In a change of pace, Minority Leader Pat Bauer (D-South Bend) took a break from his walkout to address House Republicans on the House Floor last week. Unfortunately, he was there only to deliver a message on behalf of the Democrats, still caucusing behind closed doors. Rep. Bauer addressed the proposed amendments to the Right to Work (RTW) legislation, and reinforced the Democrats refusal to attend session without a vote on these amendments.
Following Rep. Bauer’s speech on the floor, House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) publicly stated, like he had before, that he would allow a vote on the amendments to RTW, specifically the amendment concerning a referendum vote. Furthermore, Speaker Bosma requested that any member in the Republican majority that plans to question the constitutionality of such legislation to stand up and identify themselves. Not one person stood up to question the constitutionality.
The majority is inviting the House Democrats to discuss, debate, and vote on the proposed amendments, and Rep. Bauer did not expect such a response. He looked a little confused standing before us when everyone remained seated. Nonetheless, I hope that he takes Speaker Bosma up on his offer because despite the inaction on the House Floor, we have been busy in committees and need a quorum of 67 out of 100 members present to proceed with state business.
On Friday alone, I attended House Committees on Insurance, Judiciary and Employment, Labor and Pensions. During the House Committee on Employment, Labor and Pensions, I spoke on behalf of proposed real estate brokerage licensing legislation, House Bill (HB) 1102, that would extend broker licenses to reduce administrative workload. This bill passed out of the committee with a 9-0 vote and awaits a second reading on the House Floor.
Furthermore, legislation that I authored to help local communities identify abandoned residential properties in order to speed up the foreclosure process passed out of the House Financial Institutions Committee with a 9-0 vote last week. With HB 1238, foreclosure and abandonment action may occur simultaneously to eliminate some difficulties communities are currently experiencing during this process.
Both pieces of legislation join HB 1123 concerning 13th checks to public employees and HB 1239 concerning consumer credit, which are awaiting second readings on the House Floor.
My busy day of committees was broken up by a luncheon with the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce. In addition to updating them on my own legislation, I was happy to discuss other bills on the forefront of this session and where we are in the legislative process with each one.
The widely discussed statewide smoking ban, HB 1149, which proposes to prohibit smoking in public places and enclosed areas of employment, has passed out of the House Committee on Public Health. Again, all legislation currently awaiting a second reading on the House Floor has been delayed due to the House Democrats’ walkout.
We had a very healthy discussion on all of these bills, but the Chamber also had a lot of questions concerning the RTW legislation. HB 1001, the catalyst for the minority walkout, has passed out of the House Committee on Labor, Employment and Pensions and is waiting a floor debate.
I look forward to proceeding with all of this legislation in the coming weeks. As always, I will keep you posted on all the happenings, so stay tuned.
