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Ed Feigenbaum

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Senate doesn’t hesitate to check House, governor

Why do we have a bicameral legislature, with four-year terms for senators and two-year terms for House members? Because, as George Washington reputedly told Thomas Jefferson, the framers created the Senate to “cool” House legislation, just as a saucer was used to cool hot tea. We’ve just seen evidence of this, and also of another important phenomenon, one that reminds us of just how separate our branches of government truly are. We recently mentioned how the “adults” in the Senate…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Slow-moving lawmakers have an economic upside

Is the wall finally crumbling? After years-or decades-of assiduously avoiding certain issues because they were so fraught with controversy, lawmakers now seem to be tackling them … and, at least in some cases, are finding their actions are met with a collective public yawn. Last year, spurred by Gov. Mitch Daniels, legislators confronted the controversial matter of daylight saving time, long considered the last “third-rail” issue of Hoosier politics and policy. The issue had not even been debated in recent…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Broad support but long odds for property tax reform

The rubber is starting to meet the road in the Indiana General Assembly as the calendar turns past the midway point, and House bills move to the Senate (and vice versa, although that half of the equation is decidedly less intriguing). Some senators are not happy with the House’s sending them at least one key measure, House Bill 1001, that is less a work in progress than a utopian statement of sorts about future tax policy. While lawmakers last year…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Major Moves displays short-session political mastery

A combination of arm-twisting, dealmaking and the sheer brute force of the Office of the Governor came together the last week of January in a way Hoosiers seldom see. All the pressure was enough to keep Republican House members in line at just the right time in the legislative process to keep the governor’s Major Moves transportation plan moving. There was a lot of deep exhaling at week’s end, some from those in the Governor’s Office doing the heavy lifting…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Lawmakers will get serious when the dancing ends

Indianapolis may still be waiting for its first significant snowfall of 2006, but the legislative session zips along at breakneck speed. Jan. 23-27 marks the final week in which committees may consider legislation in their respective chambers of origin. We’ve warned you this session would consider matters of substance despite its short fuse-lawmakers will adjourn no later than March 14. So how do things shape up so far? If someone from another planet were to peer in underneath the Statehouse…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Lawmakers will get serious when the dancing ends

Indianapolis may still be waiting for its first significant snowfall of 2006, but the legislative session zips along at breakneck speed. Jan. 23-27 marks the final week in which committees may consider legislation in their respective chambers of origin. We’ve warned you this session would consider matters of substance despite its short fuse-lawmakers will adjourn no later than March 14. So how do things shape up so far? If someone from another planet were to peer in underneath the Statehouse…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Daniels may not wield as much influence this session

We’ve only made it through the first few days of activity, but already we can get a feel for what this session of the Indiana General Assembly will focus on. Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels made it clear in his Jan. 11 State of the State Address that he believes lawmakers should devote the bulk of their attention to a legislative agenda revolving around highway construction, education, and local government reform and flexibility. House Republicans last week unveiled a broad series…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Passing ‘Major Moves’ initiative will mean major work

While most Hoosiers are focused on just how legislators are going to be able to cut residential property taxes again this year, the real battle to watch will be the one over what Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels refers to as the jobs program of a generation or more-his “Major Moves” roads initiative. What he wants boils down to this: finding a funding source for road building and repair that will not rely upon taxes. He made it clear shortly after…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Short legislative session may be eventful, for a change

We’ve all become lulled into assuming that the so-called “short” session of the Indiana General Assembly in the even-numbered years is the political equivalent of the practice of medicine: First, do no harm. In election years, lawmakers are reluctant to do much beyond that which they must do to protect public health, safety and treasury. The short session originated as a vehicle for handling emergencies arising between the odd-numbered-year budget sessions, and many legislators-particularly those seeking re-election-didn’t see much cause…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: With session behind him, Daniels readying for next one

At the beginning of the session, Gov. Mitch Daniels told Hoosiers to fasten their seat belts. We told you to expect the session to follow Mario Andretti’s philosophy: “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” The session began like a heat at the U.S. Nationals drag races in Clermont-quickly out of the blocks. Things seemed to bog down midway, reminding us of the Brickyard 400. The finish held form, however, with the governor downing the legislative…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Budget process smoother, but effect uncertain

As legislative veterans well know, there is nothing like a deadline to force action. The April 29 date for final adjournment of the Indiana General Assembly’s 2005 session did just that-helped along by new House rules requiring a proposed budget to be available to lawmakers at least 24 hours before a final vote. After some four months of sorting through philosophical issues, fiscal issues, political issues and sometimes even personal issues, lawmakers finally reached agreement on a biennial budget. At…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: General Assembly’s shooting the three! Boom Baby!

Typically, when lawmakers are this near to reaching agreement on a state budget, it’s some time in early or mid-May, and we’re trying to pepper this column with analogies to the Indianapolis 500. However, we started the year with a race analogy-the one about Mario Andretti suggesting that if you felt like you were under control you weren’t going fast enough-and since the Indiana Pacers seemed destined for a brief playoff run this year, we probably ought to stick to…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Statehouse battles brew as session winds down

An awful lot of things need to fall into place between now and April 29 for lawmakers to exit Indianapolis with their heads held high over their ability to get things done this session. Some may quibble (and others flat-out argue) about whether the legislative agenda this session has been active-positive or active-negative. However, there is no question that, to this point at least, lawmakers-mirroring the new governor-have been proactive. It’s a stark contrast to the passive stance of the…

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New rules, players mean different conference session STATEHOUSE DISPATCH:

This is about the time each year when I write about the advent of the conference committee process, the black hole that not even the Stephen Hawkings of the legislative process can fathom. Just when you have figured out the session dynamics-leadership, partisan mischief, interconnections between issues and bills, and the relationships among key lawmakers-conference committees begin and all your presumed understanding flies out the window. Regardless of all the pablum you may hear about rules, what issues may be…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Kenley’s funding plan has momentum despite critics

Remember when Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels felt “car-bombed” by House Democrats when they refused to provide a quorum for votes on 132 bills? Then Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee Chairman Luke Kenley, RNoblesville, must have felt last week that his plan to help finance a new stadium for the Indianapolis Colts and an expansion for the Indiana Convention Center was hit by rocket-propelled grenades. Kenley proposed to finance the two projects through a combination of private, state and local…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Lawmakers struggle amid chaos, but order will come

If you’re having a tough time following the twists and turns of the political soap opera that is the 2005 Indiana General Assembly, you are not alone. Legislators find themselves so perpetually distracted by all sorts of peripheral issues and actions that Eli Lilly and Co. might want to consider a new market for its adult ADD medication. What do we mean by this legislative attention deficit disorder? Think back to December, when the first order of business seemed to…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Lawmakers likely to resurrect best bills in second half

The second half of the General Assembly’s “long” session is now upon us, even though it doesn’t quite feel like it had closure to the first half. Unless you were in Florida or Arizona watching baseball’s spring training games, you are well aware of the House Democrats’ tactics that resulted in a lack of quorum on the final days for passage bills from their chamber of origin. The lack of a quorum meant more than 130 bills died ignominiously on…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: At half-time in the Statehouse, it’s politics 1, people 0

This column is typically devoted to the intersection of politics, government and business (with an occasional tortured sports analogy tossed in). We don’t usually address the higher order of the universe, but after last week, we find that we must delve into the field of metaphysics to provide you with some perspective on legislative events. March 1 marked the halfway point in the 2005 session of the Indiana General Assembly. But with more than 130 bills dying for lack of…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Daniels seeks to keep bills going

The first week of March marks the General Assembly’s deadlines for passage of legislation in its chamber of origination. Senate bills must clear the Senate by March 1 and House bills must be approved by the House of Representatives by March 4 to maintain the chance to become law. Those deadlines meant the end of February was hectic. Activity reached a frenzied level as lawmakers worked both publicly and behind the scenes to make sure their favored pieces of legislation…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Legislative action heats up, but end-game still elusive

Last week was busy for members of the Indiana General Assembly. A budget was moved to the House floor, the daylightsaving time initiative was fully debated for the first time in years, slots for the state’s two pari-mutuel horse-racing tracks received a committee vote, the Indianapolis Colts stadium issue was at the forefront of hallway debate, the Indianapolis Works program was the subject of some debate, and some controversial charter school issues received an airing. But while there was a…

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