There is a certain amount of irony to a smoking ban going up in flames, but to anyone who paid attention to this entire legislative process they should not be surprised at all.

Smoking ban proponents have been trying for years to get a comprehensive ban passed at the Statehouse.  They would have come close last year had the political ignorance of some their advocates and lobbyists not been on display for the entire political establishment to look at in awe.

However, this year they figured with the Governor making it one of his top legislative priorities as well as Senate Pro Tempore David Long promising a full hearing, all I can think of was the old saying, “be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. ”

Anyone who understands the current make-up of the Senate knows if there are two types of bills that can get everyone up in arms are gun bills and property rights bills.  This was not about guns but about property rights, plain and simple.  And the smoke-free advocates failed to realize that when it came to the government deciding whether a workplace should be smoke free or the owner of the business who has invested his blood, sweat, tears and financial well-being into the business, that most Senators are going to side with the business owner.  The first sign of that should have been in the Senate Rules and Public Policy Committee when the bar owners who would negatively be impacted by the smoking ban got to testify first.

Secondly, the fact that no amendments were offered during the committee hearing should have been another warning.  By allowing it to go to the floor relatively clean, the opportunity was created for the bill to get weighed down with amendment after amendment after amendment.  And it did.  Look at the list of amendments that passed as posted on the Indiana Senate Democrat blog.

• Amendment 13: Allows group homes, community mental health centers and Indiana Veterans Homes to establish designated smoking rooms.
• Amendment 18: Removes sunset provision on bar and tavern exemption. Smoking at bars and taverns will continue to be permitted.
• Amendment 20: Permits charity gaming organizations to allow smoking during events.
• Amendment 21: Made technical changes to the bill.
• Amendment 22: Allows cigar and hookah bars to move to new locations and remain exempt from the ban.
• Amendment 23: Confirms that statewide smoking ban will not supersede local smoking ordinances as long as they are stricter than the state ban.
• Amendment 24: Reduces from 12 feet to 8 feet the distance from the entrance to a public place that must be smoke free.
• Amendment 26: Removes exemption that a club or fraternal club seeking an exemption from the smoking ban must be established before June 30, 2012.
• Amendment 28: Prevents local municipalities from establishing smoking ordinances that prohibit smoking in gaming facilities.
• Amendment 29: Exempts home businesses from the smoking ban.

Once again, who didn’t see this coming?

Smoke free advocates were livid. Danielle Patterson, co-chair, Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air said…

“Hoosiers deserve better than what the Indiana Senate did today as it carved away protection from secondhand smoke for thousands of workers, passing a multitude of amendments to House Bill 1149. Healthy workers are the backbone of a healthy economy, and more than 70 percent of them support a smokefree law that includes all workplaces, bars and restaurants. Today, the Senate struggled to protect any of them. If this bill becomes law as it is written, it would be one of the weakest in the nation.  If the Senate passes HB 1149 on third reading, we will continue to work within the legislative process until every Hoosier is protected.”

I hope you plan to work for a long time, Danielle.  Assuming this does pass the full Senate, which is a big if. (I don’t see any Democrats voting yes and who are the 13 Republicans that will vote for this) There is no way this bill, in its current form, will make it out of the General Assembly.   Leaving out all the exemptions except bars and taverns, how do you compromise? The House voted to give bars and taverns an 18-month exemption.  The Senate a permanent one.  Good luck King Solomon splitting that baby. Listen to the interviews below with State Representative Charlie Brown and State Senator Ron Alting. The entire runtime is 7 minutes.

Leon Tailored Interview: Smoking Ban (Charlie Brown & Ron Alting)

If anything this issue will likely die under its own weight.  Which actually suits me just fine.  I really don’t need my cigar bars to get crowded with cigarette smokers.  Those things are disgusting.

Although Indiana Statehouse Democrats have criticized the Daniels administration lately over the number of child deaths in the state due to abuse and neglect,  a new report shows that number has dropped considerably over the past seven years.

According to the Indiana Department of Child Services latest report, in 2003, 51 children died of abuse and neglect.  In 2010 that number had dropped to 25, 19 were due to abuse and 6 were due to neglect, four children had previous experiences with DCS.  In 2003, out of the 51 child deaths, 34 were due to abuse, 17 were neglect and 11 had previous involvement with DCS.

Below is a breakdown from 2003 – 2010:

• 2003 – 51 deaths, 34 – abuse, 17 neglect, 11 previous involvement
• 2004 – 57 deaths, 22 – abuse, 35 neglect, 19 previous involvement
• 2005 – 54 deaths, 24 – abuse, 30 neglect, 20 previous involvement
• 2006 – 53 deaths, 30 – abuse, 23 neglect, 11 previous involvement
• 2007 – 36 deaths, 17 – abuse, 19 neglect, 9 previous involvement
• 2008 – 46 deaths, 24 – abuse, 22 neglect, 15 previous involvement
• 2009 – 38 deaths, 24 – abuse, 14 neglect, 9 previous involvement
• 2010 – 25 deaths, 19 – abuse, 6 neglect, 4 previous involvement

Lake County reported the most cases of child deaths due to abuse, seven.  While Marion County reported most deaths due to neglect, three.  60% of the reported child deaths were age five and under. And in 79% of cases, the mother’s boyfriend or man she was living with at the time was involved.

I think everyone can agree that one child death due to abuse and neglect is one too many, but with 15,000 children in the system at any given time, even the most vocal critics have to admit these numbers are continuing to go in the right direction.

The next big fight between Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and the Democrat-controlled City County Council is like to center around the use of the economic develop tool known as tax increment financing, or TIFs.

TIFs are a common tool used by local governments.  Under the TIF structure the increased property tax revenue from a certain area is not given to local governments but instead used to pay off the bonds floated to finance projects that otherwise would not have been created.

Proponents call them necessary for jobs and development while opponents say their overuse takes badly needed revenue from local governments and schools.

I spoke with Deron Kitner, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Indianapolis Bond Bank to discuss how TIFs are used in the city and why is there such a growing controversy over their use.  You can hear his interview below, it runs about 9 minutes.

Leon-Tailored Interview: Deron Kitner, Indianapolis Bond Bank

Council Democrats have questioned the Ballard administration’s use of TIFs and have put some projects on hold which the Mayor wants to move forward.  The Indianapolis City-County Council’s Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee is taking up the issue of TIFs at its meeting this evening.

You can view a map of the city’s active and inactive TIF districts here.  Note, it is saved with Slideshare which may be incompatible with some Apple products.

A website that specializes in debunking Internet rumors and urban legends has chimed in on State Representative Bob Morris’ claim that the Girl Scouts of America promote a “pro abortion/homosexual” agenda.

As you know, Morris touched of a statehouse firestorm which later garnered national attention with his comments regarding the girl scouts.  He voted against a House resolution honoring the 100-year old organization, saying the group is the “tactical arm of Planned Parenthood” and “it promotes the homosexual lifestyle”.  Morris became the butt of local and national jokes and only made matters worse with a non-apologetic apology.

Snopes, the website that specializes in debunking Internet myths and rumors did some research on Morris’ comments and found out while there is a some truth that some Girl Scout chapters do help young girls with sexuality issues, Morris went off the reservation with his comments.

Indiana Barrister has attached the link here for you to read  for yourself.  In the meanwhile, Morris reportedly in the doghouse with his House Republican colleagues right now and he’s likely going to be there for a while.

The following is audio from the Charlie White trial.  The first cut is special prosecutors Dan Sigler and John Dowd.  The Second clip is White defense attorney Carl Brizzi.  Both cuts run approximately 5 minutes.  Due to the importance of this case, the audio is unedited.

Leon-Tailored Interview: Charlie White Prosecution

Leon-Tailored Interview: Charlie White Defense

Editor’s Note: Audio may be replayed for broadcast with credit given to Indy Politics.

A while back, I reported that labor was looking at filing a lawsuit to block Right to Work.  Well, they did.

In a news release put out late Wednesday afternoon, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 filed suit in federal court claiming RTW violates for the state and federal constitutions. The are seeking a temporary restraining order.

RTW prohibits an employee from being forced to pay union fees as a condition of employment.

In their release, the unions make the following arguments…

•    RTW violates the “Contracts Clause” of the U.S. Constitution’s Article 1 in that it substantially impairs contractual relationships by forbidding longstanding union security clauses and payment of fees in exchange for representation.

•  RTW violates the 14^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution’s “Equal Protection” clause by treating similar classes of workers differently.

• By allowing workers to opt out of paying dues, dues paying members would bear the entire cost of providing representation, and a smaller amount of their payment would be available for use representing them.

• By forbidding public works employees from opting out of membership or payment of dues or fees, the State of Indiana requires those workers to bear an increased burden of paying for services rendered to workers given the option not to pay dues or fees.

• By allowing Local 150 to charge fees to construction workers but not workers in other industries, the State of Indiana fails to provide equal protection.

•  RTW violates Article 1, Section 21 of Indiana’s Constitution, which states that “no person’s particular services shall be taken by law without just compensation.” By forcing unions to provide equal representation, as required under the National Labor Relations Act, to workers who pay nothing, the state is demanding services which constitute a property interest to the union’s members.

•   RTW is pre-empted by federal labor law insofar as federal law allows unions to collect fees and that activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act is criminalized under RTW.

•   RTW violates state and federal ex post facto laws by declaring agreements in place on the day RTW was signed illegal and criminally punishable.

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office issued the following statement regarding the suit.

“Legal challenges are part of the process to test whether laws are constitutional. Though we respect the right of private plaintiffs to disagree with this new law, the State’s position is that the Legislature was within its authority to create a new policy concerning mandatory union dues. My office’s duty is to defend the laws the Legislature passes and we will do so diligently here.

An Indiana House Lawmaker who accused the Girl Scouts of promoting homosexuality and abortion says he doesn’t have a problem with 99% of the Girl Scout organizations.

Bob Morris (R-Ft. Wayne) sent a letter to his fellow House freshmen saying he could not sign on to a resolution honoring the 100 years of the Girl Scouts history.

A copy of the letter is available here.

I  spoke with Morris Monday briefly afternoon, he says he wasn’t trying to offend anyone with his comments, just put out his opinion.  He says his opinion is based on research he has done on the organization.

He says the letter was originally meant for his colleagues trying to educate them on the organization.

He also says he and his wife have taken their daughters out of Girl Scouts and will join another organization.

When asked about the Morris letter, House Speaker Brian Bosma dismissed the matter altogether.

Lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn on May 9.

U.S. Senator Richard Lugar today says despite charges to the contrary, he is a resident of Indiana and meets all the requirements to be on the ballot for the May 8 primary.

Lugar made his comments to the media shortly before speaking to hundreds of Republicans at the 22nd Annual Lugar in Excellence in Public Service Luncheon.

Lugar said he meets the residency requirements to be on the ballot, although he and his wife keep a home in Virginia. He also reiterated that he made sure he would be able to be on the ballot legally before he and his wife purchased the home.

You can hear Lugar’s entire comments below.  Each segment runs approximately 8 minutes.

Leon-Tailored Interview: Richard Lugar – Part 1

Leon-Tailored Interview: Richard Lugar – Part 2

The Senator also comments on the current U.S. Senate race as well as the Republican Presidential Primary.

I am hoping the race for Indiana’s 5th District Congressional will turn into the greatest political show on earth and not just become another Congressional race.

Think about it.  A long-time incumbent who just barely won re-election the last go around by the skin of his false teeth decided to exercise the better part of political valor and exit (stage right, of course).  The challengers began to line up, heavyweights and featherweights, old faces and new faces.  We had new district boundaries.  Everything is set for a spectacular show, but so far this is turning into just another congressional race.

I have now had the privilege of moderating two forums for the 5th District candidates.  One in Fishers and one in Kokomo.  And after listening to the candidates, it is a more than fair assumption that they are all pretty much on the same page.  Granted, each one brings something different to the table.  Susan Brooks brings her experience as a Deputy mayor, former U.S. Attorney and time at Ivy Tech.  John McGoff brings his medical and military experience.  Wayne Seybold has executive branch management from being Mayor of Marion and David McIntosh knows how Washington works, or doesn’t work these days, as a former Congressman.  Even the lightweights bring something to the table.  Matt Mount is a law enforcement officer.  Jack Lugar is an attorney and owns a real estate business.  And Bill Salin, well, he’s got one heck of an interesting personality.  I haven’t met Jack Anderson.  Overall, most of these guys and gal would make a decent Congressman or Congresswoman.

On the issues, they are all pretty much operating in the same universe.  They all believe in repealing the President’s health care plan.  They all are pro-life and support the second amendment.  There are some nuances, for example on earmarks, Seybold says they are not inherently bad and pointed to one Thursday which helped save jobs in his area, however he says with the nation’s current financial situation, there’s an issue of affordability.  And both McGoff and Brooks said while they oppose bailouts in general, they could see the rational behind the Chrsyler bailout which helped saved hundreds of jobs in the Kokomo area.

So with not much difference between the candidates, at the end of the day this race will come down just like every other race.  How organized are the candidates?  Who has the money to compete?  Who can brand themselves in such a way that they are just the most likeable person.  And you could argue, who can reach those Boone County voters.

Boone County?

Yes, if you compare maps between the old and new 5th Districts, you can see that Zionsville is in and Huntington is out.  And assuming Seybold is strong in the north, Brooks, McGoff, and McIntosh split up the Indianapolis area (Marion and Hamilton counties).  Although McIntosh is from the Anderson area so he can lay claim to some of that.  Lugar, Anderson, Mount and Salin split about 10% of the vote, that leaves Boone County and what I call “the Volvo driving soccer moms” and the good folks along 421 who have the potential to make or break this race.

And how does it get done, unfortunately, the old-fashioned way. Targeted television ads on cable, mailers, phone banks, knocking on doors. Advertising on political web blogs (hint! hint!) But who knows, the fun part about politics is always the unexpected stuff. And it’s the unexpected stuff that creates the leader of the pack.  So we’ll see, hopefully something unexpected will happen and this will turn into the greatest show on earth and not just another campaign.

The Indiana primary is May 8.

Things gave been a little busy as of late however, here’s a nice summary of what’s been going on lately with some decent links attached. The audio is courtesy of my other blog, IndyPolitics.Org.

The Lugar Challenge

• Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has said he will not convene a special meeting of the Indiana Election Commission to hear a Tea Party challenge to Richard Lugar’s voting status, saying the law is clear.  Greg Fettig of Hoosiers for Conservative Senate, say they will move forward with their complaint. David Wilkie, political director for the Lugar campaign, called the allegations nonsense. Brad King, of the Indiana Election Division also offers up some perspective.

Smoking Ban

• I penned a column for NUVO this week on the smoking ban that failed this week over at the City-County building and I gave the credit exactly where it was due, to the advocates.  I also spoke this week to City-County Councilor Ben Hunter on where things go from here.   Meanwhile, my colleague, Jon Murray at the Indianapolis Star has a blog post on some modified smoking ban proposals we could see in the future.  And the State Senate Rules and Public Policy Committee will take up the House smoking ban bill next week.  Chairman Ron Alting says the big question is over the exemptions, specifically bars and taverns.  Meanwhile, Governor Daniels says he will sign whatever bill lawmakers send to him, but he would like to see as few exemptions as possible.

5th District Forum

• I’ll be co-moderating tonight’s 5th District Forum Debate in Fishers.  If  you have a question you’d like asked, shoot me an e-mail.  You can send it to info@indypolitics.org or abdul@indypolitics.org.