I’m not going to spend too much time here today. I’ve got the day off and plan to spend it getting caught up on some much needed sleep. But as I was on the Interstate yesterday I heard numerous stories about how small towns were cancelling their 4th of July celebrations because they were short on funds.
And in all that time, I did not hear about one community that decided to go into a joint agreement with another community and do a regional fireworks show. It was nothing but whining and complaining instead of looking for viable solutions and alternatives.
And the more I listened, the more I thought that if these guys can’t even figure out how to go in together on fireworks, how will they ever figure out how to survive when property tax caps fully kick in January and they have to make serious calls regarding police, fire and public safety.
You know how the rest of the song goes. So now that the special session is over, we go down the list of the major players and figure who won and who will live to fight another day. So with all that said…
Governor Mitch Daniels
Big Winner! He got the budget he wanted and kept the surplus. He stayed on message and drove the debate. He also walked right up to the brink and the Legislature blinked.
House Speaker Pat Bauer
Talk about fighting a war on two fronts. Between having to fight the Governor on one hand and members of his own caucus, particularly the Black caucus, on the other hand. He did have a major victory on the unemployment insurance fund.
Senate Protempore David Long
Although there was never any question, Republicans would get a budget out of the Senate, I will give the big guy credit for keeping an orderly process the whole time and keeping a civil atmosphere in his chamber.
State Senator Luke Kenley
Once again proved he is one of the smartest people in Indiana.
State Representative Bill Crawford
I think we are looking at the final days of Bill Crawford. Throughout the session he looked tired and somewhat discombobulated. He stood his ground and fought for IPS, but in the end the best he could do was mitigate damages.
Republican Leader Brian Bosma
The groundwork has been laid for 2010. With redistricting and tax caps both at stake in the next election, the House GOP scored a major victory by getting the budget they wanted.
Democratic Leader Vi Simpson
Although Democrats have as about as much power in the State Senate as the former President of Honduras, Simpson gave an impassioned warning about the need to change the school funding formula on the last day of special session. And from my vantage point, that message did not fall on deaf ears.
Greg Ballard
Whereas the Mayor of Indianapolis had some big wins last year, this year was different. Losses on government reform and the CIB, the Mayor really took it on the chin. He had some smaller legislative victories but lost the big ones. I still think there is an opportunity to fix the CIB which I will expand on tomorrow, but it will require the Mayor to do something he hates doing, play politics.
ISTA
Talk about a bad millennium. Between the scandal involving the health insurance fund and cuts in school funding and now the seeds for real choice being planted in Indiana, ISTA may not be around much longer.
School Choice Lobby
They won because ISTA lost.
Labor
By scoring a victory on the unemployment insurance fund, labor in Indiana proved that it can still get things done and show up in force.
Business
The business community almost took it as much on the chin as the Mayor’s office. It suffered losses in both government reform and unemployment insurance. I think the consequences are going to be a lot of cash for House Republicans but not so much for their Senate counterparts.
As lawmakers get ready to vote on a budget today, there’s some question over whether the plan to address to the Capital Improvement Board’s shortfall is actually legal.
Under the plan the city would borrow $27 million from the state over the next three years to cover operating expenses, however that money would be paid back with interest from increases in the car rental and ticket taxes. However, those taxes won’t kick in for three years which puts the CIB back in the same position that it is right now.
At first I was shocked and all I could ask my self is what political baboon would come up with something like this?
And then I remembered; State Senator Mike Young of Indianapolis, the only lawmaker I’ve ever know to make Dennie Oxley, Jr. look good.
Indiana lawmakers continue to work today in order to reach a budget agreement by tomorrow.
Lawmakers have been at odds over school funding, charter schools, and the Capital Improvement Board.
Both Republican and Democratic sources involved in the budget talks tell me progress is being made, however the question is whether they can make enough progress to avoid a government shutdown.
“We’re making progress, but it’s a moving target” said one Democrat involved in the negotiations.
“I’m optimistic, but we still have a lot of ground to cover” noted a Republican involved in the talks.
Governor Mitch Daniels has said if there is no budget he will close down BMV’s, state parks, the lottery and casinos. Also, more than 30,000 state workers will be furloughed.
Although the practical side of my nature says these guys cannot risk a government closure, because the political price may be too much to pay. Here is still a small part of me that wonders what would happen if the whole thing just explodes.
Hopefully, we won’t have to find out. Check back here throughout the course of the day or follow me and my updates on Twitter.
My very reliable sources are telling that as of this morning, there’s a 50/50 chance Indiana lawmakers can avoid a government shutdown next week.
Some Indiana lawmakers are meeting this weekend in order to work out a budget deal.
When asked on a scale of 1 to 10 the likelihood of avoiding a government shutdown, my source close to the negotiation told me “5.”
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels outlined draconian measures that would be taken in the event of a government shutdown, including furloughing more than 30,000 state employees and the closing down of casinos.
Lawmakers are mainly divided over school funding. Republicans are pushing a formula where the money follows the student, while Democrats want to see a distribution in more a district-based manner.
I’ll keep you posted as I get more information. Lawmakers have until midnight Tuesday to pass a budget.
On a side note, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita says his office will stay open on volunteer-skeleton basis for anyone who needs the office’s services.
Conservative Politician A, with Presidential aspirations and who loves to preach family values, gets caught with his hands, or other parts of his anatomy, in somebody’s cookie jar.
When will these people learn?
Whether it’s South Carolina Governor Mark Sandford, John Ensign, John Edwards, Elliot Spitzer, the list goes on, it never changes.
What makes matters worse is a good chunk of these individuals have built their careers on preaching morality and family values, but somehow they managed to miss out on having their own.
Although I am not a big fan of the family values crowd because I think a healthy economic climate is the best thing that can build strong families, they are still entitled to express their opinion and be part of the national debate. But for crying out loud people, get with the program.
And for those of you who want to say all form of hypocrisy are equal, I am inclined to agree with you, but there is just something about sexual hypocrisy that real gets under Americans’ skin that they have a hard time letting slip by; it must be our puritan upbringing.
And I have to say when I heard Sandford say “he spent the last five days of his life crying in Argentina” all I could think of was Eva Peron.
I don’t think anyone will cry for Mark Sandford, no matter how sad he looks.
Will someone please tell me if the Indianapolis Public School system worth shutting down the government of Indiana?
At the end of the day, this is what this budget deadlock is coming down to. Some folks in the legislature want to protect the state’s largest school system; and I would argue to the detriment of everything else.
Now ask yourself these questions.
Is giving IPS more money worth closing down a BMV?
Is giving IPS more money worth not opening a state park?
Is giving IPS more money worth more than foster parents getting assistance to take care of an abused or neglected child?
Is giving IPS more money worth more than giving money to a state college or university?
If you’re having trouble answering these questions, allow me to remind you of a few facts.
IPS is losing on average more than 1,000 students per year, and only 14% of that is to the charter school population.
IPS is laying off teachers, but still found the cash to hire Dr. Eugene White’s son?
IPS is laying off teachers, but spent $800,000 on electronic signs.
Ten IPS schools are ripe for a takeover from the state.
IPS spends an average of $14,000 per year per student. The average charter school spends $8,000.
The IPS class of 04-05 was 4,419 students, but there were only 1240 in the graduating class of 07-08.
So I ask again, is IPS worth shutting down the government of Indiana? You tell me.
And by the way, here are a couple Senate Memos on the government shutdown for your reading pleasure.
I did a quick sprint through the Statehouse yesterday as lawmakers were about to enter into the home strech of the current budget phase. I spoke to several of them both on and off the record. The on the record interviews are below.
Off the record many lawmakers think that this has gone beyond disagreements over policy and it has become personal and who has the bigger pair of “you know what.” I’ll let you listen to the interviews and then you make the call.
I will freely admit to not spending as much time at the Legislature during this special session as I thought I would have. I’ve still managed to keep tabs on everything via watching lawmakers on the Internet, a few phone calls and some text messaging. And surprisingly enough, even though I’m not there, I have come to the conclusion I have not missed a thing.
Republicans want a 2-year budget, Democrats want one year. Republicans want a school funding formula that follows the student, Democrats want money to go to school districts. And don’t even get me started on the CIB.
Regardless, if lawmakers don’t pass a budget by the end of the month, then each one should write the taxpayers a check for how much they’ve been paid for the past six months. The only thing lawmakers have to do when they convene is pass a budget. That’s it. All the other stuff is extra. So if they don’t pass a budget by June 30, they haven’t done their job. And if you or I don;t do our jobs, we don’t get paid. Why should lawmakers be any different?
The average salary in the legislature is about $44,000 in salary, mileage, and other benefits. So if there is no budget by next Tuesday, somebody needs to write the taxpayers a check for six months worth of work that didn’t get done.
