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Lobbyists with dreams of pushing gambling bills or other non-budget-related items during Indiana’s special session won’t get far and probably should wait for 2010.
The legislators representing northeast Indiana who gathered in Fort Wayne last week to discuss the new law that created a local capital improvement board said the discussion during the summer session is unlikely to stray from the budget.
Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said he is working to ensure that other issues don’t pollute what is hoped to be a short special session. He said it will be up to the governor to decide whether legislators need to discuss a bailout of Indianapolis’ sports venues.
But gambling should not come back after “hijacking” the end of the regular session, Long said.
Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, also didn’t believe there would be much time to discuss other issues.
“It depends on how the budget process goes,” he said, “and I don’t think it’s going to go very well.”
GiaQuinta said there are tough choices to make regarding the budget, and other issues can likely wait until January when the legislature returns. A special session costs an estimated $75,000 a week. Legislators expect to be called back June 15.
A sunny day and a short agenda helped the Fort Wayne City Council conduct one of its shortest meetings in years: a mere 20 minutes.
Yet that respite might have consequences.
First, a fifth Tuesday meeting at the end of June might be axed. Council President Tom Smith, R-1st, asked about meeting to discuss the city budget, but not a single member present expressed interest.
There might have been some ill feelings from council members about meeting at all last week with so little business on the agenda, making them less likely to support meeting on a day they are typically free.
Second, the council delayed discussing the proposed sewer-rate hike until this week, even though it was introduced in time for the council to at least hear the presentation.
This means Tuesday’s council meeting could last several hours, with a public hearing on the rates also scheduled and a discussion on bridge financing possible.
At least it was nice for one day.
State Treasurer Richard Mourdock last week gave a less-than-upbeat speech to the Fort Wayne Rotary Club. He spent much of his time talking about the uncertainty of the future and improper government assistance to failing companies.
But the treasurer did share a few lighter tidbits, including that he recently passed his motorcycle driving test. But the most interesting nugget was his connection to the movie “A League of Their Own.”
The Rotarians were discussing the history of Fort Wayne’s women’s baseball team, prompting Mourdock to relay his own connection to the movie.
Because the movie was filmed in Evansville, where Mourdock was a commissioner in Vanderburgh County, he said actor Tom Hanks temporarily lived just up the street from him.
But an even closer connection involved Mourdock’s wife, Marilyn, who appeared in the movie during the final baseball game as one of the fans behind home plate.
The Allen County commissioners weren’t sure they heard right.
Joseph Steensma, board of health president, told the commissioners Friday that the New Haven Avenue credit union building was the right location for combining the health department’s clinics. He called the move “extremely exciting.”
Commissioner Bill Brown pushed the point further, asking whether Steensma would call the building – originally bought to house the sheriff’s department – an ideal site.
When Steensma said yes, Brown said the credit union was a good purchase.
“We got something right?” asked Commissioner Nelson Peters, laughing.
Amanda Iacone of The Journal Gazette contributed to this column.
