Will Two Hot Button Issues Get To The Senate Floor?   

Will Two Hot Button Issues Get To The Senate Floor?

This week the Senate Committee on Ethics passed out an amendment to the Ethics guidelines that should give interns working with legislators more protection from inappropriate behavior by sitting legislators.

The amendment according to the Statehouse File report says “sexual relations between an intern and a senator, including relationships between consenting adults, constitutes unethical behavior and would be subject to an investigation by the ethics committee”.

The amendment should go to the Senate floor this week, if Senate President ProTem Rodric Bray schedules it. Great progress! The amendment is a “may” investigate provision, so it will depend on leadership, in my opinion, if a complaint is actually reviewed or investigated.

Senate Bill 12 on hate crimes has been placed in a committee traditionally held for bills the leader wants to kill.  Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville assigned SB 12 to the Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee.

President Pro Tem Bray in the Statehouse File report says he put SB12 in Rules so his caucus could talk about it, which means  behind closed doors – no input from the public, no input from the opposing political party.

Considering the present national environment of “crisis” politics, this being an election year and given Indiana has gerrymandered districts that should give leadership what they want, why? Is Bray thinking about bringing out the bill nearer election time to incite the anti-sexual orientation base to the polls?

Or is he sincerely concerned that this bill should be processed and he doesn’t quite have the votes to get it out of a committee? We will see.

It is the beginning of the 2019 Session. Lots on the table.