Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels today announced that state coffers will show a $2 billion surplus at the end of the fiscal year, kicking in a taxpayer refund of $100 for individuals and $200 for couples who qualify.

Daniels said today that since reserves total at least 14 percent of the state’s budget, most Hoosier taxpayers will receive their first automatic taxpayer refund when they file their state taxes in 2013.

His administration says the exact amount will not be ascertained until the fall when the estimate will be made of how many tax returns will qualify.  Because the state’s reserves exceed 10 percent of the upcoming year’s budget, half of the excess will be returned to taxpayers and the other half will go to further strengthen several of the state’s pension funds. That means the pension funds, already rated among the nation’s most secure, will receive at least $300 million.  For Fiscal Year 2013, the state is projecting a structural surplus of more than $400 million, resulting in the state’s reserves again exceeding $2 billion.

Audio from today’s news conference can be found here.  Daniels declined to say whether any of the excess surplus should be used to pay for the expansion of Medicaid, which could cost Indiana up to $3 billion over the next six years.  The Governor said that question is one for the future Governor and General Assembly.

And in response to complaints from schools and local governments regarding cuts, Daniels said they are free to go to the legislature and ask for those funds back next year.

MARION COUNTY SHERIFF

FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

CASE REPORT: 12-0000722 – 0000

INCIDENT: 612 ANIMAL INVESTIGATION

LOCATION: 4735 SOUTH COUNTY ROAD 800 WEST

GEO ZONE: AREA: BEAT:

OCCURRED: 06/27/2012 22:53 TO 06/27/2012 23:59

REPORTED: 06/27/2012 AT 22:53

ARRESTS: 0 INJURED: 0 DEAD: 0 VEHICLE TOWED: 0

MODUS OPERANDI:

METHOD OF ENTRY:

POINT OF ENTRY: ENTRY LOCATION:

WEAPON USED: CRIME CODE: ALL OTHER OFFENSES EXCEPT TRAFFIC

GANG ACTIVITY: GANG:

ALARM:

PERSON: 1

PERSON INVOLVEMENT: ANM ANIMAL OWNED BY

PERSON NAME: SHAMBAUGH,THOMAS

RACE: W WHITE SEX: M MALE

DATE OF BIRTH: AGE:

NARRATIVE:

ON, 06/27/2012, AT 2253 HOURS, I, SERGEANT BEN COE, WITH THE

MARION CO. SHERIFF’S OFFICE WAS CONTACTED BY CELL PHONE BY

SERGEANT TOM SHAMBAUGH. SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH STATED TO ME THAT HE

SHOT HIS PERSONAL CANINE USING A DEPARTMENT ISSUED SHOTGUN. THIS

WAS DUE TO THE CANINE BITING HIM, BEING AGGRESSIVE, AND BEING

VERY AGITATED. I HAD SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH CALL 911DUE HIM BEING

INJURED FROM THE DOG BITE. I HAD REQUESTED THE RADIO CONTROL

OPERATOR FOR THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE CREATE A DISPATCH RUN. I MADE

NOTIFICATION TO CAPTAIN BOB SMITH, RESERVE SECTION COMMANDER,

AND I PROCEEDED TO SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH’S RESIDENCE. I ARRIVED ON

THE SCENE AND FOUND SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH BEING TREATED BY SUGAR

CREEK MEDIC 45 EMS# 0253. I TALKED WITH SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH. HE

STATED HIS CANINE HAD BEEN AGGRESSIVE AND AGITATED AND THE DOG

ESCAPED FROM ITS KENNEL THIS MORNING. SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH STATED

HE HAD TO PUT THE CANINE IN HIS SQUAD CAR KENNEL FOR SAFE

KEEPING THIS MORNING AFTER THE CANINE HAD ESCAPED. SERGEANT

SHAMBAUGH STATED HE CALLED SHERIFF’S OFFICE K9 OFFICER STALCUP

EARLIER TODAY SO THEY COULD GO OUT TOGETHER AND HIS CANINE SO IT

COULD RELEASE SOME ENERGY; HOWEVER THAT DID NOT TAKE PLACE.

SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH STATED HE ARRIVED HOME AND WENT TO PLAY WITH

HIS CANINE NAMED PACO. PACO BECAME VERY AGITATED AND AGGRESSIVE

TOWARDS SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH AS HE WAS RETURNING HIM TO THE

KENNEL. WHEN PACO GOT INSIDE THE KENNEL, IT PUSHED AND ATTACKED

SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH, BITING HIM ON HIS RIGHT HAND CAUSING PAIN

AND BREAKING SKIN TO ONE OF HIS FINGERS. SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH HAD

TO FORCEFULLY KICK THE KENNEL FOR PACO TO BACK UP SO HE COULD

LOCK IT. SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH STATED PACO THEN WENT TO THE AREA OF

THE KENNEL WHERE HE ESCAPED FROM THIS MORNING. SERGEANT

SHAMBAUGH FELT THIS WAS A THREAT TO HIS SAFETY AND WENT TO

RETRIEVE HIS DEPARTMENT ISSUED 12 GAUGE SHOTGUN AND SHOT THE DOG

TWICE; ONE SHOT TO STOP THE THREAT AND THE SECOND SHOT TO STOP

THE ACTION. SERGEANT SHAMBAUGH SIGNED AN SOR (SIGNATURE OF

RELEASE) WITH THE SUGAR CREEK FIRE DEPARTMENT. SERGEANT

SHAMBAUGH WAS LATER CHECKED BY IU OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH. ANIMAL

OFFICER: C7739 COE,BEN K IMPD

OFFICER: S1323 SHAMBAUGH,THOMAS MCSD

OPERATOR: 06/28/2012 15:09 H1663 HUBBS,MICHAEL R MCSD

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the President’s health care plan, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the discussions have now moved to how the plan will be implemented.  I’m particularly interested in the expansion of Medicaid portion of the legislation.  A lot of state lawmakers aren’t crazy about expanding the program, and they have good reason to think so.

Under the new rule, states will be given the option to expand Medicaid and the federal government will pick up the entire tab for the first few years and then 90% after 2020.  That may sound like a good idea, but it isn’t really.

The problem with that 10% price tag is that it could end up taking a serious toll on the Indiana State Budget.   An analysis of the ACA back in 2010 showed the program costing the state anywhere from $2.5 to $3.1 billion in over a six-year period starting in 2014.   Up to a half million adults and children could be added to Indiana’s Medicaid rolls, bringing the entire state’s Medicaid population to 1.8 million by 2020.  And successful programs like the Healthy Indiana Plan would be placed in limbo, or worse eliminated.

Where are the dollars going to come from to pick up the state’s portion of this Medicaid expansion?  Will the money come from roads, education, prisons, and other state services?    Critics of such an analysis say the true cost of the ACA to Indiana won’t be in the billions but closer to $540 million, at the same time, with a weak economy, where will the money come from to pay for this expansion.

And if that weren’t enough, what about the 2.3% tax on medical devices set to begin in 2013?  This will have a major impact on Indiana as it is one of the leading states in the manufacturing of medical devices.  Statewide, a study by the IU School of Business showed more than 18,000 jobs in Indiana could be impacted by the medical device tax.  When has a tax on an industry ever resulted in more jobs and economic growth?

On balance, I can’t see how this is a good thing for Indiana?  More people on government assistance, bigger burdens placed on states, higher taxes on a key industry?  This can’t be a positive.  Although I practice law and not medicine, I thought one of the key tenants of medicine was not to make the patient worse.  At this rate, we may as well as call in Dr. Jack Kevorkian to come put Indiana out of its misery.

I’ve been pretty busy this week working on some other projects and have to run out of town this weekend.  So I decided to leave you guys with an open forum to bat around whatever floats your boat.  Here are a few topics.

1. The U.S. Supreme Court decision on health care reform.
2. Mike Pence’s “9-11 gaffe”.
3. Whether Indiana will expand its Medicaid progam.
4. My favorite – The public relations idiocy of the Indiana Fireworks Association for threatening to challenge communities than ban fireworks in the face of the worst heat wave in more than 20 years in this state.  If some firefighter gets killed putting out something that should have never started in the first place, I’m sure the IFA will be happy that person was exercising their rights to see the rockets red glare.

Enjoy.

I’ve been posting some interviews over on IndyPolitics.Org regarding the immigration debate following the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Arizona law.  I’ve decided to repost the interviews here.

The only interview I haven’t been able to do yet is with State Senator Mike Delph, the author of Indiana’s illegal immigration law.  Delph and I plan to get together soon.  When we do, I will post his interview here as well

Angela Adams – Local immigration attorney ( 8 minutes)

• Leon-Tailored Interview: Immigration Attorney Angela Adams on Supreme Court Ruling.

Jose Gonzales – Owner of La Voz de Indiana, the state’s largest bilingual newspaper. (5 min each)

• Leon-Tailored Interview: Jose Gonzales, La Voz de Indiana – 1

• Leon-Tailored Interview: Jose Gonzales, La Voz de Indiana – 2

“Maria” and “Natsha” – Two Indianapolis-area women.  Maria is a recently naturalized citizen.  Natasha is an illegal immigrant. (10 minutes)

• Leon-Tailored Interview: “Maria” & “Natasha” on Illegal Immigrants

I originally had planned to attend last week’s  Indiana Democratic Convention in Fort Wayne but unfortunately – or fortunately depending on your perspective – I had to attend a conference in Las Vegas.

I did make it a point to follow my media colleagues on Twitter as well as read what they wrote when I got back. As I was following the storyline of the convention unfold, I honestly wondered why I flew more than 1,800 miles when the show that would have rivaled David Copperfield was taking place 122 miles up I-69.

What surprised me the most was hearing Democrats all but admit that they can’t win in Indiana unless they get help from Republicans.

When gubernatorial candidate John Gregg told delegates to talk to “independents, Republicans and Dick Lugar Republicans” and tell them that “there’s room in our party for them,” that told me quite a bit.

Barack Obama notwithstanding, Indiana Democrats haven’t won a statewide election since Evan Bayh ran for re-election in 2004. Even when the national climate worked in the Democrats’ favor, the news hasn’t been very good for them at the statewide level.

In 2006, when the nation was fed up with George W. Bush and the Iraq war, Democrats captured three Congressional seats: Joe Donnelly in the 2^nd District (52 percent – 48 percent); Brad Ellsworth in the 8^th District (61-39); Baron Hill in the 9^th District (50-45-5, including the Libertarian).

However, they lost the three statewide offices that were on the ballot: Todd Rokita beat Joe Pearson in the Secretary of State’s race (51-45-3). Tim Berry beat Judy Anderson for state Auditor (52-48); Richard Mourdock defeated Mike Griffin for state Treasurer (52-48). Please note, this also the same year that Pat Bauer and the Democrats recaptured the Indiana House of Representatives.

In 2008, with Indiana voting for a Democrat for President for the first time since 1964, Democrats still managed to lose every statewide office on the ballot. Mitch Daniels beat Jill Long Thompson for governor (60-39); Greg Zoeller beat Linda Pence for Attorney General (51-49); and Tony Bennett beat Richard Wood for Superintendent of Public Instruction (51-49).

I won’t even elaborate on the political bloodbath of 2010.

Now this isn’t to say that a strategy of appealing to independents and moderates of the other party isn’t a good strategy in the general election. Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard beat Melina Kennedy (51-47) in a county where Democrats not only won the council, but also had a 10-point lead-in going into the election and a 12,000 straight ticket voting advantage.

Mitch Daniels was also the beneficiary of crossover votes. And Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry is proof that reaching across the aisle can work.

However, in each case, specifically Daniels and Ballard, they did not run as Republicans per se, but as effective leaders who got things done, like balance budgets, putting criminals behind bars and getting the roads paved.

Democrats are going to have to change the tone of their rhetoric if they truly want to have that bi-partisan appeal.  I don’t know if calling your opponent a show horse or saying they’ve declared a war on women, teachers, or cantaloupes for that matter will get you anywhere.

Instead it would be best if they offer realistic solutions to the state’s challenges, such as continuing to improve education, criminal justice reform and finding new money for roads and infrastructure. I also don’t think it helps if you’re trying to appeal to the middle while you pal around with Nancy Pelosi and devout socialist Bernie Sanders.

This isn’t to say that the Democrats’ strategy can’t work.  They’ve just got a tall order to fill.

The good news for them is that they at least have one Republican who will be voting Democratic this fall, Glenda Ritz, their candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction.  Since 1990, she’s voted in all but three Republican primaries.   Hey, every journey begins with one step.

I have never been a good golfer, so mulligans and I are good friends.  Luckily, my role in a round of golf is to bring the cigars and jokes, while the other players bring the actually game.  Unfortunately, politics doesn’t work that way.  A big mistake can totally derail a political campaign, so can a lot of little mistakes.   So I am offering up some friendly bi-partisan advice for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock and Democratic Gubernatorial candidate John Gregg, please try to the mistakes down to the bear minimum.

You may have seen that the Mourdock camp recorded a youtube clip of the Treasurer’s reactions to the possible outcomes to the Supreme Court ruling expected next week on the constitutionality of the President’s health care plan.  There’s nothing wrong with recording, but there is something wrong when all five get posted.   And from what my reliable sources tell me, that mistake can’t be blamed on an intern.  They were taken down in five minutes, but on the Internet, a minute is basically a lifetime.

John Gregg’s big error of the week was a little less visible.  His campaign just hired their third communications director in three months. Throw in the fact the lost of political veteran Tim Jeffers earlier this week and any effort to put out a consistent message gets muddled.  An example, on the one hand talk about bi-partisanship at your state convention speech and the need to reach across the aisle to those” Lugar Republicans” and in the same speech spending time beating up on the most prominent Lugar Republican of all, Mitch Daniels.

Now  are either of these the end of the world for either camp, not at all.  And between now and November, each side will probably hit a home run or two, or at least a ground rule double.  In the meanwhile though, the goal of any campaign should be to keep the mistakes down to a bear minimum.   Little mistakes can eventually lead to big mistakes and big mistakes lead to losing in November.

One question being asked in the wake of news that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is slated to become the next President of Purdue University is “how exactly would he run the school”?   One way to make that determination is to look at what Daniels has done as Governor when it comes to higher education.

I’ve taken a look at the Governor’s positions on higher education over the years and have the  following…

Finances

• It is no big secret that Indiana’s colleges and universities have had to live within their means since Daniels took office.  His last budget cut university spending by three percent, but provided more dollars for building construction.  However, some have argued his cuts, such as the 6 percent cut in 2006, have led to the rising cost of tuition.  The Governor did look at privatizing the State Lottery as a way to pay for higher education, but that plan was rejected by the federal government.

Credit Creep

• Daniels has questioned the need for departments at colleges and universities to keep increase the amount of credit hours needed to graduate.  A law was passed last session requiring Universities to get state permission if they are going to require more than 120 credit hours for a program’s completion.  The Governor also signed a bill last session creating a uniform system of numbering for college classes to make it easier for students to know what classes will transfer from one school to another.

Access

• The Governor has taken steps to increase access to college for high school students and older adults.  He helped bring Western Governors University to Indiana for older students who want to return to college, but time does not allow them to attend a traditional institution.  He has also created an early scholarship program which would allow high school students to attend college in their last year of high school if they have completed all their coursework.

Streamlining Higher Ed Administration

•  The Governor consolidated three separate state agencies charged with overseeing public higher education policy, college financial aid and for-profit education. The  Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE), the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI) and the Commission on Proprietary Education (COPE) were all consolidated  under a unified higher education agency under the direction of CHE with separate boards for public higher education and proprietary education. The goal was to streamline state services, reduce confusion for Hoosiers and promote greater coordination, clarity and transparency across the higher education sector.

I spent the weekend in Las Vegas attending a political blogger’s conference.  It was pretty basic stuff,  having been doing this for a few years, so I had an opportunity to actually get out and visit  “Sin City”.  I had never been there before.  In the past, when I tried to go, something always came up.  Frankly, I think it was divine intervention that never allowed me to set foot there until AFTER I was married because once I was there I could easily see how several women I ran into had the potential to be a future ex-wife.  However, what made the entire trip so fascinating, was how Las Vegas tends to symbolize two of my favorite philosophical concepts, personal liberty and personal responsibility.

Let’s face it, there is something about a city that allows you to basically indulge yourself in practically any activity that your heart, or the darkest recesses of your mind, desires.  No sooner had I got off the plane and stepped into the departure terminal there were slot machines waiting for me.  I could decide right there and then whether to play and no one was there telling to me to gamble or not gamble.  Now if I blew all my money right there, it would have been my fault and I would have had to take responsibility for my actions.

While out on the strip Friday evening I was approached by a “working girl”.  She was gracious enough to tell me that since I was from out of town, that if I wanted company she would be happy to provide it, not only for a modest fee, but she gave me her card telling me I could call anytime and if she wasn’t occupied (insert, wrong word, your own joke here) she would be there in 30 minutes or less.  I told her that sounds a lot like the old Dominoes Pizza delivery policy, so naturally I asked if she didn’t show up on time would the service be free?  She didn’t quite get the humor in that one.  And just for the record, no, I did not take her up on the offer.  Or any of the several similar offers that I came across while there.  As I said, with personal liberty, comes personal responsibility.  And not only would that be the wrong thing do to the Lovely Mrs. Shabazz, I can’t think of a better way to see all my worldly possessions go up in flames after pulling a stunt like that.

And by the way, I stayed at the Venetian, the only non-union hotel on the strip, which would explain why the service was really good.

Like I stated earlier, there’s just something magical about a place with gambling, alcohol, and that other stuff, where everything is freely traded on the open market, subject to rules that allow for the orderly exchange of goods and services.  It is a system that seemed to work quite well for the couple days that I was there.  It would be nice if the rest of the country would figure that out as well.

Can’t wait to go back.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard Friday issued  veto of the  Democrat-controlled City-County Council’s proposal that would have spent $180,000 on new Council maps.  The Democrats have cried foul since the Republicans, as one of their last acts on the Council approved new maps. However the Mayor’s Office says the maps are perfectly legal and there’s no reason to revisit the issue.

In his veto message to the Council, Ballard said the Council had “legally and fairly redistricted earlier this year” and with the city facing a $47 million shortfall, he called the proposal “an unnecessary expenditure of taxpayer money”.

Democrats were not too happy.  City-Council President Maggie Lewis says state law requires the Council to redraw the maps this year.  She tells the Indianapolis Business Journal that she doesn’t think the Mayor’s signature is legal and says at the end of the day, the entire matter will likely land up in court.

The key dispute here is simply language in the state statute.  Under the statute, IC 36-3-4-3, the City-Council shall by ordinance, divide the whole county in 25 districts that are compact, equal in population, do not cross precinct boundaries and the division shall be made during the second year after a year of the federal census.

Democrats and other critics say the maps were drawn in 2011 but should have been drawn in 2012.

The Mayor’s office makes the legal argument that while the Council may have approved the maps in 2011, the ordinance doing the division was not adopted until the morning of 2012, during Ballard’s last few hours of his first term.  They point to language in IV 36-3-4-14, which says an ordinance or resolution passed by a legislative body is considered adopted when “if subject to veto, either approved by the executive or passed over the executive’s veto by the legislative body.”

Ballard signed the ordinance at about 10 a.m. on January 1 of this year; a few hours into 2012, but still signed in 2012.

Either way, this is likely to end up before the Indiana Supreme Court, which ironically is the  entity that drew the last set of maps 10 years ago when Democrats and Republicans couldn’t agree on what the new districts should look like.