INDIANAPOLIS | Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman doubts a newly imposed cap on public entry to the Statehouse will have much impact during the legislative session that begins Wednesday.
"If you look back to the last legislative session there wasn't a day when the number was more than the limit," Skillman said.
During the 2011 session, hundreds of union members rallied daily inside the Statehouse to protest a right-to-work proposal that would allow non-union members at a union workplace to receive union services without paying for them.
After the Legislature adjourned for the year the state fire marshal set a Statehouse capacity of 3,000 people.
With an estimated 1,700 state employees, state lawmakers and lobbyists holding passes guaranteeing Statehouse access, state police announced last week only 1,300 additional people will be allowed in at one time.
Skillman, a Republican, said she is confident daily review of the access policy by state police will prevent any problems.
Union leaders disagree.
David Fagan, Indiana president of the the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, thinks Republican legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels are using the cap to silence union members from voicing opposition to a new right-to-work proposal.
"Limiting Hoosiers' access to their own Statehouse is the governor's way of drawing the shades so the people cannot watch a right-to-work bill move forward that will take money out of their pockets," Fagan said.
The Indiana AFL-CIO and the Indiana State Teachers Association also have called on Daniels to rescind the cap.