INDIANAPOLIS | A statewide smoking ban, local government consolidation and funding to bring a trauma care hospital to the region are among the ideas Northwest Indiana lawmakers hope to revive in the final weeks of the legislative session.
They're not alone.
A radio ad campaign launched by supporters of Gov. Mitch Daniels and prerecorded phone calls by the second-term Republican are part of a last-ditch effort to force an Indiana House vote this year on constitutional property tax caps.
"They're desperate," said House Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend. "Can you imagine somebody getting a phone call on some (tax) cap that could be done next year, and he doesn't have a job?"
Bauer's comments jab at the hands-off approach the governor has taken toward fixing the state's bankrupt unemployment fund, one of the top issues lawmakers face as the General Assembly approaches its April 29 adjournment.
Aiming Higher, a long-dormant advocacy group run by Daniels allies, launched the radio ads last week with help from a $25,000 donation from NIPSCO.
Meanwhile, region legislators are relegated to parliamentary maneuvering to revive their stalled initiatives.
Senate fiscal leaders, who say court fees already are at a tipping point, did not consider House-passed legislation to subsidize trauma care hospitals by adding an $18 fee to more than two dozen traffic violations. So Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, added the financing plan to a Senate proposal, likely ensuring the idea at least is in the mix until adjournment.
Brown said he hopes to employ the same tactic this week to "breathe life" into his proposed ban on smoking in most public places, which was severely weakened in the House and ignored in the Senate. Amending a Senate bill might reignite debate.
"It's never over 'til it's over," Brown said.
Senate leaders deemed too expensive an up to $5,000 state income tax deduction for solar-powered roof fans and vents proposed by Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh, D-Crown Point. But a compromise credit of up to $1,000 per taxpayer is included in legislation likely headed to a House-Senate conference committee.
"I'm very happy with that," she said. "I'm confident that it will pass conference committee."
Rep. Dan Stevenson has his eye on the much more dicey prospect of reviving proposals aimed at streamlining local government. Stevenson so far hasn't convinced House leadership to consider his bid to eliminate township government and shift its duties to the county level.
