Lawmakers gather for session’s ceremonial start
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Sexual harassment allegations and rule changes overshadowed Organization Day, Tuesday’s ceremonial start to the legislative session.
“It’s been an awful, frustrating 24 hours. I feel like (the Legislature) is being portrayed in a way that I’ve never experienced and I certainly would never tolerate the type of behavior that the people who trust us are concerned about,” GOP House Speaker Todd Huston said.
It was the day after The Indianapolis Star reported three woman have accused Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor of sexual harassment, including unwanted physical contact and romantic pursuit of an intern. In the article, Taylor didn’t deny the harassment. Instead, he apologized for past behavior that “may have blurred the lines.”
Taylor, known for his rambling floor speeches, offered a cryptic five-minute welcome with a focus on speaking for those “who feel like they don’t have a voice.”
“We have to recognize that when we fall short, we owe a debt to them,” he said. “And so, as a leader, … my focus, our focus … will be the protection of Hoosiers across the state.”
Then, he pivoted to an emphatic condemnation of racism.
“That’s not what this country is about,” Taylor said. “That’s not what Indiana is about, and I will not tolerate it in my caucus or in this General Assembly.”
He took no comments from reporters later, reading long-shot priorities off a typed document.
Though Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray briefly shook hands with Taylor, he told reporters Tuesday that he was “extremely disappointed” in his counterpart.
“I’ve expressed that to him,” Bray said. “We conduct ourselves at a much, much higher level than that here in this chamber.”
Asked if the Senate should investigate Taylor or take any other actions, Bray noted the alleged instances of harassment took place before 2018, when Bray was elected Senate leader.
“Maybe I’ll take a look at that. I haven’t really done that yet,” he said.
Bray said he doesn’t support adding a human resources professional or attorney to the Senate Ethics Committee, because it would “take accountability away” from lawmakers.
“Accountability is supposed to be on us. We need to own it when it goes badly. We need to take the blame,” he said.
Senate makes conflict-of-interest changes, other tweaks
Also in the Senate, Bray laid out beefed-up conflict-of-interest requirements.
It was previously optional for senators to cite conflicts and opt out of votes. Now, they must. They also wouldn’t be able to speak about the legislation in committee or on the floor unless they’ve announced that conflict beforehand “so that everybody would know.”
Bray said qualifying conflicts are direct and personal financial interests that have “unique, direct and a substantial” effect on either a lawmaker’s own income, or the income of a family member.
“We feel it’s appropriate,” he said of the new requirements.
The Senate also added two roles to its sexual harassment and ethics rules: apprentices, which are new to the Statehouse, and pages, which have long existed but weren’t previously included in the rules. Bray called that an “oversight.”
“We’re happy to continue to have those conversations and look at (the policies),” he added. “I think we have a pretty strong process right now, but we’re always willing to try to improve it.”
Another change expanded the role of lieutenant governor.
The officeholder already can break ties on votes for final approval of a bill. The Senate voted to let Lt. Gov.-elect Micah Beckwith break ties on other close votes, such as amendments.
“I think we’re going to have a good, working rapport (and) a strong working relationship,” Bray said of Beckwith. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Beckwith on Tuesday told reporters that he planned to preside over the Senate “as often as I can,” predicting that he’d be there “pretty much on a daily basis,” barring unforeseen circumstances.
Asked if he planned to increase his office’s involvement in the Senate, Beckwith said, “I’m not looking to go in and, you know, you know, necessarily change anything. I think it’s a good system, a good process.”
He’s already gotten to work on building relationships with lawmakers, envisioning “working behind the scenes and then pushing good things down the field for the people of Indiana.”
House introduces new schedule, feuds over rule changes
The upcoming session, slated to officially start on Jan. 8, will feature fewer session days for the full House of Representatives.
Huston said the change will better accommodate younger members and be “family friendly.”
“The first couple of weeks, oftentimes we’re coming in here and we’re not really doing anything—we’re passing down a bill list (or) we’re doing kind of light procedural work,” Huston said. “We felt like we could utilize that time better.”
The House also adopted new rules, but didn’t have bipartisan support.
Previously, bills that passed out of a committee had to wait 24 hours from “hitting a member’s desk” before they can be considered for second reading, which is an opportunity for other legislators to offer amendments.
A new rule shortens that timeframe, potentially allowing for a bill to pass out of committee and through a second reading in the same day—a concern for Bloomington Democrat Rep. Matt Pierce. A House Republican spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for clarification.
Pierce said shortening the timeframe would stymie efforts to write amendments, which often can’t be filed until the Legislative Services Agency has time to process a committee report.
Rep. Ben Smaltz, a Republican from Auburn, said that the old process was “antiquated” and those looking to file amendments should already be working “structurally” with authors—a position that disadvantages Democrats seeking to amend Republican bills.
Looking forward to 2025
Key priorities during the session will include property tax reform as well as achieving universal “school choice” and investing in “independent” energy policy.
“We’re going to work through the details of it, but we want to provide significant taxpayer relief to homeowners across Indiana,” Huston said.
Bray, for his part, said that complete overhauls may take some time but he expected “more than tweaks” in the upcoming session. In terms of energy, continually rising costs have been “a little bit frustrating.”
In parting, Huston advised the body to avoid “hyperbole” when talking about bills, specifically comments exaggerating the importance of a measure.
“People get excited and they start using terms … (like) if we pass this, no one will ever come to Indiana again. Or, if this doesn’t get passed, the sky is going to fall,” Huston said in a media scrum. “It happens. People get emotional and I understand that. But we can turn down the emotion a little bit and talk about the facts.”
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.