Tippecanoe County Democrats —

Indiana's Republican Attorney General Greg Zoeller has decided that Indiana will join 13 other states (12 of which have Republican attorneys general) in a suit against key provisions of the just-passed health care reform bill. Their argument is that Congress lacks the authority to force citizens to purchase health care coverage or face a fine. Zoeller also argues that states' sovereignty is violated when the law requires them to set up insurance exchanges for their citizens. Zoeller said he decided to join the suit based purely on the merits of the case. Dan Parker, chair of the Indiana Democratic Party, sees it differently: "This is purely politics, nothing but. The legal argument is weak, the political argument is weak. It's all based on false information, and the opponents of this couldn't stop it, so they're grasping at straws and this is the final straw to grasp." You can read more about the legal challenge here.You can also read a New York Times editorial arguing the weakness of the case here.

Among 217 Obama administration nominees to federal posts being held up by Republican senators, some for more than a year, President Obama will appoint 15 during the current Congressional break using his "recess appointment" authority. Indiana Democrat Jill Long Thompson will be appointed as a member of the Farm Credit Administration Board. The Senate Agriculture Committee recommended she be confirmed, but a senator blocked the confirmation vote, along with several other Agriculture Department positions. You can read more about Thompson's appointment from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette here.

Senator Evan Bayh gave away $1 million of his $13 million campaign war chest today. The recipient was the Indiana Democratic Party. Party Chairman Dan Parker said it was the largest donation ever given to the party by someone who was not a candidate. Bayh said, "This is a million dollar vote of confidence in Brad Ellsworth and Indiana Democrats. Though I am leaving the Senate at the end of my term, I am determined to help Brad Ellsworth and the 2010 Democratic ticket with the financial resources they need to run a successful campaign." You can read more about Bayh's gift here.

HB 1367, which allows schools to spend monies from various school accounts to meet operating expenses, passed both houses of the state legislature by unanimous votes. The J&C reports that "Upon the governor's signing of the bill, schools will be able to transfer up to 5 percent from miscellaneous funds into the school corporations' general fund. Another 5 percent is transferable from funds, such as capital projects, if all school employees forgo a pay increase this year." West Lafayette Superintendent Rocky Killion notes that even the maximum transfer allowed will cover only a third of the amount cut from his corporation.

HB 1106, which would have funded the continued use of vote centers in Tippecanoe County, failed to pass in the just-ended legislative session. Resistance to the bill was due largely to the expansion of absentee voting the bill allowed for, a provision which had been part of the bill from the outset. Republicans argued it would increase vote fraud. (Oregon conducts all its elections exclusively by mail; in 2006 participation was 70 percent.) It is expected that the loss of vote centers will make Tippecanoe County elections costs $50,000 more than last year's elections. Rep. Sheila Klinker says she'll work with other legislators to have a new vote center bill ready for next year's session: "We definitely have to have a bill next year (for vote centers) that will be effective upon passage," she said. You can read more here and here.

If the conference committee currently meeting does not find a bipartisan compromise on House Bill 1106 (HB 1106), Rep. Sheila Klinker said she will author legislation in the 2011 Indiana General Assembly to allow vote centers to continue to be used in Tippecanoe County.

HB 1106 includes language to extend the use of vote centers in Tippecanoe, Cass and Wayne counties, which were the counties operating the pilot program. Vote centers will continue to be used this year in the primary and general elections in those counties, but will not be available in 2011 without passage of legislation to reauthorize the use of the centers. HB 1106 also includes a provision which would allow more flexible absentee voting, sometimes called "no-excuse" because a voter would not be required to offer a reason for voting by absentee ballot.

"I still hold out hope for a compromise on the current bill under discussion," said Klinker. "We still have a few days left in this session. I know both sides are committed to finding a middle ground. It takes time when intense negotiations are necessary. If I am fortunate to be reelected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 2011, this will be the first bill I author if a solution is not found in the coming days. In addition, I will work extremely hard to keep other issues out of the bill so it can be considered solely on the merits of this one issue. For more information click on "read more" below.

From the Indiana Democratic Party

More and more, Hoosiers are demanding answers from Governor Mitch Daniels about job losses across the state of Indiana.

The news media has been asking these same questions to the Governor. First with the Channel 13 Eyewitness News investigation on the thousands of jobs claimed by Mitch and the state that simply don't exist.And in a recent editorial from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette which simply asks the Governor, where are the jobs?

It is becoming more evident that Governor Mitch Daniels has failed Hoosiers when it comes to creating jobs.Under the watch of Mitch Daniels the state's unemployment rate has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels (almost doubling in recent years), with more than 300,000 Hoosiers out of work. Yet the Governor has proposed no plan of action to help the Hoosier families that are struggling to make ends meet. For more information click on "read more" below.