Guest Column

The 2012 legislative session was scheduled to get underway last Wednesday, but as I’m sure you’ve heard, the Democrats failed to show. For the record, 16 out of the past 20 years, the Democrats have held the control of the House. The Republican minority never shut down the democratic process in such the way that we have seen in the past couple years.

Issues are oftentimes controversial and, to respect the process, both parties need to be present to discuss, debate and vote on them. When we were in the minority, we did not always agree with an issue, but we showed up to vote “no.”

The Democrats’ absence, for the almost two weeks we have been in session is frustrating to us, as elected representatives, because we are not able to give a voice to our constituents without full participation. Minority Leader Pat Bauer (D-South Bend) needs to recognize that he is no longer Speaker of the House and, accordingly, he is not calling the shots. I hope that he realizes the need for cooperation and respect in order to conduct a successful session.

Most importantly, we need the House Democrats to recognize that to be a part of the discussion, they need to show up. It is senseless to shut down the legislative session and democratic process over one piece of legislation.

Right to Work (RTW) is the cause for the walkout. House Bill (HB) 1001 would allow every individual employee the freedom to choose whether or not to join a union.  An employer cannot force it as a condition of employment, regardless of the employer or profession.

RTW is an important issue,whether you are for or against it,but it is not the only bill being hindered with these political games. With the delay of session, legislation concerning public mass transit, a statewide smoking ban and the military family relief fund were also put on hold until business resumed Wednesday.

The mass transit legislation, HB 1073, would allow a city or county council to adopt an ordinance to provide revenue for public transportation. Marion County and its surrounding counties have been fighting for mass transit for some time now. The biggest concern is funding; this bill hopes to address that concern.

Much like mass transit, a statewide smoking ban has been an issue that has been very widely discussed. HB 1149 would prohibit smoking in certain public buildings and areas, with some exceptions. These bills, along with the military family relief fund legislation, HB 1059, are finally making their way through committees.

These are all extremely important issues that are on the forefront this session. I look forward to the opportunity for discussion, debate and voting on these bills.

Furthermore, I am proposing my own legislation, which includes allowing drivers to sign their vehicle registration certificate to avoid additional penalty (HB 1338), providing a 13^th check to retired public employees (HB 1123) and allowing Johnson County an additional Superior Court judge (HB 1092).

Most notably, I authored a bill to help local communities identify abandoned residential properties in order to speed up the foreclosure process. With HB 1238, foreclosure and abandonment action may occur simultaneously to eliminate some of the difficult hoops communities have to normally go through during this process.

The last time I wrote you, I was asking for more teachers to contact me so that I could get their input on education concerns. I am happy to say, I got my wish. Last week, I met with teachers at Greenwood High School and Creekside Elementary School. The conversation was nothing short of great.

I was given insightful input from teachers’ concerns and we were able to address possible solutions to those concerns. I was even pleased that we were able to discuss charter schools and vouchers—two issues that have not been well accepted by the teaching community. Even though several teachers did not agree with my stance on the issues, they were receptive to listening to the benefits of each. They were willing to keep an open mind and be objective, which I appreciated.

Again, I was joined by superintendents and union representatives—both groups, like the teachers, provided valuable input to various educational concerns. More importantly, I was pleased they gave teachers the opportunity to speak for themselves. Not that I don’t value their opinion, but teachers are on the front line in the classroom. They are the ones responsible for educating our youth. Their input is vital.

At Creekside, I was fortunate to serve as “Principal of the Day,” and what a great experience it was. My day started at 7 a.m. with directing the school buses, which was extremely well organized and the school has it down to an exact science. Then, I was able to visit several different classrooms, to meet with teachers and students.

While visiting, I noticed several classrooms included special needs students. To see teachers so committed to giving each of their students a valuable education, no matter their challenges, was impressive and uplifting to me. These teachers were attentive and meticulous in working with each student.

Overall, my experiences and discussions over the last few weeks have been beneficial to me as a state legislator. I have every intention of continuing these discussions through town halls, school visits or if constituents want to contact me personally. I am always willing to listen.

In the end, I am pleased that so many teachers have been so forthcoming in talking to me about their concerns and their input on those concerns. I take what I learn and I put that information toward legislation and/or discussions at the Statehouse. So, thank you for being a part of the process.

As I step outside, I quickly forget that our Indiana summer has long passed and in fact, I should be getting prepared for a rapidly approaching winter. It is barely November and I am starting to see holiday commercials and stores preparing for the frenzy that is the shopping season. Time flies by too quickly.

Nonetheless, we must prepare for what we know will be coming up next,  the cold weather, the holidays or the 2012 legislative session. As you know, I have always taken an active role in hearing from constituents to better understand your concerns in order to serve you to the best of my ability at the Statehouse.

Saying that, I am meeting with members of our community and holding town halls to get an idea of what you think needs to be addressed this legislative session. Which, like the holiday season, is quickly approaching.

I want to personally thank everyone that was able to attend last week’s town hall meetings. I know it is asking a lot when you have to take time out of your schedules to attend. Many thanks for your input and questions. I really appreciate your participation.

Many questions regarding legislation that we previously passed last session were asked. However, most of the conversation surrounded what is expected to be the main focus this session. To no one’s surprise, we discussed education reform, job creation, and more controversial topics, such as Right to Work.

In the current economy, I agree that everyone should be focused on education and jobs because those two topics go hand-in-hand in improving a state’s economy. Although Indiana’s economy is slowly improving, we must focus on the fact we are still improving in general. States surrounding us and most states in the nation can’t say that, but there is still more that we need to do with the unemployment rate hovering around nine percent.

In order to keep up the progress, we need to do all that we can to ensure Indiana continues to stay on the right track in attracting jobs whether it is through employer incentives tax credits or improving the training that workers need in the 21^st century.

Education reform was a big topic last session—one that brought many heated debates.  I expect those debates to continue even if we have legislation concerning the topic or not.   The bottom line is that K-12 education is one topic that brings everyone to the table, whether or not you are directly affected by it.   Whether you are a parent, teacher, taxpayer or employer, all of us need to remain engaged in this critical issue.

As a legislator, I need to know your concerns and your questions, so that I can address them accordingly. On Saturday, I was able to walk away with several reasonable ideas. Overall, we had a great discussion and, even better, had a lot of feedback. I want to again thank the people that were able to attend.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to continue meeting with county officials, educators, parents, small business folks and other various groups in our community to gain feedback and input as to how we can make our community and our state better for all Hoosiers.

If at any time you have concerns or ideas, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Bring your concerns and ideas to the discussion table, and together as a community, we can find solutions. You can call my office at 1-800-382-9841 or email me at H58@in.gov.

The 2011 legislative session was most definitely a memorable one. It was  a productive session because we were able to pass job creation and education reform legislation that will help thousands of Hoosiers. However, there were  activities during the past legislative session, namely the five-week walkout, when the House Democrats left the Statehouse to check into a hotel in Urbana, Ill.

Many times before, the minority party has used a walkout as a tool to protest the actions of the majority party. However, never before had a walkout been used to this extent.   Historically, walkouts have lasted one afternoon and then everyone gets back to work the following day.

Nevertheless, the House Democrats left for 35 consecutive days, the longest in state and national history. Indiana breaks records all the time, but that is a broken record I’d like to forget and never see repeated.

Hoosiers across the state were demanding consequences for the actions of those members who left our state to avoid doing their jobs. Therefore, the Speaker and House Republicans passed a House motion to begin fining members who were not in attendance. As a result, each Democratic House member that was not present for a quorum was fined $250/day, which later grew to $350/day.

Hoosiers across the state elected members to represent their interests in Indianapolis, and walking out was a slap in the face of the Hoosier voter.   Those constituents were left without a voice at the Statehouse and as a result, legislation dealing with vital issues for the state died due to a lack of quorum.

As I said before, the walkout is something I wish to put behind me. However, it is making headlines again. A member of the House Democratic caucus has taken legal action against the State of Indiana, House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis), State Auditor Tim Berry and Principal Clerk Caroline Spotts, saying his legislative wages were “improperly confiscated” as payment of fines.

There was a motion to dismiss the case, which Judge David Dreyer heard late last week and will render a decision on this motion in the next 30 days.

In the end, we took an additional measure before the conclusion of session to prevent a walkout from occurring again. The legislative body passed anti-bolting language that includes $1,000/day civil penalty for legislators who decides to run away from their responsibilities in the future.

I will keep you posted on what Judge Dreyer’s ruling is, which we hopefully get sooner rather than later.

Chain emails can be many things,complimentary, helpful, annoying and somewhere in between. I always try to read them when I can, because sometimes they spur a good conversation.

I received one in particular last week, entitled “Letter by a Florida Teacher.” You may have received it too.

The letter was very convincing, with statements giving the impression that illegal immigrants are obtaining federally-funded PELL grants to pay for post-secondary education and “making less funds available to legal citizens needing assistance.”

Like most people would be, I was outraged after reading this letter. Who wouldn’t be? It wouldn’t be fair for an illegal immigrant to obtain federal grants to pay for college at the expense of taxpayers.

After receiving several calls from community members who had also obtained the letter, I began looking into it and found out there is more to the story.

The primary reason for a PELL grant is to give students, who couldn’t otherwise afford college, the financial aid they need to get a higher education. However, there are grants within the PELL grant program that do offer assistance to legal immigrants who have entered the country by legal means or have legal permanent resident status. None of the grants are available to illegal immigrants.

After speaking with individuals from the federal PELL grant program, they told me they received hundreds of phone calls and emails from individuals concerned that their hard-earned money was being given to illegal immigrants. This is, again, not the case.

But it does bring me to why it was so vital that we addressed illegal immigration issues last session.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 110,000 unauthorized immigrants reside in Indiana as of 2010. For too many years has the federal government failed miserably at one of its most important duties, securing our borders. Now, states such as Indiana, are taking action.

We passed Senate Enrolled Act 590 last session, for example, to provide a common sense approach to ensure bad actors are identified and provide a safe harbor provision for businesses that use the E-verify system. I supported this legislation because it gives Indiana some authority to deal with this issue by prohibiting state and political subdivisions from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

What started out as an Arizona-style immigration bill was transformed into a common sense approach because Indiana, among other states, is in need of streamlining illegal immigration policies. We need to ensure those that want to come into the United States can do so legally.

Even though this particular chain email didn’t end up being the most accurate, it brought an important issue to the discussion table. Please don’t ever hesitate to contact me with concerns such as these or any others. I am here to help in any way I can.