INDIANAPOLIS —The standoff that stalled the start of the Indiana General Assembly’s 2012 session is over – at least for now.
Democrats ended their week-long boycott of the House on Monday, returning to the chamber and giving majority Republicans the presence of two-thirds of all members that is mandatory before the legislative process can kick into gear.
Their decision ends the first stage of what could be several battles over a controversial “right to work” measure – one supported by Republicans, opposed by Democrats and likely to be championed by Gov. Mitch Daniels during Tuesday night’s “State of the State” speech.
A defiant House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, had acknowledged the math: Since Republicans hold 60 of the House’s seats, and a supermajority in the Senate, there’s only so much Democrats can do to stop their push.
Still, he said in a speech on the House floor, Hoosiers should have more time to understand what a bill that would allow workers to opt out of paying union dues as a condition of employment would do.
“I wouldn’t be afraid of going into an election and saying ‘right to work’ doesn’t work and saying why and debating any one of you about that. You shouldn’t be afraid,” he said to Republicans. “Let’s meet in the next election and debate this.”
Disappointed protesters who have filed into the Statehouse each day of the 2012 session applauded the speech, and afterward, Bauer said it’s possible Democrats might take off again.
House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said he wants them back the rest of the session’s 10 weeks.
“It’s my hope that common sense has prevailed, not just for today, but for the rest of the session, and we’ll see them back here in the chamber on a consistent basis,” Bosma said.
By returning, Democrats seem to have dodged potential $1,000-a-day fines. Since Democrats tripped the penalty by skipping their third straight day Friday, Bosma could have sought to impose them then, but he chose not to do so.
Now, the stage is set for a legislative battle over “right to work” that Democrats have little hope of winning.
The House’s labor committee is scheduled to meet at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. Since Republicans hold the majority of that panel’s seats, and since the same group approved a similar measure last year, the committee is expected to move House Bill 1001 on to the full chamber.
Meanwhile, the state Senate’s labor committee has already approved an identical measure – Senate Bill 269. It could pass the full Senate and move over to the House in the next two weeks.
If just one of those two bills passes both chambers without changes, it would then head to Daniels’ desk, where the Republican governor who has made “right to work” part of his legislative agenda would sign it into law.
Even if its passage is likely, Democrats took credit Monday for giving opponents an opportunity to speak out.
The party held four events, including one at Evansville’s C.K. Newsome Center, and each of which drew crowds of hundreds.
“If we do the educational piece and we continue to inform people, more people are really going to understand how bad this is for Indiana as a whole,” said state Rep. Gail Riecken, D-Evansville.
“I feel if we can continue to try to slow down the process a little bit and continue educating, I’ll feel a lot better.”