INDIANAPOLIS – House Democrats returned to the floor Wednesday after GOP House Speaker Brian Bosma promised to hold off action on the right-to-work bill until next week.
Democrats boycotted the session Tuesday after Republicans in a morning committee passed the bill in a heated six-minute meeting while refusing to take testimony or amendments.
While Bosma did not admit wrongdoing, he conceded it wasn’t “democracy’s finest hour.”
He also said he would hold debate on amendments to the bill until at least Tuesday. A full vote by the House could come later next week.
Democratic House Speaker Patrick Bauer has also reportedly agreed to limit further walkouts.
Quarterbacks Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears and Rex Grossman of the Washington Redskins are among six NFL players urging Indiana lawmakers to oppose right-to-work legislation.
Cutler, from Santa Claus, and Grossman, from Bloomington, joined Courtney Roby of New Orleans, Pittsburgh’s Trai Essex, St. Louis’ Mark Clayton and San Diego’s Kris Dielman in sending letters to Indiana House members Monday, days after the NFL Players Association came out against the measure.
The bill would ban private contracts that require workers to pay union fees for representation.
Smoking ban
The House Public Health Committee voted 9-3 Wednesday to approve a strong statewide smoking ban. House Bill 1149 now moves to the full House, where it has passed in various forms at least five times.
It prohibits smoking in most public places, including bars and taverns. The only exemptions are for the gaming floor at state-authorized casinos; existing cigar and hookah bars; and fraternal, social or veterans clubs if the membership approves smoking every two years.
Also added to the exemptions Wednesday were retail tobacco shops – if at least 85 percent of their business is tobacco-related and they don’t sell food or drinks.
Three Republicans on the committee opposed the bill. The only local lawmaker on the committee, Rep. Dick Dodge, R-Pleasant Lake, supported the measure.
Rep. David Frizzell, R-Indianapolis, said he understands the scientific and health arguments behind the bill but is bothered by taking away the personal freedom of a business to run its operations. He said several high-profile Indianapolis bars have announced in recent weeks their plans to go smoke-free on their own.
“That’s the way it should be,” he said. “The businesses are making the right decision to go smokeless.”
Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary – one of the bill’s authors – said maintaining personal freedom should take a back seat to reducing the amount of money the state has to spend on tobacco-related illnesses.
“That alone should be driving all of us to this much-needed public policy,” he said.
Carts on roads
The House Roads and Transportation Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would allow counties to authorize golf cart use on their roads.
Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, offered House Bill 1013 to give counties the same ability to regulate golf carts on county roads as municipalities already have.
State law requires the driver to be licensed, but local officials can add additional restrictions.
Lehman’s bill requires sheriff’s approval of a golf cart ordinance, but that provision will likely be downgraded to consulting with the sheriff.
Class basketball
Indiana lawmakers who want to force a return to the state’s old single-class high school basketball tournament say the legislature should have a role in that decision because of the tourney’s cultural importance.
Republican Sen. Mike Delph of Carmel says the four-class tournament used by the Indiana High School Athletic Association since 1998 has “failed miserably.” He says the old tournament – celebrated in the 1986 movie “Hoosiers” – helped unite the state for decades.
Some members of the state Senate’s education committee said Wednesday they were the skeptical of the legislature getting involved.
IHSAA leaders say the current system promotes fairness by giving smaller schools a better chance to advance in their tournaments. The committee isn’t voting on the bill until at least next week.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
