By Ryanne Wise and Erika Brock
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – The minority leader in the Indiana House is drafting an amendment to strip the controversial second sentence out of a constitutional proposal to ban same sex marriage.

But Rep. Scott Pelath said he’s not certain he’ll call the language for a vote. Instead, the Michigan City Democrat said he’s analyzing the best way to defeat the proposal.

The constitutional amendment – House Joint Resolution 3 – would, first, define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The second sentence would prohibit any legal relationship that is “identical or substantially similar” to marriage.

“My first approach is to extinguish the obvious stink bomb of the second sentence and if they are going to insist to move this forward, let’s at least get that monstrous language out of there,” Pelath said. “The second approach is letting HJR 3 die under its own lumbering brontosaurus-like weight.”

Pelath said he’ll talk to members of the Democratic caucus – who hold just 31 of the chamber’s 100 seats – before deciding how to proceed.

An amendment to HJR 3 means the constitutional amendment process would likely restart. That could postpone a possible ratification by voters from this fall to 2016.

Republicans will likely be waiting for Pelath’s decision as well. Rep. Casey Cox, R-Fort Wayne, voted for HJR 3 when it came before the House Elections Committee this week. But later, he said that he may vote against the proposal when it reaches the House floor next week.

Cox said he wants to “reconsider” the second sentence. He cited concerns raised by a lawyer with Indiana University, who said the provision threatens the school’s ability to offer benefits to same-sex partners.

“I thought IU’s council made some points that certainly need further discussion,” Cox said. “The caucus really wanted this to come to the floor. I can understand that. If it remains intact, I certainly reserve the right to vote no.”

The House will also consider House Bill 1153, which is meant to explain the legislative intent of the constitutional amendment. Supporters say the bill clarifies that the second sentence would not apply to same-sex benefits already being offered.

But Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Mount Vernon, said the companion bill doesn’t ease her concerns.

“If an amendment were to be brought up to remove the second sentence I will fully support this resolution. If the second sentence remains, I will not support the resolution,” McNamara said in a prepared statement provided to the Evansville Courier & Press.

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said he’s pleased HJR 3 will get a full debate and vote on the House floor. He expects the bill to pass and move over to the Senate, as soon as next week.

“If it comes here, it will go to the (Senate) Judiciary committee, where it has been repeatedly,” Long said.

Those committee members are likely to pass the HJR 3 without amendment, which would send it to the full Senate for consideration. Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, is the committee chairman.

“I think Sen. Steele recognizes that this is an important subject and we would hope to have the opportunity for full debate on the Senate floor just as I think it’s healthy to have that debate on the House floor,” Long said.

If the bill passes both chambers, it moves to the ballot for possible ratification by voters in November.

Long declined to comment on HJR 3’s second sentence.

“I’ll reserve those comments for later, but obviously I said that I support an explanatory, clarifying piece of legislation, which House Bill 1153 was in my opinion,” Long said. “I think it was important, given the discussion, that has arisen from the second clause, that it be clear what the legislature is trying not to do.”

Erika Brock and Ryanne Wise are reporters for TheStatehousefile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students. 

By Paige ClarkTheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Industrial hemp grown in Indiana could provide another option for Hoosiers farmers un

der legislation that a Senate committee passed Friday.

Senate Bill 357 – authored by Sen. Richard Young, D-Milltown – would allow farmers to apply for a license to grow and produce industrial hemp.

“Industrial hemp has over 50,000 uses” Young said. “The land that we’ve got here will produce hemp very well.”

Young named several uses for industrial hemp including medicines, textiles, ropes, paper products, plastics, automotive factory material, and building materials.

Two Hoosier mothers testified in support of the production of hemp for medical purposes. Both women have children with Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that begins in infancy.

“Something as simple as a plant might help” my son, Mariah Mershon said.

“The results are powerful, the stories are dramatic,” said Dr. Trent Jones a lobbyist for Parents for Cannabidol. “It is an immediate, dramatic medicine for children that have drug-resisted epilepsy.”

CBD is a compound in cannabis that has medical effects without the psychoactive effects commonly associated with marijuana.

Mershon said her son has suffered from more than 50 seizures in a four-hour time span.

“What’s wine without the alcohol? It’s just grapes. What’s this cannabis without the THC? It’s just a fern,” Mershon said. “We would really like the opportunity to help our son.”

Bob Craft, a spokesman for the North American Industrial Hemp Council, addressed the concern that industrial hemp could be used to produce marijuana or other psychoactive drugs.

“They’re two different plants, two different products,” Craft said. “It would make more sense to prohibit poppy-seed dressing in the grocery store because poppy can be used to produce opium than it does to outlaw industrial hemp.”

Industrial hemp contains less than .03 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol – known as THC – which is below the federal limit and does not cause a “mind-altering” sensation.

The bill “could provide a new source of income for our farmers, allow new industries to develop in our state and go a long way towards protecting and improving Indiana’s beautiful and natural environment,” said Neil Smith, a lobbyist for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Smith said hemp was commonly grown in Indiana until 1937.

“Hemp in Indiana would provide thousands of new, sustainable and well-paying jobs. It will provide a new tax base for state and local governments,” he said. “Hoosier farmers would profit greatly from hemp.”

Smith said Canadian farmers earn $200-$250 net profit per acre form growing hemp, according to Seed and Grain Sales.

Greg Bomba, an executive at Flexform Technologies, said his company uses the natural fibers of hemp in the transportation and office furniture industries.

Young said that automotive factory materials made from industrial hemp are 20 times stronger and lighter than steel. Also, these parts will not “rust, crush or burn.”

Bomba’s company imports 2,200 tons of industrial hemp annually because it’s the “perfect product.”

However, because hemp is not locally grown, Bomba said his company spends $600,000-$1 million to import it from countries like China, Canada and India.

“(Hemp) is being used, it’s being imported into the state,” Craft said, “The market exists in Indiana.”

Ten states have already passed legislation to legalize the production of industrial hemp.

“I see no reason why Indiana shouldn’t be one of the leaders in hemp,” said Jack Cain, another lobbyist for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “I think our soil is a little more fertile than Kentucky. ”

Officials in Kentucky recently said they want their state to be the nation’s leader in the hemp industry.

“This is a great bill.” Cain said, “It will generate jobs and a lot of activity from an economic standpoint.”

The Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee members passed the bill to a standing ovation.

“I love you guys,” shouted an excited bystander when the bill passed 7-0. “You just made a bunch of Hoosiers happy.”

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