Popular issues stall behind Ind. Dem boycott
Associated Press
8:20 a.m. CST, January 7, 2012
INDIANAPOLIS—
Anti-smoking advocates are on the verge of success in the Indiana General Assembly but must wait out House Democrats' boycott of a divisive labor bill.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in both theSenate and House is pushing to ban smoking in most public places and workplaces, including bars. The only exemptions it includes are the gambling floors of casinos and pari-mutuel betting parlors, private clubs and cigar and hookah bars.
The bipartisan group enjoyed an added push before the 2012 session when Gov. Mitch Daniels added it to his legislative agenda and House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said it should be written into law before the Feb. 5 Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
But House Democrats will have to return to work before that and many other popular measures can make it into law. Democrats continued their boycott Friday over a contentious labor bill being pushed by Republicans.
The Democrats' Statehouse walkout is hardly as dramatic as their five-week walkout last year when they successfully blocked the measure to ban unions from mandating that workers pay fees for representation. But the standoff between Republicans and Democrats in the House has still placed other popular issues in limbo.
Speaking at an anti-smoking press conference one day after the start of the 2012 session, Rep. Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, said he thought the smoking limits eventually would lead to fewer cases of lung cancer and heart disease. "If we can impact one person's life, then we've made a difference in this state," said Brown, a physician. "We can save the state money through raising our health awareness and our health status."
Meanwhile Democrats participating in the boycott of the right-to-work measure said they were optimistic the House would return to work next week. And timing is important during the legislature's brief, 10-week long session this year.
"This impasse will probably be over next week," said Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, a veteran advocate of the smoking ban.
House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, appeared to flag Friday afternoon, saying "we know we can't stay out indefinitely." But he also gave no guarantees his caucus would end their boycott next week.
The tenuous nature of the House's legislative work occasionally showed itself during the three-day boycott through the start of the session.
Rep. Bruce Borders, who chairs the Veterans Affairs and Public Policy Committee, held a hearing on a measure that would extend military relief from one year to three years. By most accounts the measure would win almost unanimous bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
But without a formal bill in front of them the lawmakers were unable to advance the measure to the next step in the legislative approval process. Thursday's committee vote amounted to "a straw vote," said Borders, R-Jasonville, although he added that taking another vote on the measure in his committee would not be terribly hard.
Rep. Charles Moseley, D-Portage, clarified during the hearing that they could not technically vote on the bill because it had not yet been formally introduced in the House. Speaking after the meeting, he said that benefits for military families would fly with ease through the House and Senate.
"But I also have an obligation to the people of my district to represent where they stand," Moseley said after the brief hearing Thursday morning. Moseley spent all three days with the majority of other Democrats in their boycott of the House.
The boycott also threw some question around the delivery of Gov. Mitch Daniels' State of the State speech, scheduled for Tuesday night. As of Thursday, House Republican Caucus lawyers were still researching whether a quorum needed to be achieved in order for him to give his annual assessment to a joint session of the House and Senate, said Bosma spokeswoman Tory Flynn.
"Gov. Daniels will be at the House Chamber to deliver his speech Tuesday at 7 p.m.," said Jane Jankowski, Daniels' spokeswoman.
Bauer did not say exactly whether House Democrats would be in the chamber for the speech or whether they would watch it somewhere else. "We'll be there, somehow, some way," he said, somewhat mysteriously.
Associated Press writer Tom Davies contributed to this story.
boycott, indiana house democrats, right to work, union
Comments (25)
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SEAN MURRY· 2 hours ago
Enter text right here!Thye the demos shot thierselves in the foot.
Kevin· 2 hours ago
Explain something to me, is it the job of the Congress just to pass "Laws"...how many laws do we have on the books now...I may be breaking a law just typing this...When are we going to say Enough is Enough.
1 reply · active 1 hour ago
BobVelon82p· 1 hour ago
When the guns come out.....
Frankcastle1958· 2 hours ago
So.. the Democrat strategy is now... If WE can't have our way, POUT and RUN OUT?!?!?!!? What a bunch, of SPOILED LITTLE CHILDREN.....
You know, If WE walk off our jobs, and refuse to do our work.. WE GET FIRED!!!
Perhaps, it's time, to treat POLITICIANS, like WE get treated!! NO WORK, NO JOB!!
2 replies · active 30 minutes ago
Surely you are not just now figuring that out!!!!!
obama Hates America· 30 minutes ago
Just like they did in Wisconsin.
Joseph G· 2 hours ago
Th DO Gooders are at it agin. How did anyone survive without the DO Gooders.
Doug· 1 hour ago
Why is the government passing law telling people how to run their business? Will they be telling us the bar stools are too high next? Only wear red on Friday?
2 replies · active 1 hour ago
My friend, they ALREADY tell you the barstools can be too high...
Faith and Hope· 1 hour ago
Yes, it's coming. Just put Barry back in office.
Edward Shick· 1 hour ago
Congress Job 1 should be to protect America against all enemies , Foreign and Domestic , Why do we still allow George Soros , Peloshi and Harry Reid to not be in prison along with there destroy America ,Muslim puppet Obama, No Budget and spending us into Slavery! We have been sold down the river by Washington
Bonecrusher· 1 hour ago
WHat the hell! They WAIT to vote on this lunacy and obama can't wait to appoint his cronies? What's wrong with this picture,I mean that hasn't been wrong with the picture for several years?
julian· 1 hour ago
Since they frequently exempt themselves from the laws they pass they have no problem in passing them wholesale. How about having smoking and nonsmoking bars, people are supposed to have a choice. They do not do this as they know the nonsmoking bars will go broke, all the people that vote on the issue are not the ones that frequent the bars. If I wanted someone dictatate to me what I should and should not do I would have stayed 10 years old and never developed my own responsibility. If I need helthcare for my bad habits I will rely on the health insurance that I pay for and not the huncreds of $ millions $ extorted from the tobacco companies by state governments.
1 reply · active 1 hour ago
Rustytruck· 1 hour ago
They already did that out here in Oregon Julian, and it sucks! Just because of the whiney few the rest have to change. They went so far as to make you go 25 feet away from the doors and any kind of shelter, making sure you have to be way out in the rain to smoke. What's really ironic tho is, they taxed the hell out of cigs using the revenue to fund the health care costs and passed laws against smoking. So if everybody quit like they want, where will their precious revenue go? Right! We have some really dumb lawmakers in Oregon. And it's all based on lies in the first place. My doctor and some other medical peopl I know said it's not about the health, it's about the money. Look at the share holders on the exchange. Right again! Mostly doctors high up in the AMA. Philip Morris, Ligget & Myers, etc. Owned by doctors. The same for the school levies, the people who pay the most school taxes don't even have any kids. Get it? This law says you have to pay for MY kids to go to school, it will benefit us all. No it doesn't. It just means the guy who has 12 kids is getting you to pay for his kids. It's all about the money.
msbets· 1 hour ago
YOU GOT THAT RIGHT AND THE ONES THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO UPHOLD AND DON'T..............................THE FILTY GARBAGE, GETS AWAY WITH IT OR PAYS SOME OFF.....................THE ENTIRE CONGRESS AND SO CALLED GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE RUN OFF!!!! LET THE SCABS TAKE OVER!!!!
Abe Lincoln· 1 hour ago
Think Jack Nicholson, these democrats nationwide "can't handle the truth" and the truth is too much has been promised and it is all out of whack. No matter how much they want to deny the outcome folks...there ain't no money, there ain't no money!! What friggn part of "no money" do you not understand???
dingbat36113p· 1 hour ago
Indiana DemoNrats have taken a page out of a different book.............did not the Federal Congressional Democrats go home without solving a problem that was in their court?
All these libs are cut from the same bolt of cloth, if they can't have it their way, they simply gum up the works by walking away, or RUNNING away more appropriately!
Ross Cooper· 1 hour ago
Make sure they include the white House and BOs office, we have to hurry and get more regulations into law after all there isn't much the Dems have to do now that the budget is undercontrol,immigration is corrected, unemployment is down,you get my drift. After all we have to solve things in order of importance !
Wayne· 1 hour ago
I am so sick of the Unions running this country. If you don't think they do, why when the unions pitch a fit does everyone crap their pants to please these jerk offs. The unions will be the death of this country if we don't haul them in on a short leash and whip their butts like the bunch of stupid puppies that they are. I never have and never will pay one cent to any crap for brains union jerk and if you do I am sorry for you.
1 reply · active 56 minutes ago
Chuck· 56 minutes ago
After we win the coming civil war and kill all the commies, we need to outlaw all unions in this country. Anyone who tries to start a new union will have his head lopped off.
Eddie B· 1 hour ago
Being open-minded,I have nothing against democrats,mice,lice,leeches or morons..
mike· 32 minutes ago
The Democratic Party should be abolished!
The people should take names of the walkouts and give each of them their pink-slips and refuse to pay their retirement benefits.
Democrat s flushed their leadership away to Obamacare and gave Obama the traitor everything he wanted. They work to have dully elected men and women cast out by illegal recounts when Obama stole the election due to fraud. Now, they neglect their duty and oath, march them out and charge them..
rinc0nss16p
rinc0nss has not yet written a personal description.
The best thing that could happen to America is Obama to be assassinated. I vote for freedom and extermination of this traitor.
Miss Kelli Taylor· 6 minutes ago
I got an e-mail saying that Obama is blocking ( 85,000) jobs. Obama is a total jerk, the very most ugliest blackest
Muslim Democratic Big Time Loser in his entire life. Someone should kick Obama's rear end so hard that he would not
be able to sit down from ( 1 to 12) month to next year.
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