.\nHe said when the lawsuit was filed last April that the law was another way to protect children from sexual predators, in this case those who seek out victims through the Internet.\nKen Falk, legal director for the ACLU of Indiana, said the law meant that at 2 a.m. someone could show up and demand to look at the computers of those who had been restored their civil rights.\nHe has said the computer might belong to a spouse or someone else living in the residence and include private financial information.\nThe class action lawsuit had two original plaintiffs. One is a Marion County man using the name “John Doe” who had been convicted of child molesting. The other is a Scott County man who has convictions for child molestation and sexual misconduct with a minor.\nBoth are required to register for life as sex offenders, the suit said, and had concerns about the privacy of financial and business information on their computers.
(02/26/08 4:44am)
INDIANAPOLIS – A partisan impasse in the Indiana House over illegal immigration legislation ended Monday, but minority Republicans filed a formal protest over the way the measure was handled and accused Democrats of an arrogant use of power.\nThe impasse began Thursday when Democrats used a procedural move to prevent Republicans from offering amendments to legislation that could penalize employers for hiring illegal immigrants. They did that by taking language in a bill endorsed by a committee and filing it as an amendment to another bill – just four minutes before a deadline to file amendments to bills on Thursday’s calendar.\nRepublicans said the move was a sneaky maneuver that violated House rules and denied their chance to offer changes. They ultimately walked off the floor in protest Thursday night, and after about two hours House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, put the chamber in “recess” – instead of adjourning – until Monday morning.\nThat meant the Democrats considered Monday to be an extension of Thursday, and no new amendments could be filed on the bill in question.\nRepublicans tried to file an amendment to the bill Monday morning, but the House clerk’s office rejected it. The calendar of bills eligible for floor action on Monday was the same as it was Thursday.\nRepublicans returned to the floor around noon Monday, and after filing a protest, allowed Democrats to advance the illegal immigration legislation in a new bill.\nThe formal protest accused Bauer of violating House rules by allowing the illegal immigration language to be amended into a bill Republicans said had nothing to do with the subject. The bill dealt with collection of unemployment benefits.\nThe written protest also accused him of breaking another House rule, which denied Republicans a chance to amend the immigration language.\nIf the impasse had continued, it could have threatened dozens of bills and a resolution that seeks constitutional caps on property tax bills. This is the week for Senate legislation to pass the House and vice versa.\nHouse Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said Democrats had used tactics to roll over the Republicans. But he said his caucus agreed to let things proceed because its members wanted to keep the resolutions on constitutional caps alive. It will be eligible for amendments on Tuesday.
(01/31/08 5:00am)
Mission Control includes Arcade Fire, The Rapture, Modest Mouse, Interpol, The Shins, Coldplay and My Morning Jacket songs. Unfortunately, this is not a compilation, but The Whigs' sophomore album. This group is bewildering in that its influences seem to consist entirely of white rock acts from the year 2000 forward. All in all, it's like much of today's fashionable non-radio rock music, but without the surprises, idiosyncrasies and inspiration. As such, being essentially a diluted form of seemingly all-current music, it's a nice barometer for the "sound" of our particular moment in time but isn't much for listening. \nNothing goes at all awry for this album's entire 40 minutes, and that's the problem. There seems to have been little thought given to this project as a coherent album: The songs could be played in any order, with no thematic arc to move things along. The Whigs beats along in absolutely perfect 4/4 time, mindlessly, heartlessly and without nuance. Though its lead singer has some panache, his words can only drift awkwardly when placed above such polished, unaccommodating backing. The first and only moment that really feels sincere begins, as an afterthought, in the final measure of the final song "Mission Control." \nThis album is the sound of technology -- in the form of pitch-shifting, error-correcting, over-compressing studio technicians -- swallowing up what humans really sound like when they play instruments together. Heavy compression strips the dynamics so much that the sonic atmosphere from song to song is nearly identical. One gets no sense of physical space, of air, of a room populated by living, breathing things. Though The Whigs are mediocre lyricists, melodists and songwriters, no justice was done to its music through such tasteless engineering. When the band titles a track "Production City," it isn't kidding.\nThe Whigs have an OK shot at being a tight live act and touring for a few years. It also has a bright future in making big royalty money by schlepping these tracks to commercials for intermediate-level sedans. By then, we will have forgotten all about this album. Pop it in if you'd like something loud in the background to go in one ear and out the other.
(01/10/08 5:00am)
When the first "National Treasure" film was released in 2004, its success snuck up on some people. \nIt seemed to be a watered-down, Disneyed-up "Indiana Jones" starring Nicolas Cage, who hadn't had a real box office hit since 1999's "Gone in 60 Seconds." The funny thing is that the film delivered exactly those weak results, yet went on to gross more than $300 million worldwide. Never discount the Disney hype machine. Now everyone's back for another adventure in "National Treasure: Book of Secrets." \nWhile presenting his theories on the Lincoln assassination and the diary of Lincoln's killer John Wilkes Booth, Ben Gates (Cage) encounters Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris), who claims he holds a missing page of the diary that reveals that Gates' ancestor took part in the assassination. To clear his family's name, Gates rounds up his team to find a lost city of gold, which he believes is the reason his great-great grandfather's name appears in the diary in the first place. \nSimply put, if you enjoyed the first "National Treasure" film, it's almost certain you'll enjoy this one. Everyone involved did a good job in making sure that this film looks and feels much like its predecessor. \nThankfully, there wasn't a massive attempt to outdo the original film with the plot. Yes, there's a few more action sequences this time around, but in the unbelievable world that was created in the first film, the events of "Book of Secrets" flow fairly easily. One of the best action-set pieces occurs when the search for said book leads Gates to break into the queen of England's study and the Oval Office, each time dealing with secret compartments in desks. You know it could never happen, but it's still pretty cool.\nThe performances are exactly what you'd expect as well. Cage still hams it up as the supposed genius and Jon Voight still acts like a whiny idiot the entire film. New additions Helen Mirren and Harris fall into place as Gates' mother and Wilkinson respectively, but no one is really trying that hard here. One downside is the lack of Harvey Keitel's FBI Agent Sadusky and his sudden friendship with Gates. \n"National Treasure: Book of Secrets" isn't a great film, but it's not really trying to be. These films are made for entertainment (and money-making) purposes only, and in that respect the film succeeds. It's no better or worse than the first film, and due to the ending it sets up, the third film will probably be much of the same.
(12/06/07 2:03am)
INDIANAPOLIS – The tax policy leader of the state Senate said Tuesday he has concerns about capping homeowner property bills at 1 percent of the home’s value, suggesting it could be too hard a hit on some local governments.\n“If we’re going to have a percentage cap on homeowners, what is a fair number?” Senate Tax Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said after a three-hour hearing on proposals to cap assessments. “Is it 1 percent ... or what other number is it?”\nUnder current law, bills on owner-occupied homes would be capped at 2 percent of their assessments beginning next year. Bills on other property, such as commercial and industrial parcels, would be capped at 3 percent of assessments beginning in 2010.\nWhen fully implemented, that originally was estimated to save taxpayers – and cost local governments – about $100 million in property taxes in 2010. But new estimates say local governments overall would get $380 million less in revenue. The Legislative Services Agency said it increased the estimates based on new data.\nGov. Mitch Daniels has proposed a plan that includes capping homestead bills at 1 percent of assessed value beginning in 2009, with 2 percent caps on rental property and 3 percent limits on business property. The caps are commonly referred to as “circuit breakers.”\nThe effect of those, when applied to other parts of Daniels’ plan that include higher homestead deductions and the state assuming some local levy costs, would save property taxpayers about $748 million. But they would leave counties and their taxing units as a whole with the same amount in projected revenue shortfall.\nEstimates show those shortfalls would be 5 percent or less in most counties, and the Daniels administration has said most local governments could make up the loss by simply cutting spending by 5 percent or less.\nBut the shortfalls in some counties would be higher. For example, the state projects that Delaware County and its government units would spend about $237 million in 2010, but the caps would reduce that revenue by about $27 \nmillion – an 11 percent shortfall.
(10/09/07 4:02am)
Farm Bureau has a property tax restructuring plan. So does the Indiana Association of Realtors. So does conservative activist and lobbyist Eric Miller. So do some individual legislators.\nGov. Mitch Daniels hopes to present his own proposal by the end of the month. And a legislative panel has examined just about every aspect of the current system, discussed a specific scenario for changing it and hopes to have an overhaul proposal drafted in November.\nOther plans could be piled on the table by the time lawmakers begin their session in earnest in early January.\nWith so many ideas on a very complex subject, will Daniels and a divided General Assembly be able to find consensus on a plan that can be enacted into law?\nIt’s a question that Senate Tax Chairman Luke Kenley, who also is chairing the bipartisan interim commission on property taxes, has thought about.\n“You can get to the point where you get to overload with respect to information, but I think there is some distilling going on,” said Kenley, a Noblesville Republican who will play a key role in trying to pass a restructuring plan. “The danger is that people could get fixated on their idea and they don’t keep the goals in mind.”\nKenley believes there is general consensus on the goals: providing significant property tax relief, particularly for homeowners; developing a new system that is fair and reasonable; tax assessments that can be relied upon and bills being sent out on time; and having bills that Hoosiers can understand.\nDaniels says his plan is likely to include proposed amendments to the state constitution so reductions on the reliance on property taxes cannot be undone. Lawmakers have at times raised state taxes to pay for property tax relief, but the relief has always eroded while the higher state tax rates have remained.\n“I have said that what we do has to be fair, far-reaching and final, and final means that I will be looking for ways to make this last,” Daniels said.\nKenley and Republican Rep. Jeff Espich of Uniondale,Ind., the fiscal leader for House Republicans, said they are glad Daniels will have his own plan. Both noted that the governor has a huge bully pulpit and said it was important that he advance his own ideas. They could provide some needed direction, Espich said.\n“You (a governor) can’t just throw it to the Legislature because there are so many competing interests,” Espich said.\nBut will Daniels’ plan overshadow any proposal the interim commission comes up with? After all, if members of all four caucuses on the commission can agree on a proposal, it could boost its chances of getting through the General Assembly.\nKenley says he’s not worried about that.\n“The governor proposes and the Legislature disposes,” Kenley said, noting that the Legislature made some major changes to some of Daniels’ past proposals.\n“I think the governor has learned that flexibility is the key to working with us,” he said. “He had to learn that just like I had to learn that when I first got here.”\nIt could be a good thing that so many will have weighed in on the issue before the session begins. In a way it shows the level of concern that special interest groups, Daniels and many lawmakers have about restructuring property taxes. It shows a sense of urgency, and urgency is often what it takes to get major, complex legislation enacted into law — especially in an election year.\n“By the time we get to get to the solution people ought to be so sick and tired of talking about it,” Kenley said. “I think that will demonstrate just how much they know.”\nLike a sense of urgency, being sick and tired of debating an issue in the General Assembly can also help pave the path to getting something passed. When mental fatigue sets in, lawmakers are often more likely to soften their positions and compromise.\nThe art of passing legislation is compromise, and when it comes to something like overhauling the property tax system, it will take a lot of compromising.