Organization Day
I spent the day at the Indiana General Assembly for Organization Day. Lawmakers were pretty cordial with each other. As I love a good political fight (which eventually can lead to good government) here’s where I see the fights taking place in the 2007 session…
Bauer v. Bosma
This was an easy one, of course. Although both sides spoke of bi-partisanship and cooperation, I can see it coming now. The first battle may be over whether Jon Elrod, who beat Ed Mahern for the 97th House District by seven votes, will get seated at all. Mahern is contesting the election. And according to the Indiana Constitution, the House is the final arbitrator of who gets in, not the voters. Expect more fights over education, property taxes and the Governor’s agenda. Another battle will come over privatization. Democrats are planning to hold hearings on privatization and call witnesses to see how privatization has affected their jobs. Ironically, there was a big AFSCME labor rally at the capital today, protesting privatization.
Conservative Senate Republicans v. Even More Conservative Senate Republicans
Conservatives in the Indiana State Senate are privately grumbling about today’s appointments by Senate Pro Tem David Long. They are upset over the appointment of Brent Steele as Chairman of the Civil, Criminal and Corrections Committee. That may not sound like much to regular people, but it’s the committee that hears the hot button issues like gay marriage, flag burning, prayer, etc. Now you kow what I mean. Some conservatives think Steele took the assignment in exchange for dropping out of the race for Pro Tem. Also getting a nice spot was Gary Dillon, another possible contender. He received the post as chairman of the Rules and Ethics Committee. Tom Weatherwax, who apparently did not drop out of the race for Pro Tem lost his chairmanship of the Natural Resources Committee. It’s unclear what conservatives will do to retaliate, but don’t be surprised if they form their own caucus. They would not have enough votes to pass any bills, but they could form a block to defeat any bill.
White v. Rokita
The incoming Marion County Clerk goes head to head with the Indiana Secretary of State. This will be fun to watch. Beth White is already calling for election reform, including having absentee ballots considered cast if they are post-marked by Election Day. Todd Rokita, threw cold water on that idea, saying the law works as is. The two also have some other major policy differences on elections, including Voter ID. This might actually be the most fun fight to watch, as there are elections in 2007 and 2008.
Those are the three big fights I saw preparing to brew on this Organization Day. Who knows what else is on the way? I’m going to enjoy next year.
