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Sunday, May 14, 2006

Ind. Gov't. - "Listen to the freshman"

"Listen to the freshman: Shape up legislature, or the voters will" is the headline to an editorial today in the Indianapolis Star. Some quotes:

Robert Garton, knocked off after 36 years in the state Senate. Larry Borst, ousted after 36 years in the Senate. Mary Kay Budak, evicted after 26 years in the Indiana House.

All lost to relative unknowns in GOP primaries in the past two years. It's clear, in particular with Garton's defeat this month, that voters are sending a loud message to lawmakers: Change is good. Reform is essential. Entrenched legislators who won't listen to the public's concerns can expect defeat.

In contrast to the lifers who haunt the Statehouse, Mike Delph has served in the Senate all of six months, elected to the post in December by precinct committee members after Murray Clark resigned to help guide the state Republican Party.

Yet, Delph, in a My View published today on the page opposite this editorial, is proposing a series of reforms that would dramatically alter how the Senate operates.

A few of the measures have appeal only to hard-line conservatives, a growing wing of the GOP caucus. * * * The strength of Delph's plan, however, lies in several other proposals that should have bipartisan appeal.

The most intriguing is a call to place term limits on committee chairmen and the Senate president pro tempore. * * *

A second measure centers on the outrageously generous lifetime health insurance benefit that senators have provided for themselves. Delph argues that it should be eliminated immediately.

Garton, who with former House Speaker John Gregg put the benefit in place, fiercely defended the perk, a stance that likely cost him the primary vote.

The next Senate leader, as one of his first actions in the post, should wipe out the perk, a step already taken by House Speaker Brian Bosma.

Actually, what Mike Delph writes re the health care plan is much stronger:
The public loses trust when they perceive we feather our own nests in our positions. We should start by admitting that lifetime health benefits for ourselves and loved ones is a bad idea and should be immediately repealed.
Rep. Bosma only halted the operation of the plan in the House while he was Speaker, and only for members retiring in the future. To do more, the law authorizing the plan would have to be repealed. And that is what Senator Delph is proposing.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 14, 2006 09:06 AM
Posted to Indiana Government | Indiana Law | Legislative Benefits