By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Between them, Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero, and Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, have managed to shine a light on what happens behind closed doors in caucus at the Indiana General Assembly.

The lawmakers likely will not welcome the glare.

John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com

Delph made himself an outcast among his fellow Republicans by throwing a prolonged tantrum over the outcome of House Joint Resolution 3, the proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions. When the Indiana Senate Republican caucus refused to reinstate the civil union ban the Indiana House had stripped out, Delph took to Twitter for 72 hours and held a largely incoherent press conference to express his outrage.

The undignified and churlish nature of his outburst overshadowed Delph’s one legitimate point – that an issue that had claimed an immense amount of public time, energy and attention was being decided not in open debate, but behind closed caucus doors, away from the eyes and ears of the voters.

Delph could have made that point from the Senate floor and forced precisely the kind of discussion he called for, but he chose not to. If he had, his argument likely would have received a much more sympathetic hearing.

Comes now Turner, who, according to some fine reporting from the Associated Press, probably honored the letter of the House ethics rules but may have violated the spirit of those rules. The AP reports that, while Turner recused himself from voting on nursing home legislation because of a conflict of interest, he lobbied intensely in caucus for a preferred outcome.

The source of the conflict was that Turner’s son and daughter both work in the nursing home industry and stood to gain financially if the state were to do away with a moratorium on new nursing home construction that had been in place since 2009. Turner lobbied so fervently in caucus – again, away from public eyes and ears – that his conduct troubled some of his Republican colleagues, but Turner got his way. The moratorium died.

Democrats, predictably, cried foul and sent a letter to House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, demanding an investigation. Bosma complied and sent a letter asking the House Ethics Committee to take a look.

The committee’s chairman, Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Avon, didn’t make it sound as if he were in any great hurry to get to work.

“What’s interesting is that the letter concerns conduct inside of caucus. It’s well known that (discussions within caucus) are private and confidential,” Steuerwald said. “I will contact the committee members and see how they view comments inside of caucus. I will go with the will of the committee.”

The fact that the conversations in caucus on public policy matters are private and confidential is precisely the problem.

It’s a problem that is exacerbated by the fact that one party has such a lopsided majority right now. There really is no effective mechanism to force public officials to do their business in, well, public.

I remember talking back in 2010 with former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., about why political battling over health care had gotten so vicious.

Lugar blamed the heavy majorities that Democrats had in the U.S. Senate and House at the time. He said that more balanced representation forced legislators to work with each other and, just as important, served as a check on the temptation to behave as if the public’s concerns didn’t matter. Heavy majorities, he said, were a breeding ground for arrogance.

Lugar focused his fire at that time on Democrats – with considerable justice – but his reasoning is non-partisan and hard to argue with.

Left unchecked, public officials from either party will do their best to evade scrutiny and accountability. They just don’t like that kind of light.

That’s why it is important for voters – citizens in a self-governing society – to make sure that the light keeps shining on their elected officials all the time.

John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism, host of “No Limits” WFYI 90.1 Indianapolis and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

By John Sittler TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero, released a statement Wednesday denying that he broke House rules following allegations that he lobbied behind closed doors against a bill that would have hurt his family’s business.

The issue will be considered at a House Ethics Committee meeting next month.

“I am extremely confident the House Ethics Committee will find I have acted within the rules of the House of Representatives, as I have for my entire 24 year career in the Indiana General Assembly,” Turner said.

Ethics Chairman Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Avon, said he is working to coordinate the best time to meet because it’s “extremely important” for all members to be present for the hearing. That hearing will probably be the week of April 7-11, he said.

House Speaker Brian Bosma referred questions about Turner’s actions to the Ethics Committee following a request by Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody.

In a letter to the House Ethics Committee and its chairman, Rep. Greg Steuerwald, the speaker asked the group to determine whether Turner violated House rules or the ethics code.

“If you find a violation, please recommend any actions you feel should be taken,” Bosma said.

He also asked the committee to consider whether the legislature’s ethics code or statement of economic interest should be changed “to give further transparency and openness to the legislative process.”

Turner had recused himself from voting on the measure in committee and then again on the House floor.

Indiana placed a moratorium on nursing home construction in 2009 in part to curb private-paying residents from switching to newer facilities. Proponents of that law say without it, older facilities would have a harder time affording the care for Medicaid patients who would be left.

Hoosier lawmakers were considering legislation that would have extended the moratorium but it died on the session’s last day. A report by the Associated Press says that happened after Turner lobbied in a private caucus against it. That’s when the Zody requested an investigation.

Turner said Wednesday his actions and statements were completely within legislative rules.

He said he is looking forward to cooperating with the committee and that once the facts are presented, “it will be determined that I acted well within the House Rules and the House Code of Ethics.”

John Sittler is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.