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Disappointment and outrage.
All Hoosiers should feel these sentiments following what happened — or should I say didn’t happen — last week in Indianapolis.
The regular session of the General Assembly ended Wednesday night after four months of work, but our state lawmakers did not complete their main obligation: passage of a new state budget.
Now, Hoosiers will likely pay them even more to go back to work for their first special session since 2002.
Just how much will a special session cost us? The Indianapolis Star reported it would cost at least “$25,720 for the 150 lawmakers’ pay alone, even if it lasted only one day, based on $12,420 in daily expenses plus a once-a-week charge of $13,300 in travel expenses.” If it lasts one week, that estimate shoots up to $75,400.
Keep in mind that our elected officials in Indianapolis passed a law in 2007 that almost doubled their salaries this year and guarantees future pay increases without public votes, the Star also reported. (To be fair, some legislators gave the pay increase back or donated it to charity.)
This entire debacle is mind boggling in many ways. We’ve known since January just how difficult of a task it was going to be to pass a state budget because of the economy. Yet, we could not put political bickering aside to accomplish this difficult but essential task.
I’ve always learned from my grandparents, parents and many colleagues right here at this newspaper that when it comes to work, you do what it takes to get the job done; it’s really that simple. You may need to work extra hours in a day or week, or spend an occasional weekend at work, but you don’t leave until the job is finished. For someone who works 60 hours a week plus an additional 10 or so on the weekends, it’s hard for me to fathom this breakdown.
So what’s next? Lawmakers have until June 30 to pass a new budget. We’re not opposed to the idea of lawmakers taking a few days off to let tensions settle, but it should be right back to work afterward. More than 6.3 million Hoosiers are counting on our representatives to do the job we pay them to complete. From this viewpoint, no lawmaker should be paid more for a special session because the job we hired them to do was not completed.
Gov. Mitch Daniels also needs to be more active and vocal during this session but also willing to negotiate.
Legislatures should also take some time to read a column that appeared on this page April 29 by Andrea Neal. She called on legislatures to strategize by crafting three different budget proposals contingent on possibilities: a best, not-to-bad and worst-case scenario budget. It’s not too late to follow such simple yet sophisticated advice.
In the meantime, now is also the time for you to write your representative and Gov. Daniels. Everything is on the table again, and it’s impossible to say what will happen. One area we are still concerned about is public school funding. At one point, the budget called for an average 2 percent increase in K-12 public school funding, but it’s hard to say what will happen now.
We in Wells County value our schools and are feeling the impact of teacher cuts at all three districts. It’s our responsibility to let the folks in Indianapolis know how we feel.
Unfortunately, the legislative session also failed to usher in some much-needed change.
• Several bills to reform local government never saw the light of day.
• An effort to ban smoking across Indiana in enclosed public places failed.
• The House failed to advance a bill that would have fined public officials who knowingly violate the state’s public access laws.
But, we like to try to find the good in all situations, and there were some positive outcomes. Legislation on teen drivers and cell phones that we endorsed multiple times in this space passed. Senate Bill l6, authored by Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, now goes to Gov. Daniels to sign. The bill bans drivers younger than 18 from talking on cell phones or texting while driving, among other requirements.
Indiana now joins 17 states that have cell phone restrictions for teenage drivers, and there is no doubt here that the legislation will save lives.
There is a lot of work to be done in the next two months as lawmakers work to pass a state budget. Write, call or e-mail your representative and Gov. Daniels.
Be heard. Be involved. This budget will affect you, your children and posterity.
--JUSTIN PEEPER
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