Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apts
Classifieds
Shop
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana House passed a watered-down statewide smoking ban Tuesday by 73-26 vote.
“This is not even close to a comprehensive ban anymore,” said Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington. “But the least we can do is help this bill limp its way across the hall and see what the Senate might do.”
House Bill 1131 initially exempted only casinos, but legislators have since added numerous other exemptions.
They include bars and taverns catering only to Hoosiers 21 and older; tobacco-related businesses; private clubs and fraternal organizations; and small businesses in which all employees are family members and there are no areas of the business open to the public.
It still covers all restaurants and would add Indiana to a growing list of states with smoking bans for most public places.
The issue pits the health of consumers and employees affected by secondhand smoke against the individual rights of businesses to cater to adults using a legal product.
Rep. Matt Bell, R-Avilla, said the evidence on secondhand smoke isn’t as compelling as many think. And he said some businesses could lose customers.
“We can’t afford another job loss in Noble County,” he said.
Bell voted against the bill along with several other area lawmakers, including Rep. Randy Borror, R-Fort Wayne; Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale; Rep. Travis Lehman, R-Berne; and Rep. David Wolkins, R-Winona Lake. Other area representatives supported the measure.
Hoosier kids would start school after Labor Day under a bill the Indiana Senate approved 31-19 Tuesday.
But the future of Senate Bill 150, which now heads to the House, is tenuous.
Rep. Greg Porter, R-Indianapolis, chairman of the House Education Committee, said he will review the bill before deciding whether to give it a hearing.
But he added that he believes the issue can be handled locally.
Parents of children in both public and private school have pushed for the change because many school calendars are starting in mid-August.
Restaurants and other tourism-related businesses also support the legislation because students with jobs have to stop working before the summer is up and families are cutting vacations short.
“We want to see our children experience all the joys of summertime,” said Sen. Marlin Stutzman, R-Howe. “This is about the start time – not the instructional time in the classroom.”
But Sen. Gary Dillon, R-Columbia City, said he thinks the bill is about where local control starts and state control ends. If parents don’t like the calendar, he said, they have the right to vote against school board members every two years.
“We’re stepping into a situation that can be handled at the local level,” he said. “We shouldn’t be interfering.”
Area senators voting for the legislation include Stutzman, Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne and Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn. Those voting against included Sen. David Long, R-Fort Wayne, Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, and Dillon.
The Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an ethics legislation that includes limiting how quickly legislators can become lobbyists after leaving the General Assembly.
“Public trust is a part of public service,” said Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, who also labeled the bill the most comprehensive ethics changes in years. “This is a giant step forward.”
The legislation has a number of provisions, including:
•Requiring a legislator to wait a year after leaving the legislature before becoming a lobbyist.
•Reducing the level at which lobbyists must report daily gifts and expenditures to $50.
•Requiring universities that lobby the legislature to report their expenditures.
The package now moves to the House, which already passed its own ethics package.
Hoosiers would be able to buy alcohol during voting hours on Election Day but also would be asked for identification more often, under two bills passed by the Senate on Tuesday.
Senate Bill 118 passed 30-20 and would allow retailers to sell alcohol during voting hours on Election Day.
Supporters have noted that there are more elections than in the past, including special referendums, and there is often confusion about when bars and restaurants have to be closed.
Voters also now can cast their ballots the month before an election.
Senate Bill 119 passed 32-18 and would move the Sunday night closing time to 3 a.m. Monday – consistent with other nights of the week.
Currently, they are required to close at 12:30 a.m. Mondays. But supporters of the bill said this limits their ability to cater to customers interested in Sunday night football.
The legislation also contains a provision regarding mandatory carding. It would require clerks selling carry-out alcohol to ask for identification from every person who looks younger than 50.
The bills now move the House, where similar concepts died in a House bill.
The Indiana Senate voted 33-17 to approve a vastly changed reading initiative.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett and Gov. Mitch Daniels sought Senate Bill 258.
It originally would have prohibited schools from promoting a child to fourth grade if the student couldn’t meet certain reading standards, a practice known as social promotion.
But it also included specific reading initiatives schools must follow for retained students, including diagnostic tests and 90 minutes of uninterrupted scientifically based reading instruction every day.
Those provisions resulted in a fiscal effect statement that said it could cost schools up to $50 million a year.
So the bill was changed in committee to require Bennett and the State Board of Education to develop a comprehensive reading plan for schools to implement, including possible retention of kids.
The board is allowed under the bill to implement parts of the plan without a fiscal statement after a public hearing and vote.
But if the plan costs money, they are supposed to wait until the legislature comes back in 2011 to draft a new state budget, which provides all operating money for schools.
All area senators voted for the bill except Sen. Gary Dillon, R-Columbia City.
The Senate narrowly approved a bill that would give local government the tool to overhaul their structure and election process.
Senate Bill 241 passed 28-22 and now heads to the House.
One of its most significant provisions allows county commissioners around the state to move to a single-county executive system with a unanimous vote.
The bill also opens the option of moving to vote centers for all counties. Most counties now use a precinct system, but several pilot counties have found that setting up a small number of vote centers and allowing voters to cast ballots wherever they choose has saved money.
The House voted 71-26 Tuesday to toughen Indiana’s animal-fighting laws.
House Bill 1258 would make it a felony for someone to attend a dogfight or other animal-fighting contest, which is punishable by up to three years in prison.
It is only a misdemeanor in Indiana while it is a felony in 27 other states.
Supporters contend that dog fights only exist if they are spectators to attend and bet.
The Indiana Senate voted 33-17 to ease some requirements on casinos and give them tools to become more competitive.
Senate Bill 405 now heads to the House for discussion.
The bill is most notable for what it does not contain – the ability for existing riverboat casinos to move to land-based facilities and provisions allowing a referendum on gaming in Fort Wayne.
A few small provisions the bill has include removing navigation requirements from law that the boats have, allowing Internet wagering on horse races in Indiana and permitting casinos to have special poker tournaments in banquet rooms off the casino floor.
Area senators split on the bill. Those voting in support were Sen. David Long, R-Fort Wayne, and Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne. Those voting against were Sen. Gary Dillon, R-Columbia City; Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn; Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle; and Sen. Marlin Stutzman, R-Howe.
The House overwhelmingly voted to return discretion to Indiana’s juvenile judges on out-of-state placements for children as long as the cost is not more than an Indiana facility.
House Bill 1167 now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Currently about 85 children have been placed out-of-state – mostly children found to be delinquents.
But Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration has resisted those placements since the state took over the costs from property taxes.
Legislators, administration members and judges had reached a compromise regarding these placements that involved an expedited appeal to the Court of Appeals if the Department of Child Services disagreed with a juvenile judge’s decision.
But after losing several appeals, the Department of Child Services sought a legislative remedy during last year’s contentious special budget session.
The provision that was added into the budget at the last minute said the state won’t pay for the services if the placement is not recommended or approved by Department of Child Services Director Jim Payne, ultimately throwing out the appeals process agreement that had been reached.
Two local legislators voted against House Bill 1167 – Rep. Matt Bell, R-Avilla, and Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale.
