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(03/10/05 4:34am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Republicans who control the Indiana House pledged Wednesday to use all their power to revive at least 40 bills that failed to clear their chamber by a key deadline last week, many of them derailed because of a walkout by Democrats.\nTheir priority salvage list included bills that would mandate statewide observance of daylight-saving time, give Gov. Mitch Daniels' inspector general power to prosecute government crimes and establish several economic development initiatives.\nHouse Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, acknowledged that procedural rules and time constraints would make it difficult to resurrect many of the bills by amending them into legislation that is still alive. He said Republicans had identified potential homes for some of the bills, but not all of them.\nHe also acknowledged that it could be tough to revive the daylight-saving legislation, but said his caucus was committed to keeping that and other legislation alive.\n"We will not wait until the last six days of the session to pass critical legislation as has been the practice of the past," he said.\nHouse Minority Floor Leader Russ Stilwell, D-Boonville, said he had not had enough time to fully review the list, but said House Democrats could probably support many of the bills. But he also said some were "pretty obnoxious," and that Republicans were still taking what another top Democrat referred to as a "my way or the highway" approach to negotiations.\nRepublicans have a 52-48 majority in the House, but Democrats refused to take the floor and provide a quorum on a deadline day last week for bills to clear their chamber of origin.\nDemocrats said the move, which derailed about 130 bills, was justified because some bills backed by the Republican governor and House Republicans were partisan power grabs.\nThey especially faulted legislation that would give Daniels' self-created inspector general the power to prosecute alleged government crimes if local prosecutors failed to file charges within six months. Democrats said that would allow a governor's appointee to conduct political witch hunts, but Daniels and Republicans said it is needed to root out government corruption.\nDemocrats also are strongly opposed to a bill that would require voters to show government-issued IDs to cast ballots, saying it could inconvenience some residents and disenfranchise voters to the GOP's benefit. Republicans say it would help prevent voter fraud.\nAlthough House Republicans included the voter ID measure on their list of bills to be revived, it is already alive because similar legislation passed the Senate and is now before the House.\nHouse Republicans also want to revive a bill that would allow parents to transfer their children at state expense to other public, private or charter schools if their current schools failed to meet federal standards. But Republicans failed to get that bill past a procedural step so it could be considered on the floor, so it was not derailed by the Democrat boycott.
(03/04/05 4:37am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Republicans and Democrats spent the initial hours of a several-day break before the second half of the legislative session casting partisan blame for how the first half ended.\nRepublican Gov. Mitch Daniels used the harshest words Wednesday, accusing House Democrats of "car bombing" his attempted drive to reform Indiana government and create jobs.\nHe accused them of trying to block his agenda for purely political reasons and cast doubt on whether they could regain his trust any time soon as being true statesmen and stateswomen.\n"I like to assume the best about folks until they prove you can't," Daniels told reporters at his Statehouse office. "These people liked being in charge and they liked business as usual, and they're not about to let a little thing like the people voting for change make a difference."\nHis verbal lashing followed Tuesday's walkout by House Democrats, who refused to take the floor to vote on even one of about 130 bills that faced a midnight deadline to pass and advance to the Senate.\nHouse Democrats, out of power for the first time in eight years, said they had legitimate objections to bills they considered to be GOP power grabs. They said they were only representing their constituents by staying off the floor.\n"We will continue to stand for issues that we believe are important to the 3 million people we represent in the state of Indiana," said House Minority Floor Leader Russ Stilwell, D-Boonville.\nHouse Democrats are outnumbered 52-48, but it takes 67 members to conduct business in the House, and Democrats never provided the quorum needed to act.\nThe partisan meltdown derailed -- at least temporarily -- about 130 bills. They included ones to mandate statewide observance of daylight-saving time, give Daniels' inspector general prosecutorial powers and require voters to show government-issued IDs to cast ballots.\nIt is possible many bills will be revived by amending them into legislation that's still alive, but procedural Senate rules make resurrection of the daylight-time proposal seem unlikely. That and the inspector general bill are two of Daniels' top priorities.\nDaniels said that bill is needed to root out government corruption, but House Democrats say it would give the governor unprecedented power to stage partisan witch hunts. Republicans say the voter ID bill would curb election fraud, but Democrats say it would disenfranchise voters to the GOP's benefit.\nDaniels said he met Wednesday with Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton, R-Columbus, and House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, to start looking for new homes for derailed bills. The effort would involve salvaging proposals to finance a new stadium for the NFL's Colts, and create jobs statewide.\nBut much of the fallout Wednesday was a blame-game of words over the legislative meltdown.\n"Indiana's drive for growth and reform was car bombed yesterday by the Indiana House minority," Daniels said.\nHe blamed that mostly on Democratic House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer of South Bend, saying he was not surprised a "throwback politician" would put party over jobs and nonpartisan interests.\n"But it's harder to understand why not one House Democrat had the courage or conscience to stay at work when he told them to walk off the job," Daniels said. "I guess they were just following orders."\nBauer was ill Wednesday and unavailable for comment.\nBosma said the floor boycott was motivated by postelection resentment.\n"The election last November was about reform, and this General Assembly has been about reform as well, and the Democrats don't like it," he said.\nRep. Robert Kuzman of Crown Point said he and his House Democrat colleagues did not want to be obstructionists, but the GOP had to take them seriously.\n"I think that's been our message from the beginning, that we're not just going to fold over and let things roll through this House," he said. "We want our input, we want our message out, we want our stuff to be listened to and considered"
(03/02/05 4:09am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Partisan tensions ran high in the Indiana House Tuesday with representatives facing a midnight deadline to keep several bills alive, including ones to mandate statewide observance of daylight-saving time and give the governor's inspector general prosecutorial powers.\nThe Republican-controlled House convened shortly after 9 a.m., but Democrats soon left the floor to meet privately, and it was uncertain when they would return so action on at least some of 130 pending bills could resume. Although Democrats are outnumbered 52-48, at least 67 members must be present in the chamber to conduct business.\nHouse Democrats are upset about several bills they consider power grabs by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels and his fellow House Republicans. Among other things, they say the inspector general bill would give the governor unprecedented power to conduct political witch hunts if local prosecutors fail to file charges. Republicans say the bill would help root out government corruption.\nHouse Democrats also fault a bill that would require voters to show a state or federally supplied photo ID before casting ballots on election days. Republicans say it will help prevent voter fraud, but Democrats claim it will disenfranchise some voters to the GOP's benefit.\nDemocrats, out of power in the House for the first time in eight years, stalled action on bills for more than six hours Monday by meeting privately in protest over GOP-backed legislation. They took the floor around 5 p.m. after Republicans agreed to postpone a vote on daylight-saving time and drop a proposed amendment concerning oversight over funding for a new stadium for the NFL's Colts.\nHouse Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, told Republicans Tuesday that Democratic legislators needed time to study all the remaining bills "diligently and get back to you all."\n"But if you have any ideas yourself to make these bills better for the people, let us know. Thanks you all for your attention," Bauer said.\nAlthough the daylight-saving time issue has been highly contentious for more than three decades, and bills to mandate its statewide observance have failed at least 24 times in the past three years, it traditionally has not been a partisan debate in the Legislature.\nLike the inspector general bill, Daniels considers the daylight bill a top priority, saying it would eliminate confusion and boost commerce. But House Republicans have said they need at least some Democrat support to get the 51 votes needed to pass the bill and send it to the Senate.\nHouse Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said Tuesday that House Democrats have turned the bill into a bargaining chip in hopes of winning concessions on other bills.\nBosma said he considered between 40 and 50 bills still pending before the midnight deadline to be significant policy measures the House should pass, and he would try to move on 15 or 20 quickly if Democrats took the floor. He said he believed Democrats would demand more concessions, but Republicans would resist efforts to strip proposed prosecutorial powers for the governor's inspector general.\n"I find it very difficult to compromise on rooting out corruption in state government," Bosma said.
(03/01/05 4:26am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Democrats stalled action in the Indiana House for several hours Monday to protest several proposals they consider partisan power grabs by Republicans, who control the chamber.\nAlthough Democrats took the floor and broke the impasse, it was unclear whether a vote on a bill mandating statewide observance of daylight-saving time would be taken Monday night or wait until Tuesday.\nDemocrats were upset about several bills, including legislation introduced early Monday morning that would have created a new board to oversee funding of a new stadium for the NFL's Colts and allowed Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels to appoint some of its members.\nHouse Democrats, out of power for the first time in eight years, said that and some previously filed bills would shift too much power to the governor.\nThey also were miffed that Republicans, before dealing with other legislation, sought a vote on the daylight-saving bill.\nAfter the chamber gaveled in shortly after 10 a.m. EST, Democrats left the floor to meet privately and refused to return until six hours later.
(02/25/05 4:24am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana House will not vote until next week on legislation that would mandate statewide observance of daylight-saving time, the bill's chief sponsor said Thursday.\nRepublican Rep. Jerry Torr of Carmel said some House members still had questions about the bill, and some were absent because of illness or deaths in their family, so a vote would not take place until Monday or Tuesday.\nTuesday is the deadline for legislation to clear its house of origin and move to the other chamber during this legislative session.\n"We need Democrat votes and I am certain we will have all the votes we need to pass this bill on Monday or Tuesday before the deadline midnight Tuesday," Torr said.\nThe bill is backed by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, and fellow Republicans control the House 52-48. But Torr has repeatedly said that Republicans would need some Democrat support to reach the 51 votes needed to pass it.\nAlthough daylight-saving time has been a polarizing political issue for three decades, it traditionally has not been a partisan one. Many lawmakers are torn over the issue because they say their constituents are evenly divided and passionate in their beliefs.\nBut House Democrats have accused Daniels and Republican lawmakers of pushing legislation the Democrats consider partisan power-grabs, and daylight-saving time has become entangled in political wrangling between the two parties in that chamber.\nRegardless, this is the first time since 1995 that such a bill has made it to the full floor of either chamber. It failed to clear the House that year and has not been voted on by the Senate since 1983, when it was soundly defeated 46-4.\nSenate President Pro Tem Robert Garton, R-Columbus, said Wednesday that he did not know what committee he would assign the bill to if it passes the House, but it would not be one with "the purpose of blocking the bill."\nHe said if it cleared a Senate committee, his "sentiment right now is it will pass the Senate." \nTorr said he was confident that would be the case.\n"We've got some great people lined up to sponsor and co-sponsor the bill and shepherd it through the Senate," Torr said, "and I have every expectation that it will pass the Senate and go down to the governor and we'll be changing our clocks on April 3rd."\nCurrently, 82 of Indiana's 92 counties are in the Eastern time zone, but 77 do not observe daylight-saving time. Five counties in southeastern Indiana are in the Eastern zone and do observe it. \nThe northwest corner and five in the southwestern corner are in the Central time zone and observe daylight time, which next begins April 3.\nAlthough the bill would mandate that all counties change their clocks twice a year, as 47 other states do, it would not make any changes to time zones.
(02/24/05 5:08am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels proudly displays a samurai sword in his office, a remnant of the days when President Bush nicknamed him "The Blade" for his prowess in cutting taxes and federal spending.\nBut now the former White House budget director -- and Indiana's first Republican governor since 1988 -- has proposed a one-year tax increase to slice away at the state's $645 million deficit.\nCritics say the move contradicts not only Daniels' reputation as a fiscal conservative, but GOP tradition itself.\n"This is the fastest any governor claiming to be a Reagan Republican has folded under the pressure of big-spending interests," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, a conservative group that in 2002 hailed Daniels as its "strongest ally in the administration."\nThe Wall Street Journal, in a recent editorial titled "Mitch the Knife," chastised Daniels for his "pocketbook raid," saying Republican governors in states such as Maryland and Texas have closed larger budget gaps than Daniels faces without raising taxes.\n"In Washington, President Bush called Mr. Daniels 'The Blade' for his budget carving," the editorial said. "It's a shame that the people he's giving the knife to in Indianapolis are his own voters."\nEven Daniels' own party, which controls both legislative chambers and has supported other parts of his agenda, is grumbling. Many GOP lawmakers have signed pledges to avoid tax increases, and Daniels' proposal puts them in a bind.\n"I haven't talked to many Hoosiers who are for a tax increase today," said Republican state Rep. Jeff Espich, chairman of the budget-writing House Ways and Means Committee.\nRepublican governors in Arkansas, Idaho and Ohio have approved tax increases in recent years. Texas Gov. Rick Perry and lawmakers overcame a $10 billion shortfall two years ago by making deep cuts in state services and increasing fines and fees.\nIris Lav, deputy director for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning Washington think tank, said tax increases are often the alternative to unpalatable cuts in education, Medicaid or other government services.\n"I actually think both Republicans and Democrats do tax increases out of necessity, or largely out of necessity," Lav said.\nDaniels, who defeated Democratic incumbent Joe Kernan in November with 53 percent of the vote, believes he can erase Indiana's deficit in one year with his temporary tax increase.\nUnder the plan, the income tax rate would increase by one percentage point for those making more than $100,000 this year. It also calls for freezing education funding and reining in soaring Medicaid costs.\n"I want to see a budget that brings us to honest balance and does it in the next fiscal year," said Daniels, who was Bush's budget director in 2001-03 after several years as an Eli Lilly and Co. executive. "Let's do it now, do it right."\nHouse Republicans prefer to balance the budget by 2007, the end of the two-year budget cycle. A spending plan passed Monday by House lawmakers and now headed to the state Senate does not include a tax increase.\nThose who have watched Daniels over the years don't expect him to abandon the fight, including Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia.\n"The one thing you can say about Mitch Daniels is he knows the bottom line," Sabato said. "He was trained to do that in public life and in corporate life"
(02/23/05 4:03am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels met privately with fellow Republicans and a top Democrat on Tuesday in a hectic push to keep some of his top bills alive, including ones to mandate statewide observance of daylight-saving time and give his inspector general additional powers to prosecute government crimes.\nDaniels met with some lawmakers in his office, and at midday, huddled privately with House leaders then ran past reporters for behind-closed-doors discussions with most of the Republicans who control the chamber.\nAlthough Republicans have a 52-48 majority in the House, Democrats have accused Daniels and Republicans of seeking partisan power grabs, and the political tensions have threatened to stall or even derail some of the governor's key initiatives. Tuesday is the deadline for bills to pass the House and move to the Senate.\nHouse Republicans cheered Daniels after he left a brief, private meeting the governor later described to reporters in pep-talk terms. Daniels said he was unsure whether he would have to accept some Democrat changes to some of his bills to keep them \nmoving.\n"I told (House Republicans) 'Thank you, and press on. Be of good courage and continue setting a pace' (reporters) have all reported as unprecedented in memory," Daniels said.\nAlthough daylight-saving time has been a polarizing issue for decades, House Democrats have signaled at least a possibility of voting as a bloc against the bill. Daniels says observance of the time change would eliminate confusion and boost commerce by bringing Indiana in line with 47 other states, but House Republicans have acknowledged it needed at least some Democrat support to pass.
(02/17/05 4:36am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Republican leader of the state Senate said Wednesday that an increase in cigarette taxes is an option lawmakers could turn to this session in trying to erase the state's deficit and pass a balanced budget.\n"I am certainly open to consideration of an increase in the cigarette tax," Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton of Columbus said during a weekly meeting with reporters. When asked about the possible range of an increase, he suggested 25 cents to 40 cents per pack.\n"I merely mention it. There will be opposition to it. I mention it. I don't want the public surprised if it surfaces at some point," Garton said.\nGarton said he had not discussed the idea with Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, and Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange, said he was opposed to it because it would hurt many retailers in his district in far northeastern Indiana who sell cigarettes.\nLawmakers raised cigarette taxes from 15.5 cents per pack to 55.5 cents per pack in 2002 to help prop up state spending. It brought in $338.7 million in the last fiscal year that ended June 30.\nEach penny of the cigarette tax raises about $6.1 million per year. That means a 25-cent increase could bring in about $153 million in new revenue, and a 40-cent increase could raise $244 million. But that assumes that cigarette sales would remain steady, and Garton acknowledged that a tax increase could hurt sales.\nDaniels has proposed raising the individual income tax by 1 percentage point for one year on people making more than $100,000 as a way to help erase the state's projected $645 million budget deficit.\nGarton said that proposal also remains an option, even though House Republicans did not include it or any other state tax increases in the budget their fiscal leaders have drafted and could present for passage next week. Once the House passes a budget bill, it will move to the Senate for consideration.\nMeeks said he shared Daniels' goal of eliminating the deficit and passing a balanced budget, but said new revenue sources may be needed to do that and provide adequate funding for government services.\nHe said one idea was applying the state sales tax to some services. Garton said that was not a viable option this session, but should be considered in the future because of today's service-driven economy.\n"What I'm doing is just throwing out ideas that we've all looked at, not saying that we're going to take this one or going to take that one," Meeks said. "But I've been trying to find money everywhere."\nAlthough Republicans control both houses of the General Assembly, no final agreement on a budget plan would be likely until April.\nIndiana's cigarette tax of 55.5 cents per pack is 32nd highest among the 50 states and District of Columbia, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.\nDaniels has not proposed a cigarette tax increase, but governors in three of Indiana's four surrounding states have this year.\nThose proposals would raise Ohio's tax by 45 cents to $1 per pack, and Illinois' tax by 75 cents to $1.73. A proposal by Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher would raise that state's 3-cent tax to 34 cents, with higher levels in future years tied to the tax rates in surrounding states.\nMichigan raised its tax by 75 cents last year to $2 per pack.
(02/16/05 4:31am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels and businesses are making the biggest legislative push for daylight-saving time in years, but decades of resistance and partisan politics might block the time change once again.\nThe issue got its most serious consideration in years at the General Assembly Monday. But after a hearing before the House Commerce Committee, the panel's chairman, Republican Rep. Randy Borror of Fort Wayne, postponed a vote.\nMost of those who testified for the bill that would mandate that all of Indiana observe daylight-saving time were businesses and their lobbying groups.\nBut it has been a polarizing issue in Indiana, and not a big partisan one. Many lawmakers from both parties have been wary of even talking on the topic because their constituents are virtually evenly divided, passionate and extremely vocal about it.\nAnd there were signs Monday night that Democrats might try to make it a partisan issue this session.\nBorror said he still expects his panel to endorse the bill and move it to the full House. He also predicted passage there.\n"I think it will be a close vote but I think it will make it to the Senate," Borror said.\nThe bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Jerry Torr of Carmel, also said the bill could pass the House -- unless Democrats try to make it a partisan issue. Republicans control the chamber 52-48, but the bill would need 51 votes to pass, and Torr said he would need some Democrat votes to get it through.\nTensions among House Democrats, out of power for the first time in eight years, are rising. House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said earlier Monday that Democrats had not attended or left at least three committee meetings that morning.\nBosma suggested later that Democrats might try to stall the daylight-saving time bill for future negotiating power on other bills. All Democrats except Rep. David Orentlicher, D-Indianapolis, had left Borror's committee meeting by the time it ended shortly after 7 p.m. EST. Orentlicher said other Democrat members probably just had other commitments.\nAlthough legislative efforts to bring all of Indiana in line with 47 other states have failed at least 24 times over the past three decades, Daniels is backing the time change and has lined up supporters.\nDaniels' Commerce Secretary Patricia Miller spoke the governor's line Monday.\nShe said most of Indiana's "quirky" decision to ignore the time change puts us at an economic disadvantage. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce cited several reasons for that, including confusion that adversely affects travel arrangements, trucking and flight shipping times and missed meetings and conference calls.\nBut several theater owners said the extra daylight in the evening would hurt their businesses, and other opponents said many average residents are passionately against the proposed change.\nRep. Dale Grubb, D-Covington, said surveys of constituents in his far western-Indiana district consistently show that 90 percent want clocks to stay the same.\n"I can raise taxes 10 times and not generate as much heat as this issue," Grubb said.\nSome opponents said it would mean that kids spend more of the year waiting for the morning school bus in the dark and could lead to sleep deprivation for some adults.\nIf the bill gets to the full House, it would mark the first time since 1995 that such legislation made it to the floor of either chamber in the General Assembly. It failed to clear the House that year.\nCurrently, 82 of Indiana's 92 counties are in the Eastern time zone, but 77 do not observe daylight-saving time. Five counties in southeastern Indiana are in the Eastern zone and do observe it. Five counties in the northwest corner and five in the southwestern corner are in the Central time zone and observe daylight time.\nTorr's bill does not seek changes in time zones, something the federal government would have to approve.
(01/26/05 5:11am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The House approved legislation Tuesday that could ultimately lead to a state constitutional right to hunt, fish and trap, something proponents say would guard against efforts to erode a "valued part of our heritage."\nOpponents said hunting and fishing were not under serious attack in Indiana, and the proposed constitutional amendment trivialized a document designed to address more fundamental rights and principles.\nThe resolution passed 83-15, with all "no" votes cast by Democrats, and now moves to the Senate for consideration. Amending the state constitution requires a resolution to pass consecutive, separately elected Legislatures and then win approval in a statewide vote of the people.\nIf the measure wins approval this year and again in either 2007 or 2008, it could be on the November 2008 general election ballot.\nAt least 10 states have constitutional provisions designating hunting, fishing, or both as rights, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some also include trapping, and some states have written such rights into state law.\nVoters in Montana and Louisiana amended their constitutions with hunting and fishing rights in the November election, both winning approval of 81 percent of the people.\nThe resolution approved by the Indiana House would read: "The people have a right to hunt, fish and harvest game, which are a valued part of our heritage and shall forever be preserved for the public good, subject to laws prescribed by the General Assembly and rules prescribed by virtue of the authority of the General Assembly." The word "harvest" refers to trapping.\nSeveral state constitutional provisions include similar language.\nRepublican Rep. John Ulmer of Goshen, an avid hunter, said some organizations were trying to eliminate hunting and fishing "species by species, and then state by state." He specifically mentioned the Humane Society of the United States and Fund for Animals, organizations that recently merged.\nUlmer said the proposed amendment would still allow lawmakers and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to regulate hunting, fishing and trapping, just as they do now by establishing rules and seasons. But he said a constitutional right would give added protection to what many regard as cherished, recreational sports.\nHeidi Prescott, senior vice president of campaigns for the Humane Society of the United States, said the organization is an advocate for protecting animals and considers state constitutional provisions for hunting and fishing rights frivolous.\n"We believe the constitutions are sacred documents that should not be used as graffiti walls for political rhetoric," Prescott said. "It's something the hunting community has been behind in a number of states, but it won't affect the future of hunting."\nRep. Matt Pierce of Bloomington was one of the 15 House Democrats who voted against the proposed amendment.\n"Does anyone think someone is going to outlaw hunting and fishing in the state of Indiana?" Pierce said, adding that he had never had a constituent suggest that.\n"We are turning our constitution these days into a poster board for political messages."\nSen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, is among those who will sponsor the resolution in the Senate.
(01/24/05 5:16am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- In the final words of his inaugural address, Gov. Mitch Daniels served notice that the freight train of change he had promised Indiana during 16 months on the campaign trail had left the station.\nHis first days as governor have lived up to that pledge, with a flurry of executive orders, a tough stance on collective bargaining and a budget plan designed to put Indiana back in the black.\nFlanked by cabinet members with a wealth of business experience, the state's first Republican governor in 16 years is doing what any new CEO might when taking over a troubled company: shaking things up.\n"In the friendliest, most cooperative kind of way, Mitch is a take--charge guy and always has been," said longtime friend Peter Rusthoven, a former aide to President Reagan. "I'm sure there will be criticisms while he is governor, but not one of them will be lack of leadership."\nDaniels spent years as a political operative in Washington, serving as a top aide to Sen. Dick Lugar and political adviser to Reagan. He earned millions as a top executive for pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. during the 1990s, at one point leading the largest revenue-producing segment of the biggest company based in Indiana.\nHe spent more than two years as budget director for President Bush before stepping down to run for governor.\n"I never expected to hold political office, never expected to run," Daniels said. "I only did it because I became persuaded that we needed a change of leadership to have necessary changes in this state."\nHe spent most of the campaign traveling the state in a donated RV, stopping in small towns, eating in mom-and-pop diners and talking to folks about their lives and concerns. He promised them change; and so far he's delivered.\nDaniels signed 13 executive orders on day one, creating a commerce secretary to oversee job-creation efforts, an inspector general to guard against fraud in state agencies, and stricter ethics guidelines for executive branch employees, among other things.\nHe met with leading lawmakers to discuss a legislative agenda he calls the most ambitious in memory and asked the state's 35,000 employees to find efficiencies and get on board with him.\n"Please understand: things are going to be different," he said in a letter to state workers. "From now on, Indiana state government will be about results."\nBy the end of his first week in office, he had rescinded collective bargaining rights for state employees, saying they hindered his ability to swiftly reshape government. He created a separate agency to oversee child protection services and had seven top officials at the state's environmental regulatory agency removed.\nHe confronted Indiana's $600 million deficit head-on, proposing a plan that would freeze funding for schools, universities and prisons, hold Medicaid cost increases far below projections and impose a one-year tax increase for people making more than $100,000.\nThe plans, he said, were "regrettable and unpleasant," but necessary.\nSome say Daniels is doing too much too soon.\n"I know the governor came in with a wealth of experience, but not experience in this office or with these legislative bodies," said Democratic state Sen. Earline Rogers of Gary.\nMembers of both parties have largely balked at a tax increase, and education leaders say the school funding proposal could force them to cut staff and programs. Critics say his Medicaid plan could deny needed health care to Indiana's most vulnerable residents.\n"It is a life-or-death proposition for the people who need those services, mostly senior citizens, and if the governor thinks differently, he ought to go back in that RV and travel around the state and ask people who live in nursing homes today," said Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington.\nDaniels doesn't seem any more concerned about political risks than he is about redecorating his office, where a large wooden elephant and a few books, including one entitled "Remembering Reagan," are among a handful of personal touches.\nDespite his focus on changing state government, Daniels has kept another pledge: to stay in touch with the people he met during those 16 months on the campaign trail.\nHe opened the governor's office to the public on the day of his inauguration, staying nearly three hours to greet visitors.\nHe has been to southern Indiana to survey flood damage, to Gary to mark the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and to Anderson to survey damage from an ice storm that left 100,000 homes and businesses without power for days.\nBut at the end of the day, Daniels comes back to his inaugural speech: He was hired to do a job, and it's time to get to work.\nThat's fine with John Riddick, a 42-year-old shoe shiner in Indianapolis.\n"I think he's going to be different. When he said he was going to start taxing everybody more who makes $100,000, that hit me right here," Riddick said, poking his chest in a display of surprise.\n"He seems to be a bit adverse in the way he does things, so I'm hoping he's the man for the job"
(01/12/05 4:09am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels rescinded collective bargaining powers for state employees Tuesday and canceled settlement agreements for about 25,000 state workers, saying the arrangements hindered his ability to quickly reshape state government.\nDaniels also created a separate, cabinet-level agency to oversee the state's child protection services. He said the current collective bargaining contracts, which were due to expire in June 2007, would have prevented him from doing that in the manner and speed he did.\nSeveral Democratic lawmakers and two unions that bargain for about two--thirds of the state's 35,000 executive branch employees blasted the move.\n"We were the only representation they had," said Francis "Fuzz" LeMay, president of The Unity Team Local 9212, which represents about 14,000 state employees. "Now that's gone."\nThe collective bargaining powers, established by Democratic Gov. Evan Bayh in 1989 and extended by Democratic governors who followed him, allowed state workers to negotiate pay, benefits and work rules. The resulting agreements also included provisions on transfers, layoffs and other matters, some of which also were covered under state and federal laws.\nDaniels is Indiana's first Republican governor in 16 years, and The Unity Team and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 9,000 state workers, both endorsed former Gov. Joe Kernan in the governor's race. Kernan was expected to extend the collective bargaining rights had he won a full term in the November election.\nDaniels never committed to that, and said his decision against it was "complicated and difficult."\nBut he said lawmakers had never written such bargaining powers for state employees into state law, and he did not extend them through executive order in part because they would delay his efforts to reform state government.\nFor example, he said the state would be required to notify and meet with unions 30 days in advance of any department reorganizations. And he could not have moved staff and resources to quickly create new offices to support faith-based and community initiatives and oversee information technology.\nDaniels said state workers would still have access to a complaint and hearing procedure for contested disciplinary actions during which unions could represent them.\nPayroll deductions for union dues would continue to be honored, he said, and state personnel officials plan to meet quarterly with unions and other organizations with significant employee membership to hear their concerns.\nBut Daniels acknowledged that his decision would make it easier to fire some employees.\n"Let me just say that I think it will be a lot harder, for instance, for an employee who has found to have failed multiple drug tests to get back on a snow plow," he said.\nSeveral Democrats blasted the move, saying it removed key rights from thousands of state workers.\nHouse Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said Democrats could try to get the bargaining powers included in state law. But Democrats are outnumbered in both chambers now, and even when they pushed such bills when they controlled the House, their efforts were blocked in the Republican-controlled Senate.\nPassing it this session, he said, "would be a very long shot."\nSeveral state employees declined requests by The Associated Press to comment on Daniels' decision, but union leaders said many were angry.\n"We cannot all go to the governor's office to talk business, but we should have representation in order to do that," said Cordelia Lewis-Burks, policy and legislative director for AFSCME's Indiana chapter.
(12/06/04 4:20am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels said Friday that former Galyan's president and chief executive officer Joel Silverman will become commissioner of the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles after Daniels takes office Jan. 10.\nDaniels also said Michael "Mickey" Maurer, chairman of the National Bank of Indianapolis, will become president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., a group that will help steer Indiana's job creation efforts.\nDaniels said the appointments, along with those previously announced, show that "we are not going to tinker around the edges of changing state government."\n"I'm so proud to announce that two people of proven business leadership and accomplishment will each for the first time undertake public service on behalf of the citizens of Indiana," Daniels said at a news conference at his transition office.\nDaniels said Silverman has had a "fabulous career" in retail business, and helped build and take public Galyan's Trading Co., a sporting goods chain that was recently purchased by Dicks Sporting Good Inc. Silverman was Galyan's president and chief executive officer from 1997 to 2002.\nSilverman said he never expected to work in government, but Daniels' business approach to reform was impossible to resist. He said he hoped to bring the customer-friendly approach that Galyan's had to the BMV, an agency that has been criticized by some for years for poor service.\nThe agency also has faced numerous problems in recent years and months, including criminal charges being filed in a scam that allegedly helped Chinese nationals illegally obtain driver's licenses and identification cards.\nDaniels has pledged to seek numerous reforms at the BMV, including lengthier license renewal periods and having auto dealers conduct some transactions.\nDaniels said Maurer had built and led businesses of various types with great distinction and "total integrity," and would be a principal partner with Fort Wayne businesswoman Patricia Miller in leading economic development and job creation efforts in his administration.\nHe said Maurer, who also is chairman of Indianapolis Business Journal Corp., was a pioneer in the initial development and operations of cable television systems in the early 1970s.\nHe was a practicing attorney in Indianapolis for 20 years, founded the National Bank of Indianapolis in 1993, and is president and chief executive officer of a film production company.\n"I think it's going to be a lot of fun and I think there's a lot we can do," Maurer said.
(12/03/04 5:02am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Gaming Commission has agreed not to execute any final contract allowing Donald Trump's casino company to operate a casino in Indiana's Orange County until the deal is reviewed by incoming Governor-elect Mitch Daniels, the Daniels team said Thursday.\nEllen Whitt, who will be Daniels' deputy chief of staff, said the transition team sought that assurance in part because there were "serious unresolved issues about the solvency of the company" and other issues.\nBut she also said it was part of a standard request that no major decisions outside of ordinary state government business be made until Daniels is sworn in Jan. 10.\nTrump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 22, but the commission said it expected the project to move forward as planned. The commission had previously awarded the Orange County license to Trump's company, but a final operating contract with the state is still pending.\nA Thursday letter from the transition team to Glenn Lawrence, executive director of the Gaming Commission, said Lawrence had agreed that no contract related to the Orange County casino project would be executed prior to Daniels taking office.\nThe letter said the request was "not in anyway intended to question or undermine" negotiations conducted by the commission on the transaction.\n"We have the fullest confidence that the Commission has acted in the best interest of the state, and we fully anticipate that will be confirmed by our own independent review," Harry Gonso, Daniels' transition director, said in the letter.\nThe letter did not mention any specific concerns about Trump's company, and Whitt did not mention any either when initially contacted by The Associated Press on Thursday.\nBut she said later in the day that there were serious questions about the company's solvency, and it may owe up to $18 million in taxes to Indiana because of recent court rulings. She also said it was a complex transaction.\nA receptionist at the Gaming Commission said Lawrence and other staff members were traveling to southern Indiana on Thursday and were unavailable for comment. The commission is holding a business meeting in Rising Sun on Friday, and also was to consider whether a casino there should be relicensed.\nThe bankruptcy filing by Trump's company came after months of negotiations with bondholders over restructuring and debt. The filings list debt of about $1.8 billion, which Trump said would be cut by $500 million under the bankruptcy reorganization plans.\nGregory Hahn, an Indiana attorney representing Trump in the contract, said he believed the Daniels' request to suspend any final contract was simply part of standard procedure for the transition team.\n"I don't think it is unusual at all," he said. "It is my understanding that they have asked every major department not to make any more decisions on a contract or anything else until they have a chance to review it. We are very comfortable with that, and we want them to be comfortable with what is going on."\nEfforts to reach Hahn after Whitt raised specific concerns were not immediately successful.
(12/02/04 5:02am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's governor and legislators must make bold changes if they want schools, universities and state government to operate smoother and cheaper, a government efficiency panel told lawmakers Wednesday.\n"There are going to be some hard choices -- some very hard choices -- to straighten things out, and these are going to be politically unpopular," John Hillenbrand, co-chairman of the Government Efficiency Commission, told the budget-writing House Ways and Means Committee.\nAmong other things, the commission urged lawmakers to give schools more flexibility over operations and spending, create a cabinet system under the governor to oversee agencies, eliminate some agencies and boards and impose fees on some Medicaid providers to draw federal matching dollars.\nNew Ways and Means Chairman Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, said some recommendations would be tough sells in the General Assembly and could take years to implement, since many facets of state government took years to evolve.\nBut he predicted lawmakers would seriously explore some of the commission's ideas in the upcoming legislative session, and the group's work would last beyond that, too.\n"They won't all be adopted now, but I think it will continue to be a resource for some years," Espich said.\nThe Legislature created the commission last year at the urging of House Republicans. More than 50 professionals spent about 12,000 hours examining the inner-workings of state government in hopes of identifying potential efficiencies and savings.\nThe work was broken into four main categories -- K-12 education; higher education; general government; and Medicaid and human services. The group criticized many facets of state government and has recommended numerous changes in each of the four areas.\nSteve Baranyk, a business management consultant who led the subcommittee on general government, said the array of state agencies, commissions and programs were in a "hell of a mess," in part because they did not know what it was like to be measured and accountable like a business.\nThe commission said change should include cabinet-type officers who report directly to the governor, revised hiring practices and eliminating some of the state's 74 agencies and 319 boards and\ncommissions.\nThe subcommittee on education said schools have been strapped with too many state laws and regulations, a rigid, decades-old collective bargaining structure, and restrictions that stifle their ability to make spending decisions.\nThe commission said schools should be able to pool funding sources and decide for themselves whether money should be spent on such things as new buildings, teacher salaries or specific programs.\n"Get out of the way," said David Shane, chairman of the education subcommittee. "They (local school officials) won't be perfect, but now they can barely move."\nSome lawmakers, such as Republican Rep. Eric Turner of Gas City, offered recommendations of their own. He said Indiana could save hundreds of millions of dollars by encouraging the growth of private schools.\nHe said 11.9 percent of students in Indiana attend private schools, but the average in the Midwest was 19.9 percent.\n"I don't think we should just accept the fact that we should educate every child in a public setting and incur the cost," Turner said.
(11/08/04 4:02am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels and newly empowered House Republicans are eager to push their campaign proposals in the General Assembly, but they still aren't saying how they will tackle Indiana's fiscal problems or what the state's next budget will look like.\nThey say they simply do not have a script for that yet.\n"Any budget decisions will have to wait until we understand, finally, the full dimension of this problem," Daniels said.\nThat means more than Indiana's $830 million deficit, he said. The state also owes more than $710 million in back payments to schools, universities and local governments. And Daniels is concerned about the health of state pension plans.\nIncoming House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said longtime Republican Rep. Jeff Espich of Uniondale, Ind., will be chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. As such, he will be a prime architect of a two-year budget lawmakers must pass next year.\nBosma said Espich will lead a budget "SWAT team" that will include legislators and staff members who have experience with state fiscal matters.\nHouse Republicans, who won control of the chamber Tuesday after eight years in the minority, have repeatedly blamed Democratic governors and House Democrats for the state's deficit and other fiscal problems.\n"We're going to have to dig out of that hole, and we're going to have to do it with discipline, and we're going to have to take a fundamental look at every aspect of state spending, and that is where we're going to start," Bosma said.\nLike Gov. Daniels, House Republicans have said tax increases should be a last resort.\nGOP lawmakers also have called for limiting appropriations to 99 percent of projected revenue collections. That proposal was part of their campaign platform.\nBosma said the spending cap might be impossible to meet in the upcoming two-year budget, given the severity of Indiana's fiscal crunch. But he said House Republicans still want to enact such a cap for budgets that follow.\nLawmakers know there are few easy answers. Special interest groups likely will fight any sweeping spending cuts, and there will be pressure to increase spending in some areas, especially education.\nA 1 percent increase in school funding in each of the next two years would cost about $300 million in new money.\nDaniels said Bill Oesterle, who managed his campaign, will spend the coming weeks analyzing the state's finances and recommending options.\n"I'm going to want to see every option that might contribute to the swiftest balancing of the state's books," Daniels said.\nDaniels, who spent more than two years as White House budget director under President Bush, suggested that his administration would have to act "on the spending side of government in a very vigorous way." That likely would mean fewer state employees, he said, but it is unclear how many jobs might be affected.\nHe said his legislative package would mirror many of the proposals he touted during the campaign. "There won't be any new surprises," he said.\nLater, during a news conference, he amended that comment.\n"The exception to that might be things we have to do about the budget, which are yet to be determined," he said.
(11/05/04 4:05am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels said Thursday that he will run a leaner administration and is searching for "all-stars" who are loyal and enthusiastic about his reform agenda to run state government.\nDaniels said his single largest task over the next several weeks would be formalizing a legislative agenda. He said it would include many of the proposals he touted during the campaign, including the entire state observing daylight-saving time.\nHe also will be assembling a new administration, and he said those involved in it will have to meet three criteria: total integrity, commitment to the public interest and commitment to change.\n"We don't want resume builders. We don't want people just passing through, sort of on the make," Daniels said in his first lengthy talk with reporters since defeating Gov. Joe Kernan in Tuesday's election.\n"We want people who will have the gumption to really sort of change things for the better ... the change that we're interested in, that we've outlined."\nDaniels has created a Web site -- www.mygovmitch.com -- where those interested in joining his administration can register their interest and credentials. People also can use the site to nominate others or provide thoughts about problems in Indiana and suggestions on fixing them.\nDaniels said he had no "fixed ideas" about who his team will be, but had "some people in mind who I think are really all-stars, people who may not be easy to get."\n"We are going to be interested in a lot of people who probably never thought about public service," he said. They likely would include some "stellar people from the world of business and commerce" to help Fort Wayne businesswoman Patricia Miller lead economic development efforts.\nThe stricter ethics guidelines Daniels plans to put in place might require some appointees to divest their financial holdings to avoid conflicts of interest.\nDaniels, who spent an hour fielding questions from the media, said he and Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman planned to spend the weekend resting up from the campaign. Daniels will then spend Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on a "reunion tour" of the state.\n"We just look to have some fun and revisit some of the places and the folks who were so much a part of the last 16 months," Daniels said.\nBut Daniels said his transition will move at full speed. Talks with the outgoing Kernan administration already have begun, and the Daniels team will be sending inquiries to agencies and departments in the coming days.\nBill Oesterle, who managed Daniels' campaign, will spend the next several weeks examining the state's fiscal problems and recommending ways to reduce Indiana's $830 million budget deficit.\nDaniels also is concerned about the state owing more than $710 million in back payments to schools, universities and local governments, and being able to meet future state pension liabilities.\nThe state's fiscal problems will mean acting "on the spending side of government in a vigorous way," Daniels said, and that likely would include cutting some positions.\n"I have a strong suspicion that we'll be operating state government with fewer people, certainly at the upper level," he said.\nOn other matters, Daniels said:\n• He had talked to Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, who served as governor from 1989 to 1997, about some of the duties and challenges of being governor.\n• He had not made any plans for an inaugural celebration, but suggested it would be fun and more informal than some in the past. "We will not be renting tuxedoes," he said.\n• He and his wife, Cheri, would spend at least part of the time living in the governor's residence. "We'll live there, but just as every other governor we'll have another residence and we'll divide our time somehow"
(11/04/04 5:46am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels huddled with advisers Wednesday to start building the first Republican state administration in 16 years and map out a legislative agenda aimed at economic revival and government reform.\nMeanwhile, House Republicans beamed after winning control of the chamber in Tuesday's election, eager to work with a GOP governor and pursue some of their own initiatives. They are likely to include economic development proposals and a state constitutional ban on gay marriage.\nHouse Republican Leader Brian Bosma, who was likely to be nominated as the next speaker on Thursday, also said he would give legislation to put Indiana on daylight saving time a chance to advance.\nIt has been a polarizing yet nonpartisan issue over the years, and Democratic leaders effectively killed it from the start in recent sessions.\n"It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see daylight saving time on the floor of the House this session," said Bosma, R-Indianapolis.\nUnless recounts or litigation over close races is pursued and preliminary tallies are overturned, Republicans will have a 52-48 majority in the House. Democrats came into Tuesday's election with a 51-49 advantage.\nNeither side would rule out recount requests, but Democratic Speaker Patrick Bauer said it was "time to move on." Bauer will lose his speaker's title, but will continue to be leader of House Democrats.\nAlthough many changes to state government are pending, the impact of Tuesday's election already was reverberating in the Statehouse. Not since 1988 has one party ruled the governor's office and both chambers of the Legislature.\nGov. Joe Kernan pledged full cooperation in the switch to a Daniels' administration, and it began Wednesday with talks between Kernan's chief of staff, Mary Downes, and Harry Gonzo, an attorney and former IU football star who is directing the Daniels' transition team.\nDaniels met later with Gonzo and other advisers, including Lt. Gov.-elect Becky Skillman, Indianapolis businessman Bill Mays, and top campaign aides. Among them were campaign manager Bill Oesterle and Mark Lubbers, a top aide to former Republican Gov. Robert Orr.\nDaniels spoke only briefly to reporters, saying he would offer more details about his plans on Thursday.\n"I've said often that the very first step will be to deliver a legislative program, and our new lieutenant governor will not only have to lead on all that as the principal author, but also as quarterback in trying to enact it," Daniels said.\nDaniels has touted dozens of proposals, but has not said he would pursue all of them immediately.\nAmong other things, he has proposed tax breaks to businesses, reforms at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and other agencies, a streamlined permitting process for businesses and farms, and moving Indiana to daylight saving time with as much of the state as possible in the central time zone.\nHe also wants to move the statewide ISTEP test to the spring, and says Indiana should move toward statewide full-day kindergarten when it can afford it.\nAnother key priority is eliminating the state's $830 million budget deficit. He has not advanced any comprehensive plan for doing that, but says tax increases should be a last resort.\nBosma said Wednesday that longtime Republican Rep. Jeff Espich of Uniondale would be the next chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and as such, be an architect of the next two-year budget. Bosma also said tax increases should be a last resort, but did not rule them out.\nRepublicans pledged weeks ago to pursue several proposals next session, including a constitutional ban on gay marriage. House Democrats denied GOP attempts to even debate the issue last session, and several Republicans made it a campaign issue.\nBut Bosma said their top priority would be jobs and economic development. They have touted several pro-business tax changes, among other things.\n"It is a very exciting time for us now as we move from campaign mode to governing mode," Bosma said.\nBauer said House Democrats were still "48 strong" and prepared "to offer constructive advice if asked"
(11/02/04 4:29am)
Gov. Joe Kernan and Republican Mitch Daniels spent a final campaign day rallying supporters, while Indiana's top election official predicted high turnout and few major problems at the polls on Election Day.\nSecretary of State Todd Rokita said no election was perfect, but Indiana had new laws regarding provisional ballots and early voting, and state and local officials are prepared for Tuesday.\n"Because of that, it's going to be one of Indiana's finest hours," Rokita said Monday. "We have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this."\nRokita said he expects turnout to surpass the 55.9 percent of registered voters in Indiana who cast ballots in 2000. Polls are scheduled to be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.\nThe National Weather Service said rain was likely Tuesday in much of Indiana, with highs in the mid-50s to low 60s.\nVoters will decide whether to re-elect Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh to a second term. Recent polls showed him a big favorite over Republican Marvin Scott.\nRepublican Suellen Reed is seeking her fourth term as superintendent of public instruction and faces Democrat Susan Williams. Republican Attorney General Steve Carter is running for a second term and faces Democrat Joe Hogsett, a former secretary of state.\nControl of the House is again up for grabs. Democrats had a 51-49 advantage going into Tuesday.\nThree proposed state constitutional amendments are on the ballot, including one that would establish a line of succession if the governor and lieutenant governor were unable to serve.\nSeveral local judicial races will be decided, and the statewide ballot will ask voters if Court of Appeals Judge John Sharpnack should be retained.\nPresident Bush had polls, and history, on his side in Indiana. No Democrat has won Indiana's 11 electoral votes since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.\nBut recent polls have shown the governor's race to be tight.\nDaniels and Kernan each attended rallies Monday and urged supporters to get to the polls.\nAbout 250 supporters, most wearing green-and-white "My man Mitch" T-shirts, greeted Daniels at Republican Party headquarters in Elkhart. They began cheering when the recreational vehicle he calls "RV One" pulled up.\nDaniels told them he was feeling emotional and nostalgic after a 16-month job interview. He said he was confident that Indiana residents were ready for change.\n"We have an economy to rebuild, we have a broke and broken state government to repair, but most important, we have hopes and dreams and opportunity for Hoosiers young and old to restore, resurrect," Daniels said. "It's not going to be a day or a month. But I told you, it's something we're really good at."\nIn Indianapolis, more than 200 people -- including former U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh -- cheered wildly for Kernan during a noon rally at the Statehouse.\n"Thirty more hours. Thirty more hours," Kernan said. "We're going to have a great celebration tomorrow night, but we still have a little bit more work to do."\nAfter telling everyone to call others and encourage them to vote, Kernan got on his cell phone. Then Kernan, who played catcher for the University of Notre Dame, heaved little foam baseballs to the crowd. Some people caught the balls while leaning over the balcony a floor above.\nMeanwhile, both major parties tried to mobilize.\nIn Marion County, both parties said they had mounted their biggest get-out-the-vote campaigns in years, possibly ever. County Republicans said 400 volunteers were busy knocking on the doors of registered Republicans to make sure they knew where to vote.\nDemocrats had about 200 volunteers doing the same legwork, and hundreds of others staffed phone banks. Both parties also had call-in centers to dispatch rides to voters without transportation on Tuesday.\n"We have more energy and more get-out-the-vote activities than I've seen in 16 years," said Mike Murphy, the county's GOP chairman.\nJoel Miller, executive director of the Marion County Democratic Party, said nearly 700 people had called to offer help on Election Day. \n"I've never seen anything like these numbers," he said.\nKate Shepherd, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office, said posters had been placed in every polling place in Indiana to inform voters of their Election Day rights.
(10/26/04 4:56am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Of state races on the Indiana ballot this year, the governor's race -- of course -- is grabbing most of the headlines.\nIt has been close and contentious, and one of the headlines has been that the race is becoming the most expensive political contest in state history.\nThe political power that comes with the office is why the major parties and their candidates -- Democratic Gov. Joe Kernan and Republican Mitch Daniels -- have combined to raise more than $28 million for one race.\nThere's another huge contest that will be decided at the polls, although individual voters only get to cast ballots for one of its 100 seats. Collectively, however, they will decide whether Republicans or Democrats control the Indiana House.\nThe candidates and parties are spending millions on Indiana House races, too, because the power at stake is immense.\nRepublicans went to sleep on election night two years ago thinking voters had elected 50 people from each party to the House. By virtue of a tie-breaking provision in state law, Republicans would have controlled the chamber.\nIn all likelihood, House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, would have become speaker. He and his party would have controlled the agenda. With deliberation or, at times, with a whim, they could decide which bills got life and which ones never saw light.\nThey would hold equal bargaining power with the Republican-controlled Senate on all legislation, including how the state should spend more than $20 billion over two years. They would be major players on public policy, education, government reform -- you name it.\nIf they had controlled the House, there's a good chance that a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage would have passed the General Assembly. If that had happened, and the next elected Legislature agreed to it again, it would go to a vote of the people.\nBut Republicans did not win the chamber two years ago. A closer look at ballots on the day after the election revealed that Democrats had won the district in dispute by 37 votes. That made the count 51 Democrats, 49 Republicans.\nDemocrats were the big players with Senate Republicans. They largely determined what bills got through and which ones did not. In the House, they had the loudest say on the budget, education, public policy -- everything.\nDemocrats not only blocked the gay-marriage amendment from getting a hearing, House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, refused to allow any floor debate on the issue. He said gay marriage already was prohibited by state law and accused Republicans of drumming up a "hate" issue to score election points.\nRepublicans accused Bauer of abusing his power by going so far as to deny simple debate on the legislation. Republicans stayed off the floor in protest several times, but Bauer never gave in on that issue.\nThe point is not whether Bauer was right or wrong. That's for the public to decide. The point is that his party controlled the chamber and he was speaker, and the one who wields the gavel wields the power.\nIt is not without practical limits, of course.\nIn 1995, after Republicans won back control of the House in the 1994 election, they dropped a bombshell: They were going to redraw House district maps at mid-decade and eliminate a seat.\nTheir stated reason was to ensure that the chamber was never again tied 50-50 between the parties. Democrats called it a power grab, went home and stayed home for days, shutting the chamber down.\nRepublicans, after taking a beating in editorials and the court of public opinion, finally coaxed them back by dropping the redistricting plan and coming up with a future tie-breaking law.\nIf voters send 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats to the House this Election Day, that law says the party that wins the governor's office will control the chamber.\nThat's one more thing for Indiana voters to think about.