A Citizen's Guide to Indiana

House Bill 1080 – Honoring Former Governors. Here is a bit of somewhat pointless logrolling. In days of old, you got towns or counties named after you. Today, when a Governor dies, he gets the space between office buildings (Robert D. Orr Plaza) or a museum hall named after you (Governor Frank O’Bannon Great Hall). Before the Senate got ahold of the bill, Gov. O’Bannon wasn’t getting anything. But, the Senate amendment made this a bipartisan bill. Passed 49-0.

The Associated Press is reporting New charges filed against lawmaker’s son. The charges against Rep. Saunders’ son, Andrew, are being amended to include causing a death while driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless homicide. He had been charged last month with a felony count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

I guess I need to take back my earlier statement about Sen. Jackman’s bills being herniated and accomplishing little. This one is short and makes a substantive change. Engrossed Version, Senate Bill 0267 Agricultural nuisance actions.

This amends a section of the code apparently designed to protect agricultural areas from nuisance suits when suburbia moves into the agricultral area. Under current law, an agricultural or industrial operation is not a nuisance if: 1) it has been in continuous operation for at least a year; 2) there is no significant change in the hours of operation; 3) there is no significant change in the type of operation; and 4) the operation would not have been a nuisance at the time the operation began at the locality.

Senator Jackman’s amendment to the law repeals the requirement that the hours remain substantially the same and defines the “no significant change” requirement so that a change in the size, ownership, or to a different type of agricultural use does not constitute a “significant change”. So, presumably under the new law, converting from a small, locally owned, odor-free agricultural operation in business between 8 and 5 to a huge operation owned by an out of state corporation belching out noxious odors 24 hours per day would not consitute a “significant change”. Nice. Passed 55-40.

A couple of probation related Senate bills passed the House: Senate Bill 0098 Probation revocation. Permits a judge to order execution of all or part
of a probationer’s suspended sentence if the probationer violates a condition of probation. (Current law only permits the court to order execution of all of the probationer’s suspended sentence.) Passed 95-1.

Meanwhile, SB 101 regarding modification of the terms of probation also passed 95-1. Permits a court to hold a new probation hearing and modify a probationer’s conditions of probation at any time during the probationary period. Requires the court to notify the probationer of the hearing.

For those of you keeping score, Representative Fry (D-Mishawaka) voted “nay” on both of them for some reason.

Engrossed Version, Senate Bill 0089 Agricultural Equipment. Maybe I’m misremembering and being unfair, but it seems to me that Sen. Jackman’s bills have a tendency to be a hundred sections long and accomplish very little. I think maybe it’s not him but some folks over at one of the agriculture groups for whom he carries water. Thinking back 7 years ago or so, I recall a bill that was drafted up by the group — wish I could remember who it was — but I kept calling over to the contact people I’d been given and telling them the many ways in which their proposed draft sucked and telling them what needed to be changed. (Not dictating policy mind you, just telling them how to clean up the language.) Problem was, they didn’t have me dealing with a decision maker. Just a person who took my call and hemmed and hawed and wouldn’t authorize changes because she didn’t understand the legislation and, from her perspective, it was cast in stone just the way the lobbyists had drafted it.

Anyway, I couldn’t say whether this bill evolved in the same way. It’s long and it’s boring and it tinkers with a lot of definitions for reasons that aren’t obvious to me and it passed the House 98-0.

According to the Indy Star, Rep. Bauer is back after surgery and hospitalization for diverticulosis. Looks like he’s not exactly trying to mend fences:

Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels lashed out at House Democrats following their floor boycott, saying they had “car bombed” Indiana’s drive for growth and reform for political reasons. He mostly blamed Bauer, calling him a “throwback politician” who had put party over jobs and reform.

Daniels has not apologized for the remarks, but Bauer said today that he forgave him anyway.

“It’s a freshman saying that, and I think when you’re a freshman you sometimes overreact,” Bauer said, adding that the prolonged boycott might have been prevented had Daniels talked to Bauer that day.

“But I’ll tell you what. I’ve got a greater understanding of prayer, and it’s good to forgive and I forgive him,” Bauer said. “But I do think that kind of language doesn’t belong in a deliberative setting, because people actually die in car bombs.”

In an editorial entitled, Desperately seeking home rule, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette complains about the lack of home rule (i.e. local control over local government) in Indiana.

State legislators, in fact, keep local officials on the tightest of leashes, particularly when it comes to financing local government. Counties do have the power to enact a local income tax, for example, but only a maximum of 1 percent, and then by a convoluted voting procedure. When the City Council asked the legislature to give the council the power to add additional members, the state lawmakers refused to even consider the idea because the council had voted “only” 6-3 to seek the change.

The point out that legislation introduced by Sen. Kenley would allow counties that must raises taxes the option of raising property or income taxes. They also point out that, in seeking home rule, local politicians are constrained in how vocal they can be precisely because of the short leash they’re straining against. If they are too vocal, the state legislators have the ability to yank their chain, so to speak. The editorial goes on to praise SB 638 that would allow counties to consolidate townships. It also endorses SB 242 as a necessary measure if the legislature insists on passing the Voter ID bill. SB 242 would require all full-serve state license branches to be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the day before Election Day to issue driver’s licenses and state ID cards. The editorial describes SB 483, the voter ID bill, as “unnecessary legislation meant to solve an unproven problem that will discourage some people from voting.”

This is kind of old news, published on March 19, but I missed it. The Muncie Star Press had an article entitled: Rush County judge named to Saunders case. According to the article, the Henry County judges recused themselves because of their relationship with Representative Tom Saunders, father of Andrew Saunders, who is charged with leaving the scene of a hit & run accident that resulted in the death of Thomas Jackman. Rush Circuit Court Judge Barbara Arnold Harcourt will preside.

Other information I had not seen before was in the article.

Jackman, 56 and an avid walker, died Feb. 5 after he was struck by a vehicle while walking in front of the Marsh supermarket on South 14th Street in New Castle. Court reports indicate Jackman’s body was found 47 feet south of the point of impact. He was alive when another motorist noticed him next to the road. He died hours after the crash at an Indianapolis hospital.

Andrew Saunders was at the Elks Lodge in New Castle the evening of Feb. 4, and authorities have reviewed a videotape from the bar that allegedly shows him consuming 10 drinks during his almost-eight-hour stay at the bar. He also ate dinner at the lodge that night.