INDIANAPOLIS —Now that they have drafted their amendment to allow voters to decide the “right to work” issue, Democrats promised they would be on the Indiana House floor Monday to debate it.
House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, guaranteed that he would allow the chamber to vote – without anyone raising procedural concerns – on the Democratic amendment to put the issue on the November 2012 ballot.
When he asked House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, on the floor, whether that guarantee was sufficient to get the 35 boycotting Democrats back Friday, Bauer responded: “We’ll see.”
An hour later, when Bosma again tried to convene the House, Bauer said Democrats “want the weekend,” but pledged that they would participate Monday.
“We’ll see you high noon, if you choose, Monday, and we hope everybody understands the amendment we put forward is constitutional; it’s to give those workers a voice,” he said.
Democrats have stayed out of the House since Tuesday night because an analysis by the Legislative Services Agency, the General Assembly’s non-partisan research arm, raised questions about the constitutionality of an amendment they intended to offer that would have sent the “right to work” issue to a statewide referendum.
They said they were working on a new amendment that would attempt to get around Indiana Constitution requirements that laws be made by the General Assembly, and not by voters in a ballot question.
It would delay the “right to work” law from taking effect until Nov. 5. Then, in the Nov. 6 election, voters would decide whether to keep it. If they vote against the “right to work” law, it would sunset on Nov. 7; if they vote yes, it would remain in effect.
“We believe it passes constitutional muster, but we also believe that the cloud of constitutionality must be cleared from everybody here so that when you vote, it’s to vote whether or not the people have a right to voice their opinion or not, not a question of the constitutionality,” Bauer said.
Meanwhile, the Senate is set to take up amendments of its own to the “right to work” bill Friday afternoon. The decision to do so is a reversal of a Thursday statement from Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, who had said the chamber would do that Monday or Tuesday.
The fight is over whether Indiana should become the 23rd state to allow workers in union shops to opt out of paying mandatory dues to those unions as a condition of employment.
Majority Republicans and their business lobby backers say that would give workers freedom of choice and companies a new incentive to locate to the state. Minority Democrats and their labor allies say it would undermine the unions that protect those workers’ wages and rights.
Friday morning marked the eighth day in the first three weeks of 2012’s 10-week legislative session that Democrats had skipped in an effort to slow progress on the measure, which is contained in House Bill 1001 and the identical Senate Bill 269.
Bosma is fining Democrats $1,000 per day they miss, and that money is being docked from their weekly “per diem” paychecks.
However, Democrats are arguing in court that the speaker has no authority to collect the fines by ordering the state auditor to slice the money out of their paychecks.
Marion County Superior Court Judge David Dreyer on Thursday green-lighted a temporary restraining order, which bars the fines from being implemented against three House Democrats who filed a lawsuit.
He has scheduled a hearing to further consider the matter on Jan. 27. Between now and then, more Democrats are likely to join the lawsuit, said Mark GiaQuinta, the attorney for the three who sought to block the fines.
Republicans have a 60-40 majority in the House. Since the Indiana Constitution requires the chamber to have two-thirds of all members present in order to conduct business, boycotting is the only way Democrats can stop anything they oppose.
“Quite frankly, I think ‘the walkout’ has been taken to a whole new level,” said Rep. Kevin Mahan, the Hartford City Republican who criticized Democrats during a motion to fine them for missing Friday morning.
“Quit playing games,” he said. “Show up, get to work.”