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(06/15/06 12:15am)
INDIANAPOLIS- An Indiana Supreme Court justice has removed himself from considering a lawsuit that seeks to block what would be the biggest highway-privatization in the nation, the pending lease of the Indiana Toll Road to a foreign, private venture.\nJustice Brent Dickson informed attorneys in the case of his decision Monday, a day before oral arguments were scheduled before the high court. They were still scheduled for 1:30 p.m., even though opponents of the lease filed a motion seeking to stop the proceedings and have the case sent to the Indiana Court of Appeals.\nThe high court rejected that request Tuesday morning.\nDave Remondini, counsel to the chief justice, said justices can recuse themselves from any case and are not required to give the reasons. Dickson has not said why he made the decision, Remondini said.\nOpponents of the lease, which include seven individuals and the consumer watchdog group Citizens Action Coalition, want the justices to overturn a May 26 ruling by St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Michael Scopelitis. He indicated that he did not believe the plaintiffs had much of a case against the lease and ordered them to post a $1.9 billion bond to proceed.\nWith four justices left to consider the case, a 2-2 tie ruling would be possible and would leave the lower court decision intact. That is why the plaintiffs wanted the oral arguments to be canceled and the case sent to the Court of Appeals.\n"Only remanding this matter to the Court of Appeals will guarantee a majority decision by an appellate court," the plaintiffs' motion for transfer said.\nThe high court agreed earlier with the state's request that the case skip the appeals court level and go directly to the justices. It gave no reason for rejecting the transfer motion following Dickson's decision.\nThe plaintiffs contend that the lease, the cornerstone of Gov. Mitch Daniels' "Major Moves" highway construction plan, violates provisions of the Indiana Constitution. They also contend they should not be required to post a bond.\nThe state has argued that the lease is constitutional and the plaintiffs should be required to pay the bond for the case to move forward.\nAt stake is a plan for the Indiana Finance Authority to lease the 157-mile northern Indiana highway to an Australian-Spanish consortium for an upfront payment of $3.8 billion. The partnership can pull out of the lease if litigation is pending on June 30, the date the deal is scheduled to close.\nIf the deal goes through, the state plans to use the $3.8 billion to help pay for numerous highway and other construction projects, and the private companies would operate the toll road and collect its revenue for 75 years.\nChallengers claim that the plan violates a constitutional provision that requires proceeds from the sale of public works to be used to pay down public debt. They also claim parts of the plan are unconstitutional special legislation, and that Scopelitis should not have ruled the challenge a "public lawsuit," requiring the bond.\nUnder Indiana law, public lawsuits are defined as challenges to the construction, financing or leasing of public improvements by a municipal corporation. One of the issues in the case is whether the state's finance authority is a municipal corporation.\nScopelitis said it was, noting the finance authority undertakes many of the same tasks cities and towns do, such as issuing bonds for public works projects. The lease, he said, constitutes a "public improvement."\nThe state said in its brief that the lawsuit's claims have the capacity -- regardless of their merit -- to scuttle a deal if they simply remain alive on June 30.\n"This threat, combined with the nature of the IFA as a municipal corporation, justify treating this case as a public lawsuit," the brief said.
(06/05/06 2:01am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Democrats from across Indiana rallied at their state convention Saturday, hoping to gain an election-year boost to help them rebound from big losses two years ago when Republicans won the governor's office, regained the Indiana House and defeated a Democrat congressman.\nSeveral speakers fired up the crowd at the downtown Hyatt Regency by taking verbal shots at Gov. Mitch Daniels-- whose 2004 victory ended 16 years of Democrats controlling the office -- and at Republicans who regained a majority in the House for the first time in eight years. Republicans also rule the Senate.\n"It's time we ditch Mitch and take over the Statehouse," said former House Speaker John Gregg, wildly popular among Democrats for his vibrant personality, quick wit and humor. "I walked in the Statehouse today and smelled an odor over there. I came over here and smelled victory."\nAmong other things, speakers touted the state party's primary goals this election. Topping the list is winning back control of the Indiana House, where they trail Republicans 52-48.\nDemocrats also touted their chances for Baron Hill regaining the 9th District congressional seat he lost two years ago to Republican Mike Sodrel; Vanderburgh County Sheriff Brad Ellsworth defeating Rep. John Hostettler in the 8th District; and Joe Donnelly beating 2nd District Rep. Chris Chocola in a rematch from 2004.\nAll three spoke at the convention.\nDelegates also conducted some official business by nominating candidates for statewide-elected office and approving a campaign platform.\nDelegates named Joe Pearson, a deputy commissioner of agriculture under former Democratic Govs. Frank O'Bannon and Joe Kernan, as secretary of state. He would face incumbent Republican Todd Rokita in the fall if Rokita is nominated for a second term as expected during the GOP state convention set for June 19-20.\nMichael Griffin, serving his fourth term as clerk-treasurer for the Lake County town of Highland, was nominated for state treasurer. Vigo County Commissioner Judy Anderson got the nod for auditor.\nRepublican Treasurer Tim Berry and GOP Auditor Connie Nass are in their second terms and cannot seek re-election. Berry will be the likely GOP nominee for auditor, and former Vanderburgh County commissioner Richard Mourdock is seeking to be the Republican candidate for treasurer.\nThe Democratic platform includes seeking affordable health care for all Hoosiers and to "advocate harder than ever" for implementation of statewide, full-day kindergarten, a passionate goal of the late Gov. O'Bannon that he failed to win in the Legislature.\n"We've got to have our own agenda, our own positive, aggressive agenda for Indiana, and at the center of that has to be our commitment to public schools and to full-day kindergarten," said state Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington.\nBut Democrats made it clear Saturday that they believe their greatest weapon this election is not a Democrat, but Daniels. They especially criticized his efforts to privatize parts of state government and his planned lease of the Indiana Toll Road to a private, foreign consortium for an upfront payment of $3.8 billion.\nAll but two Democrats voted against legislation authorizing the deal. Most others said the state should not turn over control of a major asset to a private entity, one they say will reap tens of billions of dollars in profits over the next 75 years that should stay in Indiana.\nDaniels has said that his privatization efforts or plans are aimed at improving government services and making them more efficient, often at less cost to taxpayers. He and most Republicans say the toll road lease payment will help fund hundreds of highway and other transportation projects and help create tens of thousands of jobs.\nAnd in general, Daniels says he is aggressively pursuing what he campaigned on, including rebuilding Indiana's economy, reforming government and seeking other changes.\nBut a statewide poll by The Indianapolis Star in early March put Daniels' approval rating at 37 percent, and only 30 percent of those surveyed supported the toll lease.\nHouse Minority Leader Patrick Bauer of South Bend, who likely would regain the speaker's post if Democrats take back the House, noted all the delegates waving placards that said "Ditch Mitch." He said jokingly that the message made him nervous.\n"He's the greatest thing we've got going for us right now so let's keep him until November, and then we'll veto Mitch," Bauer said to rousing applause.\nSeveral booths were set up outside the convention hall, many with Democrat memorabilia that took jabs at Daniels. There were buttons that said, "Keep the Toll Road, Lease Mitch," and front, plastic car plates that said, "Ditch Mitch -- The For Sale State," and "Indiana For Sale -- They Did What?"\nState GOP Chairman Murray Clark said Friday that he expected Democrats at the convention to be on the political attack.\n"Our message is we are the party of purpose and action and ideas," Clark said. "This governor is our leader and has illustrated that and has proceeded to lead in way very consistent with they way he campaigned and what he promised during the campaign"
(04/10/06 5:03am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana State Police troopers will get a pay raise ranging from 20 percent for beginning recruits to 1.75 percent for top level positions, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Friday during a graduation ceremony for 36 new members of the force.\nNew recruits' starting annual salaries will rise from $31,408 to $37,708, an increase of $6,300. The raise percentage will be lower the longer troopers have served, said State Police Deputy Superintendent Larry Larkin.\nThe raises were to be funded from money the state plans to get from leasing the Indiana Toll Road to a private, foreign consortium. They were set higher at the front end in hopes of recruiting more troopers. The state has 1,095 troopers but wants to add 210 more throughout the next 18 months.\n"We will never be able to compensate you adequately for the services you provide or the risks that you will take to protect the rest of us, but we will do our best. We are determined to," Daniels told recruits and others who packed the north atrium of the Statehouse for the graduation ceremony.\nLarkin said the raises will bring the starting pay closer to an average of about $41,400 for first-year troopers in Indiana's four surrounding states.\n"It is a very, very competitive market," Larkin said.
(03/21/06 4:53am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- As united in vehement opposition as Indiana House Democrats were to Gov. Mitch Daniels' "Major Moves" highway plan, some were actually giddy and grinning when Republicans were about to pass the bill without one Democrat vote.\n"Let 'em drink the Kool-Aid," several said to one another privately.\nThe saying was in reference to the 1978 event in Guyana when more than 900 members of a cult led by Jim Jones committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced punch.\nThe context of the saying a week ago was that Republicans only have a 52-48 majority in the House going into the November election, and a majority of Hoosiers were against the legislation that essentially ratifies a Daniels deal to lease the northern Indiana Toll Road to a private Australian-Spanish consortium.\nHouse Democrats could have walked off the floor and denied a vote being taken on the plan, but in the end, they blasted the proposal during debate and then let Republicans pass it. It takes 51 votes to pass a bill in the House, and House Democrats knew that 51 of 52 Republicans were going to vote yes.\nTo House Democrats, that meant Republicans were committing political suicide, and Democrats would regain control of the House in the November election.
(02/10/06 4:45am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- A top state senator said Thursday he is likely to seek changes in Gov. Mitch Daniels' highway plan, including the removal of some provisions that helped it win narrow passage in the House.\nThe bill, which would allow Daniels to lease the Indiana Toll Road to a private, Australian-Spanish consortium for 75 years in exchange for a $3.85 billion upfront payment, passed the Republican-controlled House on a 52-47 party-line vote. If the Senate makes any changes to the legislation, it would have to be reconsidered by the House and need at least 51 votes to pass.\nStill, Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange, said he would remove a provision that would freeze toll rates at their current level for 10 years for residents of the seven counties in northern Indiana through which the toll road passes. House Republicans added the freeze to appease members whose districts include the toll road.\nBut Meeks told reporters he would strike it because it might violate the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution by treating out-of-state motorists differently than those from Indiana.\nMeeks, speaking after his committee's initial meeting on the bill, said he also might remove a provision that would steer $100 million to a new regional authority to spend on economic development projects in three northeastern Indiana counties. That also was added to help win House passage, and two of the counties -- LaGrange and Steuben -- are in Meeks' Senate district.\nMeeks also questioned provisions that could result in an existing regional development authority in northwestern Indiana getting $100 million from the proposed toll lease.\nHe said he told some people in Steuben County over the weekend that "basically this whole bill is pork."\n"There seems to be an insatiable appetite for greed," he said.\nMeeks said he did not know how such changes would affect another House vote, but he was talking with House Republicans to determine what it would take to clear their chamber a second time.\nMeeks said he was still open to giving tax credits to Indiana residents who drive the toll road to help offset some of their costs. The Senate approved a bill that would do that, although Meeks said he also had questions about its constitutionality.\nRepublicans control the Senate 33-17, and their leader, Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton, has said that prospects for the highway plan passing the chamber are good. But he said Wednesday that the Senate could make some changes.\nThe bill would not only allow the proposed toll road lease to go through, it would give the governor authority to forge other public-private partnerships on new highway and bridge projects. Daniels wants to make the planned extension of Interstate 69 between Indianapolis and Evansville a toll road and lease it, too.\nBut Meeks said he was considering whether to require legislative approval of future lease agreements, including one for I-69.\n"I don't want to handicap the administration of the Department of Transportation on projects," Meeks said. "They've had enough of that in the past. But I think there's enough debate that we may want to bring (any lease proposal for I-69) back to consider it later. I haven't made that decision yet."\nDuring Thursday's committee meeting, officials from the Daniels administration and the House sponsor of the bill made their pitch for the legislation and the proposed toll road lease.\nThey said the $3.85 billion from the proposed 75-year lease would help pay for hundreds of road and other transportation projects and create tens of thousands of jobs. In exchange for the upfront payment, the private venture would receive toll revenue over the term of the lease.\n"We got what we believe is a Powerball price for this," said State Budget Director Chuck Schalliol.\nMeeks plans at least two more committee meetings before the panel votes on whether to send the bill to the full Senate.
(02/02/06 5:31am)
INDIANAPOLIS - A divided Indiana House on Wednesday approved Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels' highway plan and the authority it would give him to lease the Indiana Toll Road to a private consortium for $3.85 billion.\nAll 52 House Republicans voted for the plan while 47 Democrats, who have criticized it along several fronts, voted against it. The money from the lease would help pay for numerous transportation projects around the state.\nDaniels' top legislative priority now moves to the GOP-dominated Senate, whose leader, Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton, said its chances of passing that chamber were good. Republicans control the Senate 33-17.\n"Obviously there are more steps to take but this will probably prove to have been the critical one," Daniels said of the House vote. "It's just an enormous step for more jobs and more economic hope in this state."\nDuring four hours of debate, House Republicans hailed the legislation and proposed toll road lease as a risk-free way to help finance hundreds of highway and transportation projects around the state while creating tens of thousands of jobs.\nThey said without the $3.85 billion an Australian-Spanish consortium called Statewide Mobility Partners has bid to lease and operate the road, many projects the state has deemed as priorities would languish without progress for years. In exchange for the up-front payment, the consortium would operate and maintain the northern Indiana highway for 75 years and get its toll revenue.
(01/18/06 4:56am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels' major highway plan got several plugs during its first hearing before lawmakers Tuesday, with proponents calling it a bold proposal that would create jobs and boost economic development by funding numerous road and other transportation projects.\nThe plan would allow the state to lease the Indiana Toll Road in northern Indiana to a private venture for an upfront sum the administration hopes would be $2 billion or more. That money would be used to pay for several projects around the state, and the private venture would get the toll revenue and operate the 157-mile highway.\nThe bill also would allow the state to make the planned extension of Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville a toll road and lease it. Proponents said without the overall plan, numerous projects the state has identified as priorities could be delayed for years.\nPriority projects include enhancements to U.S. 31 from Indianapolis to the northern state line above South Bend and new bridges over the Ohio River in southern Indiana.\nThe leases could last up to 99 years, but the administration envisions them being 75 years. Proposed contracts already have been shopped for the Indiana Toll Road and bids are due by Friday, but Daniels might not reveal details about any of them until next week.\nBut the bids will give lawmakers an idea of how much money they could get through such a deal. The House Ways and Means Committee planned to take more testimony on the plan Wednesday, and vote and possibly advance a plan to the full House next Tuesday.\n"We cannot have business as usual to get the greatness we demand," said Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Sharp.\nThe administration and other proponents refer to the leasing toll options as long-term, public-private partnerships that are gaining more favor around the nation. They are part of an overall $5.3 billion proposal that Daniels, a Republican, says could create more than 100,000 jobs. Some have questioned that figure.
(01/10/06 5:35am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Property tax relief for homeowners, more tax incentives for businesses and giving local governments options to consolidate are part of a lengthy agenda announced Monday by majority House \nRepublicans.\nThe proposals also include attempts to steer more dollars to classroom instruction, moving statewide testing to the spring, and a bipartisan commission to recommend how legislative districts would be redrawn in the future.\nHouse Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, called it a "very aggressive agenda" for a short legislative session that is to end by March 14, but said his members would pursue it vigorously with their 52-48 majority.\n"We have set the bar high for ourselves with this long agenda and we know that," Bosma said.\nBut he said he did not know how much money the agenda could cost the state in direct expenses or lost tax revenue, and said he was not overly concerned about that because he did not believe it would all pass.\n"Much of this hopefully will happen, much will not, and we'll work through the budget issues as we get closer to finding out which of these things will be successful," he said.\nHouse Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, whose Democratic members are eager to regain control of the chamber later this election year, said they would work to help provide property tax relief to homeowners. But he said most of the overall plan was murky.\n"There's a lot of generalities with little detail," said Bauer, D-South Bend.\nA variety of factors is expected to cause property taxes to rise, with some fiscal analysts predicting increases of 10 percent or more in each of the next two or three years. Democrats blame much of that on the Republican budget passed last year.\nThe GOP plan would provide additional homestead credits of 7 percent this calendar year to help slow growth of property taxes on homeowners. Ways and Means Chairman Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, said that would save homeowners about $150 million in expected growth, a cost that would be shifted to the state.\nIn future years, the state would pick up increases in child welfare expenses, which are now paid by counties through property taxes. Future tax rate increases on residential property would be capped at 3 percent annually; seniors could defer property tax payments into later years; and bills could not exceed 2 percent of a home's assessed value.\nThe plan would allow smaller businesses to receive certain tax credits and in some cases increase the amount of state incentives. Those proposals are designed to retain jobs or recruit new businesses, but Bauer said they could cost $80 million at a time when the state is still trying to balance its books.\nThe plan would give local governments, be it a county and a city or a city and a township, authority to merge operations and oversight with approval of their governing bodies and then residents through referendums.\nOn the education front, House Republicans favor more incentives for schools to pool resources to buy such things as buses, energy and food services. The plan would also move the ISTEP-Plus statewide tests to the spring. Both moves are supported by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels.\nThe agenda would provide state money allowing children with autism to attend any public or private accredited schools. Some Democrats say that is a disguised attempt to open the way for more students to attend private schools on the state's dime.\nBosma also touted a proposal to create a five-member commission to recommend legislative redistricting every 10 years. The four legislative caucus leaders would each appoint a member, with a chairman appointed by the chief justice of the state Supreme Court. Drawing new maps is now left to the General Assembly, with the parties that control each chamber wielding the pens.\nBosma said the General Assembly would then meet to establish new districts based on the recommendations, but he was not clear on exactly whether legislators would have to accept the recommendations regardless. He did say it would it a bipartisan process.\nBut Bauer, whose party redrew House maps the past two times, said the plan would take the process "out of the elected officials' hands and basically surrender it to a commission that could be easily manipulated"
(12/01/05 12:59am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels asked federal officials Tuesday to keep St. Joseph County in the Eastern time zone and to move three more counties in southwestern Indiana into the Central zone.\nThe U.S. Department of Transportation had recommended that St. Joseph County be moved to the Central zone, as its county commissioners had requested in a 2-1 vote. The federal agency also proposed that Knox, Perry and Pike counties in southwestern Indiana be moved to Central time as they requested, but that three others also seeking a switch -- Daviess, Dubois and Martin -- remain on Eastern time.\nDaniels said those six southwestern counties wanting a change to Central time had expressed a "clear argument and desire to be placed together" and it was essential to grant their wishes to "preserve the unity of this natural region."\nThe governor said that accepting St. Joseph County's request for Central time "means that a unified metropolitan region would be divided, an outcome that virtually no one advocates." Neighboring Elkhart County opted to stay in the Eastern zone, and Daniels had said earlier that for economic reasons a split between the two was unworkable.\nMarshall and Kosciusko counties in that far, north-central region also petitioned for Central time, but federal officials had proposed they stay in the Eastern zone.\nOf 17 counties that made and retained their requests to change to Central time, the transportation department had proposed that only five be moved. Starke County in northwestern Indiana was the other one that got a preliminary nod.\nOf the state's 92 counties, 77 are in the Eastern zone while five in southwestern Indiana and five in the northwest are on Central time.\nU.S. DOT spokesman Robert Johnson said the agency expected to make final decisions in sometime in January. The agency held four hearings in Indiana for public comment and said counties whose commissioners had petitioned for a change still had chances to make their cases.\nDaniels said he agreed with the agency's initial proposal except for the changes he detailed.\nWhen asked how much weight Daniels' recommended adjustments to the agency's initial proposal would be given, Johnson said it would be part of the record along with opinions from congressional members, legislators, local officials and others.\n"We will consider all that input, just as we consider the comments from thousands of Hoosiers on the subject before we come out with a final rule sometime in January," Johnson said.
(11/29/05 10:49pm)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Beginning Jan. 3, Colts fans can show their support through a new specialty license plate.\nGov. Mitch Daniels and Colts President Bill Polian unveiled the new plate at the Statehouse just hours before the team was to play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.\nThe mostly white plate features the Colts helmet and a partial picture of the team's horseshoe logo as a backdrop. The first series of plates will begin with the identifier word 'GO'; other alternatives will follow if the first series sells out.\nThe plates will cost $35, with $20 helping to finance a new Colts stadium and expansion of the Indiana Convention Center and $15 being retained by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.\nDaniels estimates the plate will bring in about $500,000 annually and said the money might pay for about 1 percent of the stadium and convention center project through the years.\n"It's more about the fun and sense of broad participation than it is about the actual dollars," Daniels said.\nSome symbols and numbers of former and current players will go on auction Tuesday with bids taken through Dec. 16. Minimum bids are $25.\nFour hundred plates featuring the numbers 1 through 100 with the prefixes of 'GO,' 'TD,' 'IC,' and 'OF' will be available for auction. The prefix 'IC' stands for Indianapolis Colts and 'OF' stands for offense.\nPlates with the numbers of 29 players, such as current stars Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James, and former players Jim Harbaugh, Johnny Unitas and Eric Dickerson, also will be auctioned off with abbreviations of their positions such as 'QB,' 'RB' and 'WR.'\nBidding on the auction plates will be done through the BMV's Web site -- http://www.bmv.IN.gov -- and the others can bought on that site and at license branches.\nConstruction work on the 63,000-seat retractable-roof stadium has started, with the $500 million project set for completion by the start of the 2008 football season. That project is slated to be finished by 2010 at a cost of more than $400 million.\nMarion County is paying for the bulk of the project through local tax increases, although some surrounding counties also are funding a portion through new restaurant taxes.\n"In my judgment, (the Colts are) becoming America's team, and not just because of the way they play but because of the way they conduct themselves," Daniels said.
(11/02/05 4:56am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Efforts to legalize video gambling machines in taverns and other places that sell alcohol could heat up when the legislative session begins in January, proponents and some lawmakers say.\nThe Indiana Licensed Beverage Association says it is drumming up more grassroots support in hopes of finally getting a bill through the General Assembly, something at least two lawmakers -- Republican Sen. Robert Meeks of LaGrange and Democratic Rep. Win Moses of Fort Wayne -- have encouraged.\n"They are definitely more organized than they were six months ago," Moses said. "It's not something that Bob Meeks and I can get passed. It has to be spoken for by people around the state."\nMeeks said he told the association, which represents taverns, restaurants and some other establishments that sell alcohol, that its members had to contact their lawmakers before the session to promote the idea if they were to have a chance at success.\n"They have to start out and meet with these folks and having eye-to-eye meetings with them," said Meeks, who like the association has supported efforts to legalize the machines for several years. "I told them how people can make a difference."\nDon Marquardt, president of the association, noted that Gov. Mitch Daniels has not said that he opposes legalizing the machines. The governor has said the state should not be hypocritical, however, and the machines should either be legalized and taxed or laws against them should be enforced.\nSince they are still illegal, his administration has taken more aggressive steps to enforce the law. Excise police began confiscating money from the machines, removing the computer circuitry that runs them, and citing owners of locations where they are operated.\nBut the machines also are located at truck stops and other locations that do not sell alcohol and are not under the jurisdiction of the excise police. And many say prosecutors are reluctant to enforce the laws at such locations.\nDaniels' spokeswoman Jane Jankowski said the governor had no initiative about the machines and they would not be part of his legislative agenda. She also said that Daniels does not sense much interest among legislators in changing current law.\nMeeks said any effort to legalize and tax the machines would have to start in the House, where revenue-raising bills generally must start. And House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, is not exactly warm to the idea.\n"If we were to legalize the machines, it would be the single largest expansion of legal gaming probably in our state history, so there is some reservation about jumping into that without a lot of forethought," Bosma said.\nHe said Daniels has indicated that he "is not particularly seeking enactment this session, but I know there are members of his administration that seem to be pretty actively acting on it."\nEstimates on how many machines are being operated illegally have varied widely, but generally have ranged between 10,000 to 20,000.\nThe machines, with names such as "Cherry Master," and "Video Redemption," stack odds heavily against the player. Instead of paying out winnings directly, players get tickets to verify points and take them to a bartender or someone else to redeem for cash or merchandise.\nThe licensed beverage association wants them legalized, with proceeds taxed by the state at a level Marquardt suggested should be in the 30 percent range. That could generate up to $300 million in annual tax revenue, he said, and the group wants a third of it to go to local governments. Marquardt also said the minors should not have access to the machines.\nThe association has teamed up with some fraternal organizations to promote legalization of the machines, and meetings around the state are being held to discuss the lobbying push.
(10/25/05 4:27am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- A state senator angered by a recent protest at an Indiana soldier's funeral wants to make disorderly conduct a felony offense if it occurs at military funerals.\nSen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, said he would propose legislation in response to an anti-gay group's protest at the Aug. 28 funeral for Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Doyle, an Indianapolis native killed in Iraq.\nSix members of the Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church dragged U.S. flags on the ground and shouted insults at Doyle's surviving family members outside a mortuary in Martinsville, about 30 miles southwest of Indianapolis.\n"No family should have to go through this at a funeral," Steele said.\nThe Rev. Fred Phelps, the church's founder, contends American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors gays. The church, which is not affiliated with a larger denomination, is made up mostly of Phelps' children, grandchildren and in-laws.\nPhelps and his followers, who engage in anti-homosexual picketing around the country, have targeted military funerals in recent months, including one in early August in Portage in northern Indiana.\nSome of the group's statements amount to fighting words, according to a letter the Heltonville Area Veterans sent Steele.\n"We feel any funeral, especially those of veterans killed in the service of our country, deserves the protection of law," said the letter, which 20 people signed.\nSteele said he would file a bill seeking to make disorderly conduct a felony punishable by a three-year prison sentence and $10,000 fine if committed during military funerals, be it at the funeral home, during the procession or at the grave site.\nDisorderly conduct already is a felony in Indiana if committed at airports or their parking lots, and Steele said the funerals of fallen soldiers deserve the same sanctity.\nAn Oklahoma lawmaker also plans to file legislation in response to a Westboro protest at a military funeral in his state in July.\nThat bill would make it unlawful for anyone to engage in any form of protest within 500 feet of any funeral at a home, mortuary, cemetery, church or other place of worship. The bill also would bar protests within two hours before or after a funeral, and the penalty would be a mandatory 30-day jail term.\nIn 1995, a federal judge threw out a Kansas law that prohibited picketing outside funerals, saying it was too vague. State legislators later enacted a new law that spelled out the time period when such picketing is barred.\nWestboro members said they would fight the moves in court.\n"You can't turn off First Amendment rights into disorderly conduct of any kind," said Shirley Phelps-Roeper, Pastor Phelps' daughter.\nKen Falk, the Indiana Civil Liberties Union's legal director, said he was not aware of any cases dealing with the constitutionality of funeral protests.\nRepublican state Rep. Paul Wesselhoft of Oklahoma, a retired U.S. Army chaplain, said he has conducted many military funerals.\n"I'm just not going to put up with that in my state," said Wesselhoft, who plans to introduce the Oklahoma bill. "They victimize a family when a family is at its most vulnerable state"
(10/24/05 4:20am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels said Friday that he and his wife Cheri would move into the official governor's residence once major renovations on the home are completed next year.\nDaniels held his weekly media availability in the three-story house, which is mostly gutted as workers continue a major overhaul that includes new plumbing, wiring, heating and cooling systems and other renovations.\nThe governor indicated soon after taking office this year that he might not move into the house about five miles north of the Statehouse because of a state report saying it needed major repairs. Daniels, who now lives in an $810,000 home near Geist Reservoir, had bought land for a new home in an upscale, gated community in the northern Indianapolis suburb of Carmel.\nBut Daniels said later he had no certain plans for that new home, and in February he announced several private contractors had agreed to donate their services to repair the official residence. Others have pledged more than $340,000 in donations to help the effort.\nDaniels said Friday he would continue to maintain another home and would eventually build another house, but he and his wife planned to move into the residence once renovation and decoration work is finished. A leading contractor for the project said work inside the home should be completed in February, with exterior work finished by the spring.\nThe governor said terrific progress was being made. He delivered the update inside the bottom-floor living room, which had unfinished floors, and walls and ceilings strewn with slits where new wiring was being placed.\nThe home -- and its 16 surrounding acres -- was bought by the state in 1972 to become the official governor's residence. The residence is located amid large, stately houses on North Meridian Street.\n"You can't tell it right at this moment, but it will be restored both in terms of historical accuracy and in terms of quality it once knew," Daniels said.\nThe bottom floor includes office areas for the first lady, space for security personnel, a kitchen and a large room where formal events can be held. Major work on that room has not been done, and it has still been used for events in recent months.\nThe second floor is the living quarters, and besides a bedroom, it will include a galley kitchen solely for use by the governor's family. A third floor includes a bedroom and attic.\nDaniels could not give a final tab on how much the renovations would cost in free work and private donations, but said it would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cheri Daniels said the house would be decorated in a traditional fashion.\nThe governor, his wife and at least two of their daughters plan to be at the residence on Halloween to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. They will be dressed as characters from the Wizard of Oz, with Daniels being the cowardly lion and his wife playing Dorothy.\n"She could have at least been the wicked witch," Daniels joked.
(09/28/05 4:56am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- What Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels calls a creative, aggressive plan to upgrade and expand the state's highway system, some Democrats dismiss as a risky blueprint that would cost motorists hundreds of millions of dollars in new and increased tolls.\nThe plan detailed Monday includes higher fees on the Indiana Toll Road the administration says it will impose next spring, and possibly paying for an extended Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville with tolls and leasing it to a private company. The I-69 tolls and leasing would require legislative approval, as would leasing the Toll Road.\nDaniels said the plan would boost commerce through a top-tier highway system, but only a fraction could be done "on a business as usual basis."\n"The steps we propose to take or to explore have all been used successfully elsewhere," he said. "We cannot know that every one will succeed here, but if we fail to try we will never know how many jobs we missed out on or dreams we left unfulfilled."\nSeveral Democrats frowned, especially at new or higher tolls or leasing highways.\n"I will never criticize the governor for being timid, but there is a fine line between being bold and being reckless," said state Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City.\nThe 10-year plan calls for $5.3 billion in new construction, but the Indiana Department of Transportation only has $2.5 billion of that in its budget. Officials recommended several options that could cover the other $2.8 billion to complete projects tagged as priorities.\nThe plan also includes $5.3 billion for maintenance already in the department's budget.\nThere are scores of projects in the plan, such as completing the Hoosier Heartland Corridor from Lafayette to Fort Wayne by 2016 and building two new bridges linking Indiana and Kentucky in the Louisville, Ky., area. Upgrades to U.S. 31, which stretches from South Bend to Indianapolis, would be made in South Bend, Kokomo and Hamilton County.\nThe administration plans to increase fees on the Toll Road, which stretches across northern Indiana from Ohio to Illinois, on its own. The new money would be used to maintain the highway and fund other projects.\nThe Toll Road increases would vary according to entry point and bring in an estimated $770 million over 10 years. The toll for cars traveling the entire 157-mile highway would increase from $4.65 to $8. Trucks would pay $32, up from $14.55.\nDaniels said toll rates have not been raised since 1985 and can no longer pay for maintenance. Of increased toll revenue, $344 million would go to highway projects in toll-road counties, $226 million would go to Toll Road maintenance, and the rest would be used for local roads and projects in northwestern Indiana.\nIf funding sources are approved for I-69, such as the leasing and toll options, construction would begin in 2008 and the plan said it could be completed as early as 2018. The extension is projected to cost $1.8 billion.\nDaniels said he did not support higher state gasoline taxes to help pay for the plan. But some of the new funding recommendations could generate significant amounts of money over the next 10 years, according to the department.\nThe agency estimates that a long-term lease of the Toll Road, which would require legislative approval, would bring in more than $2 billion over the next decade. Redesigning projects could generate another $400 million.\nRepublican state Rep. Cleo Duncan, chairwoman of the House Roads and Transportation Committee, said it was too early to tell how most lawmakers would react to I-69 tolls or leasing arrangements. But she said if the proposals were sent to her committee, they would receive extensive consideration.\nDemocratic Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel said many southwestern Indiana residents preferred an I-69 extension funded through traditional sources, including gasoline taxes. But he said the project needs to move forward.\n"The bottom line is they want to see this highway built, and I think the people of southwestern Indiana would be open to the ideas Gov. Daniels has presented," he said.\nBut House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said he wanted more specifics and opposed higher rates on the Toll Road or leasing it.\n"The governor is raising the toll prices and then leasing it to a company that is going to have to make a profit, so you know Hoosier motorists are going to pay even more in the future," Bauer said.
(09/27/05 4:14am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels announced a sweeping highway plan Monday that would extend Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville -- possibly funded in part by tolls -- upgrade parts of U.S. 31 and impose higher fees on the Indiana Toll Road.\nDaniels also suggested the possibility of leasing the Toll Road and an extended I-69 to a private venture, which would receive the tolls and operate and maintain the highways. Those and some other possibilities in the plan would require legislative approval.\nThe administration plans to increase fees on the Toll Road, which stretches across northern Indiana from Ohio to Illinois, on its own beginning next spring. The new money would be used to maintain the Toll Road and fund other projects.\nThe 10-year plan calls for $5.3 billion in new construction, but the Indiana Department of Transportation has only $2.5 billion of that in its budget. Officials listed several funding options that could help cover the other $2.8 billion to complete other projects identified as priorities.\nThe plan also includes $5.3 billion for maintenance already in the department's budget.\nThere are scores of projects in the plan, such as completing the Hoosier Heartland Corridor from Lafayette to Fort Wayne by 2016 and building two new bridges linking Indiana and Kentucky in the Louisville, Ky., area. The upgrades on U.S. 31, which stretches from South Bend to Indianapolis, would be in South Bend, Kokomo and Hamilton County.\nIf funding sources are approved for I-69, such as the leasing and toll options, construction would begin in 2008 and the plan said it could be completed as early as 2018. The extension is projected to cost $1.8 billion.\nDaniels said the overall plan would unite the state with a top-tier transportation system that would boost commerce. But very little would happen without new funding sources, he said.\n"The more creative and aggressive we are, the more we can build and the sooner we can begin reaping the benefits in jobs and dollars that our major moves will trigger," he said at a Statehouse news conference. "And the jobs benefits of all this additional activity during the construction period alone will be enormous."\nDaniels said he did not support an increase in state gasoline taxes to help pay for the plan. But some of the new funding recommendations could generate significant amounts of money over the next 10 years, according to the department.\nThe agency estimates that a long-term lease of the Toll Road, which would require legislative approval, would bring in more than $2 billion over the next decade. Redesigning some projects could generate another $400 million.\nThe planned Toll Road fee increases would vary according to entry point and bring in an estimated $700 million over 10 years. The toll for cars traveling the entire 157-mile highway will increase from $4.65 to $8. Trucks traveling the same distance would pay $32, up from $14.55.\nDaniels said toll rates have not been raised since 1985 and could no longer pay for maintenance. Of the projected $770 million in new revenue through increased tolls, $344 million would go to state highway projects in toll-road counties, and $226 million would be used for Toll Road maintenance. The remainder would be used for local roads and economic development projects in northwestern Indiana.\nThe governor said that with tolling or leasing, construction of an extended I-69 could be moved up dramatically.\nMatt Meadors, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Evansville Chamber of Commerce, said he supports tolling and any leasing partnership Daniels feels are necessary as long as they do not lead to delayed construction.\n"We're supportive of any out-of-the-box efforts to get this project built as soon as possible," Meadors said. "This project is critically important to the entire state. We have got to move the project forward to move the state forward."\nRepublican Rep. Cleo Duncan, chairwoman of the House Roads and Transportation Committee, said it was too early to tell how most lawmakers would react to I-69 tolls or leasing arrangements. But she said if the proposals were sent to her committee, they would receive extensive consideration.
(09/14/05 4:50am)
Commissioners in Dubois, White and Knox counties voted Monday to seek a switch to the Central time zone, meaning at least 12 counties will ask for federal permission to move out of Eastern time.\nWhite County commissioners voted 2-1 to petition the U.S. Department of Transportation, which regulates U.S. time zones, to make the switch. Part of White County borders a section of five counties in northwest Indiana that are already on Central time, and two of White's neighboring counties -- Carroll and Cass -- also voted to seek a switch to that zone.\n"We are surrounded by several counties who are either on Central now or have petitioned for Central time," said White County Commissioner John Heimlich, one of the two commissioners who supported a change.\nBut commissioners in Tippecanoe County, which borders White County to the south and includes the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette, have decided against seeking a switch to Central time.\n"We do have a number of people who work in Tippecanoe County," Heimlich said, citing that as a reason for staying in the Eastern zone.\nWhite County includes parts of two large lakes and the Indiana Beach amusement park, and several tourism businesses want to switch because much of their clientele comes from the Central zone, Heimlich said.\nCommissioners in Dubois County, which borders a section of five counties in southwestern Indiana on Central time, also voted 2-1 to seek a switch to that zone.\nThe board's president, Lawrence Vollmer, voted against petitioning for a change. He noted that the General Assembly passed a law this year that will mandate statewide observance of daylight-saving time starting next spring, and said he wanted to wait a year to see if people liked Eastern Daylight Time before considering a change.\nBut he acknowledged the other two commissioners said most of the people who had contacted them wanted to go to Central time.\nKnox County commissioners voted unanimously Monday to ask for the switch to Central time, saying most residents in the southwestern Indiana community prefer it. Knox borders Gibson County, which is on Central time.\nFreshman Republican Rep. Troy Woodruff of Vincennesin Knox County, cast the deciding vote in April for the entire state to switch to daylight-saving time. He said Monday the county is economically connected to southwestern Indiana counties that are on Central time.\nMeanwhile, the commissioners of central Indiana's Johnson County voted unanimously in favor of staying on Eastern time.\nUnder the current schedule, Indiana counties have until Friday to petition federal officials for a change. Commissioners in St. Joseph County are expected to vote Tuesday on whether to request a change to Central time. There is no timetable for the agency to decide on approving or disapproving the requests.\nEighty-two of the state's 92 counties are currently in the Eastern zone.
(09/08/05 4:40am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Those delinquent on Indiana taxes take note: The state will start a 60-day grace period beginning next week that will allow you to pay up without penalties, interest or collection fees.\nBut Department of Revenue officials are warning those who do not come clean between Sept. 15 and Nov. 15 that they will face double penalties and more aggressive collection efforts. And there are no plans for another amnesty period in the future.\n"It was enacted as a one-time event not to be repeated," Revenue Commissioner John Eckart said Wednesday.\nMore than $1.3 billion in taxes are currently unpaid in Indiana, according to the agency. Estimates of how much Indiana might collect have varied, but the Legislative Services Agency says there are no data to indicate how much the state might get.\nHowever, lawmakers who approved the program Gov. Mitch Daniels proposed are banking on at least $65 million, an amount they included as expected revenue in the two-year budget passed in April.\nIndiana is one of only seven states that has never offered a tax amnesty period.\nIllinois offered a six-week amnesty program in 2003 that had been estimated to generate about $40 million that otherwise might never have been collected or would not be taken in for a year or more. The state ended up getting $175 million in that category. It also sped up payments of $329 million that normally would have occurred later in the fiscal year.\nIndiana's program applies to individuals and businesses who owe back taxes during periods ending before July 1, 2004. That includes those who did not file state tax returns, underreported income on taxes due, claimed excessive deductions, or did not pay previously assessed taxes, interest, penalties or \ncollection fees.\nThose who cannot pay the total amount owed by Nov. 15 may be able to set up an extended payment plan, with all back taxes then due June 15, 2006. Only those who owe more than $500 can take part in the extended plan.\nThe state began advertising the grace period Sept. 1 through newspaper ads and television and radio commercials -- a $1.5 million campaign that will continue until the program ends.\nIt also began sending out notices to about 200,000 known delinquent taxpayers Wednesday. The notices include the taxes and penalties and interest they owed, what they would pay under amnesty, and the additional penalties they would face if they fail to take advantage of the program.\nThe agency said the average delinquent taxpayer owes more than $13,000 in back taxes and penalties, interest or other fees.
(09/02/05 6:31am)
INDIANAPOLIS - Motorists in Indiana could save at least 13 cents per gallon of gasoline if the state suspends sales tax on the fuel. At least one state lawmaker is advocating the suspension, but Gov. Mitch Daniels has been cool to the idea.\n"A straight answer now is that I don't believe it would be a responsible step," Daniels said. "The state is still coming out of bankruptcy, and it would not provide dramatic relief to any individual."\nPrices topped $3 per gallon at some stations across the state Wednesday and were at $3.49 at some stations in Indianapolis and $3.50 at one station in South Bend.\nEven when prices were averaging about $2.60 cents per gallon earlier this week, state Rep. Dave Crooks, D-Washington, said Daniels should suspend the gasoline sales tax just as the late Gov. Frank O'Bannon did in 2000, when prices hit about $1.80 per gallon.\n"I understand the state is in a tough state fiscally, but so are Hoosiers and they need relief," Crooks said. "I'm hearing about this from people all over my area.\n"It seems reasonable to me to suspend the sales tax for a 90-day period to see if prices could come back to a more reasonable level."\nAccording to AAA's weekly survey of gas prices released Wednesday, the average price of regular unleaded in Indiana was $2.62 per gallon -- just below the all-time record of $2.63 set Aug. 19. But the figures were released at 3:15 a.m. and did not reflect price increases that occurred later in the day in part because of the disruption of the flow of oil and gasoline by Hurricane Katrina.\nFears of gas topping $3 a gallon already had existed because of high crude oil prices and refinery limitations. The hurricane that ravaged Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama compounded the situation, knocking off refineries and pipeline links in the Gulf region that allow gasoline, heating oil and jet fuel to flow to other markets.\nThe state's 6 percent gasoline sales tax is separate from an 18-cent state excise tax and an 18.4 cent federal excise tax charged on every gallon sold. The sales tax is applied to the base price of gasoline before the excise taxes are added on.\nSo if the total price of a gallon was $3, motorists would save about 16 cents per gallon if the sales tax were suspended. If motorists filled their tanks with 15 gallons per week, they would save $2.36 per week, or $122.62 per year. If the total price per gallon was $3.50, they would save $146 a year.\nWhen gasoline prices jumped to about $1.80 per gallon in 2000, O'Bannon drew national media attention by suspending the gas sales tax from July through early September. He said it was needed to help residents cope with higher prices and keep Indiana businesses competitive.\nThe move, which some Republicans called an election-year ploy, saved motorists more than $46 million, but it cost the state the same amount in revenue at a time when the economy was slowing and the state's budget surplus was dwindling.\nState officials say it is difficult to separate gasoline sales tax revenue from other sales taxes, but the State Budget Agency is trying to determine if consumption has been rising or falling and whether the state is getting a windfall from the higher prices.\nOfficials also said it was possible that because of higher gas prices, people are cutting down on other purchases, meaning less sales tax revenue in other areas.\nDaniels said that suspending the tax might be a popular move, but it would not be in the state's best interest. The two-year budget lawmakers passed last April was projected to leave a budget deficit of $172 million by July 2006, but Daniels is trying to eliminate it by withholding some appropriations and other moves.\nMotorists had different opinions on a sales tax suspension.\nHoward Bulpin, outside a South Bend station where gas was selling for $3.19 a gallon, said he was all for it.\n"I think if they don't curb gas prices, regardless of the hurricane, you're going to see inflation like we saw in Britain. Very bad inflation," he said.\nBut Dick Eichorst, at a Sunoco station just south of South Bend where gas was $3.50 per gallon, opposed a sales tax suspension.\n"The last time they did that, that's when the state got in trouble," he said. "They've been in trouble ever since. I don't think that's the answer"
(08/30/05 5:15am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels on Monday commuted the death sentence of Arthur Baird II, who was scheduled to be executed this week for killing his parents in 1985.\nThe order from Daniels changes Baird's sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole. Baird's lawyers have argued he was mentally ill, but the state Parole Board last week voted 3-1 to recommend that the execution be carried out as scheduled early Wednesday.\nDaniels' clemency ruling was released an hour after the Indiana Supreme Court set a Sept. 28 execution date for Alan Matheney, who was condemned for killing his ex-wife in Mishawaka during a brief furlough from prison in 1989.\nDaniels acknowledged claims that Baird was mentally ill, but he emphasized other circumstances in his clemency order. They included the fact that life without parole in murder cases was not an option at the time of Baird's sentencing. It became an option for jurors in 1993, and prosecutors could seek it on their own in 1994.\nAt least eight people under current death sentences in Indiana were sentenced before 1993.\nProsecutors offered Baird a plea agreement that included so many years in prison it effectively would have kept Baird behind bars for life. Daniels noted that Baird appeared ready to accept the agreement, but suddenly reversed course and, apparently because of his delusional state, rejected the deal.\n"All members of the jury whose views are known also indicated that, had life without parole been an alternative available to them, they would have imposed it instead of the death penalty," wrote Daniels, under whom four executions have been carried out since he took office in January.\nBaird, 59, of Darlington, Ind., was sentenced to death for killing his parents, Kathryn and Arthur Baird. He also was sentenced to 60 years in prison for killing his pregnant wife, Nadine, the day before his parents' slayings.\n"Courts recognized Mr. Baird as suffering from mental illness at the time he committed the murders, and Indiana Supreme Court Justice Theodore R. Boehm recently wrote that Mr. Baird is 'insane in the ordinary sense of the word.' It is difficult to find reasons not to agree," Daniels said in his statement.\n"However, I reach today's decision without substituting my judgment for others on the ambiguous issue of Mr. Baird's degree of insanity," Daniels said. "To me, it suffices to note that had the sentence of life without parole been available in 1987, the jury and the state would have imposed it with support of the victims' families."\nSeveral people, including Nadine Baird's sister, Laquita Anglin, urged the Parole Board last week to recommend clemency. An attorney for the state attorney general's office argued otherwise, saying Baird had escalated stories about his mental illness and that every court in his case had upheld the death sentence.\nAnglin said her prayers had been answered.\n"That's what I wanted, and that's what my mom and dad wanted. Not to be put to death," she said. "Just stay in prison where he's at and just live out his life."\nSarah Nagy, an attorney for Baird, also was pleased.\n"I have a great deal of respect for Mitch Daniels and I had faith he would consider this case seriously," she said.\nAmong other things, Baird claimed that forces had manipulated his hands as he strangled his wife and that he was being controlled by an outside force when he killed his parents the following day.\nHe also said he believed God would turn back time and bring his wife and parents back to life. But in a 3-2 ruling last week, the Indiana Supreme Court found him competent to be executed.\nNagy said Baird's case brought up the issue of whether mentally ill persons should face execution.\n"I hope it stays there and doesn't go back into the closet, and we don't return to the day where we're not stopping and seriously considering how we treat the mentally ill," Nagy said.\nIn 2004, former Gov. Joe Kernan became the first governor in 48 years to grant clemency in a capital case. He said it would have been unfair to execute Darnell Williams for the murders of a Gary couple when a mentally retarded accomplice got a life sentence.
(08/26/05 5:05am)
INDIANAPOLIS - Death-row inmate Arthur Baird II is competent to be executed as scheduled next week for killing his parents in 1985, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday.\nThe state's high court ruled 3-2 against a stay of execution, saying evidence presented on Baird's behalf did not meet a test set out in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. That ruling barred states from executing people who are insane, defined as being unaware of the punishment about to be received and the reason for that punishment.\n"He may be denying to himself that it will actually occur," the Indiana justices said. "He may have mental illness. But read as a whole, the evidence presented amply shows Baird knows he is about to be executed because he murdered his parents."\nThe Indiana Parole Board voted 3-1 Wednesday to recommend that Gov. Mitch Daniels deny clemency for Baird, 59, of Darlington, Ind. Baird is scheduled to die by chemical injection Aug. 31 for killing his parents, Kathryn and Arthur Baird. He also was sentenced to 60 years in prison for killing his pregnant wife, Nadine. He killed her the day before his parents' slayings.\nSarah Nagy, an attorney for Baird, said Baird was clearly insane and she planned to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.\n"What this case boils down to and what it has always boiled down to is how we as a society are going to treat our mentally ill," Nagy said.\nPolice said Baird confessed to the killings, saying he had gone "berserk" and had believed the federal government was about to pay him $1 million for advice on solving the national debt. He had planned to buy a farm for $575,000. But the money never arrived, and Baird was in debt and had been laid off from a factory job.\nPhil Coons, a forensic psychologist, told the parole board Baird had been sexually molested as a child and developed mental illnesses that included delusions and an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Coons said Baird was under intense stress, heard voices and felt possessed when the killings occurred.\nBaird told the parole board he felt "two beings" manipulated his hands as he strangled his wife in their mobile home. He said he didn't see any beings the next day but believed he was being controlled again when he fatally stabbed his parents.\nAttorneys and a clinical psychologist argued in this latest appeal that Baird was not competent because he believed God would turn back time and bring the victims back to life. The appeal also said Baird believed a "big burly man" moved his arms during the murders, so he was unable to experience culpability or fully understand the nature of the penalty.\nBut the high court said Baird's references to God turning back the clock and other claims indicated he was aware that he was to be executed because he had committed murder.\nJustices Theodore Boehm and Robert Rucker dissented from the majority ruling, saying the meaning of "insane" had not been definitively addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Boehm said attorneys had cited facts that "at the very least lead one to conclude that Baird is only marginally in touch with reality."\nBoehm said Baird had shown a "reasonable possibility" that he may be insane and should be allowed to pursue further litigation to make that case.\nBarring a late, favorable court ruling or clemency by Daniels, Baird would be the fifth person executed in Indiana this year.