State Rep. Vernon G. Smith: Indiana Dems Moderate Radical Right HB

State Rep. Vernon G. Smith

DEMOCRATS ACHIEVED GOAL OF MODERATING RADICAL REPUBLICAN BILLS

INDIANAPOLIS —— State Rep. Vernon G. Smith (D-Gary) said Indiana House Democrats returned to the Statehouse after gaining concessions on several Republican bills now before the Indiana House of Representatives.

Smith said the protest by Democrats did not cost taxpayers any money as House Republicans claimed. He said the business before the Indiana House and Senate should be completed by the end of April, so no special session is necessary. In addition, House Democrats gave up their daily stipend, while their Republican colleagues collected theirs. The Democrats also were fined $350 per day by the Republican majority for denying a quorum in the House.

“When I calculated what our protest cost me in fines, loss of daily stipend and other expenditures, the figure was more than $8,000,” said Smith. “It has been a significant drain of personal finances, yet it was worth the cost. If we had not left the state to prevent a quorum, these extreme, Republican bills would have decimated our public education system and severely damaged the earning power of working-class families in Indiana.

“The Republicans were pushing these bills through the process as quickly as possible, which prevented proper, public review of these devastating measures,” explained Smith. “The stop-action allowed a timeout for millions of Hoosiers, so they could learn more about what was happening in Indianapolis. Our protest was absolutely necessary.

“With the solid support and thunderous voice of a vast number teachers, in addition to thousands of working families, many from Northwest Indiana, we were able to force the House Republicans to compromise on several of the bills,” added Smith. “The compromises are not perfect, but those particular bills are much better than they were. I appreciate Speaker Bosma’s willingness to negotiate with us and help find solutions to our most serious concerns.”

Smith said the compromises included several areas of contention:

• the so-called “right-to-work” legislation is off the table, preserving collective bargaining rights and preventing Hoosier wages from being drastically reduced;


• the permanent ban on public employee bargaining is off the table in the House;


• collective bargaining rights for teachers is protected;


• enabling legislation for the private takeover of public schools is off the table in the House;


• private school vouchers will be limited to 7,500 students in the first year and 15,000 in the second year, rather than creating the largest voucher program in the country, which would have shifted $1 billion in state tax money from public schools to private schools;


• instead of an outright ban of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs), as originally proposed by Republicans, PLAs will still be able to be included with projects passed by public referendum; and


• the threshold for applying the common construction wage to projects would be $250,000 for 2012 and $350,000 for 2013, instead of the GOP’s original $1 million threshold, which would have had a significant, negative impact on Hoosier workers.

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