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Monday, January 16, 2006
Ind. Courts - Rep. Peggy Welch faces dilemma over her husband's authority as juvenile judge
The Bloomington Herald-Times (paid subscription only, which means we don't often report on Bloomington stories) reports today that Indiana state Rep. Peggy Welsh, Bloomington, "must vote on bill that will affect her husband's authority as juvenile judge." A few quotes:
The major fiscal bill of the 2006 session, House Bill 1001, has a provision that would limit juvenile judges' discretion to send troubled kids to institutions. Instead, the county's Office of Child Services would decide that.Welch and other juvenile judges would be allowed to deviate from that decision - but would have to issue a public finding of their reasoning that includes an estimate of any added costs the office would incur.
And while the bill would cap child care costs for counties at this year's level for the future, with the state picking up the increases, the county would have to cover the added cost if the judge overrode the office.
All of which puts Rep. Welch in a tough situation, because the proposal is just one part of a huge bill with lots of financial implications for local governments, some good. She might favor most of them and want to vote for it - but in so doing vote to reduce her own husband's judicial authority.
Hence the jam, which she discussed at the Statehouse. * * *
Welch's situation raises the prickly issues of disclosure and appearance of impropriety. Do House rules require her to disclose a conflict of interest or abstain from a vote on something that affects her so closely?
No, she said. But "I try to be cognizant" of the look of such situations, she said.
For example, she said, when the judicial pay raise bill came up for a vote at the end of the 2005 session, House Speaker Brian Bosma officially excused her from voting at her request because a pay raise for her husband so directly affected her own financial situation. * * *
Judge Welch said Friday the state's "big picture" goal is to spread limited child welfare resources more equally across the state and its smaller counties by controlling costs.
But he said, "it may not be in the best interests of the child" if judges are limited in what they can do with juvenile placements. "It can easily have unintended consequences," he said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 16, 2006 09:24 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts | Indiana Government | Indiana Law