Tuesday morning at the Indiana Statehouse was a good time for catchy phrases. Whether the rest of the week will see substantive legislative action is yet to be seen.

House Speaker Pat Bauer has reconfirmed his plan to adjourn this session by the end of Thursday (10 days before the March 14 deadline date for such action). His closing words to House members (before calling for a recess until 2:30 today) as he urged them to work diligently on conference committees: "If you can make an agreement, so be it; if you can’t make an agreement, so be it."

Prior to that, House Minority Leader Brian Bosma said his caucus was not opposed to a Thursday ending as long as all the needed business was taken care of. He cited five priorities, led by a clean and clear delay in the unemployment insurance tax increase, that would thwart the "go home early" plan. His final comment: "It’s better to be a little slow and right than quick and wrong."

The Senate has not publicly weighed in today (it has a light calendar with a 1:30 beginning), although President Pro Tem David Long has previously stated there is nothing wrong with an early ending, but not before key issues are addressed.

The real work is taking place in conference committees and in negotiations among leadership. Stay tuned for the outcomes.

In the ongoing "we’ll do anything to save our jobs" crusade, the Ross Township trustee in Lake County testified at length Wednesday before the Senate Local Government Committee. He was opposing the insertion of real reform language (no township boards and county councils having binding budget authority) into the township-by-township referendum proposal passed by the House.

The trustee, who also serves as the head of the United Township Association, explained that the township is important. He said his office receives donations for 170 children to enjoy Christmas. Based on his 2008 annual financial report, people young and old also must get the opportunity to enjoy the Fourth of July. Among the expenses listed: $24,000 to Mad Bomber Fireworks Prod., Inc.

That’s your taxpayer money — at least those in Lake County. Can we really let it go up in smoke like that?

Chamber President Kevin Brinegar explains what the state legislature must do to keep the unemployment insurance tax increase from costing Indiana jobs.

A popular phrase about Washington politics is that the the republic — or at least your tax dollars — are safer when Congress is not in session. If that is the case, one can rest easy for a fortnight (always liked that British term). Snow shut down the nation’s capital last week and a President’s Day recess takes lawmakers back home or elsewhere in the coming days.

What about in the Hoosier state? Legislators seem determined to exit Indianapolis quickly. Whether any harm is done before that time remains to be seen. The General Assembly session must end by March 14, but the committee deadline is being pushed ahead by a week and all involved are trying to wrap up business by March 5. Is that good or bad for you?

• Good if the increase in unemployment insurance taxes is delayed. It seems straighforward. Leave last year’s increase intact and companies will pay near $350 million more in taxes, the trust fund will remain woefully out of balance and employees will lose their jobs because battered businesses have no other place to cut. Legislators, particularly those in the House, need to hear from you. Check out the details and make a difference
• Bad if they proceed with passing legislation that prohibits employers from having a policy that disallows guns in the workplace. This appears headed to the governor, however, so a veto is likely the best hope for common sense to prevail. Here are the details
• Good if someone in power stands up for taxpayers and the poor and strives to bring about meaningful township reform. Our money is not being used wisely and the poor are not getting all they deserve with administrative costs that exceed actual relief. Meaningful is not a township-by-township referendum, but — for a start — getting rid of advisory boards and letting county councils have binding budget overview. Read more

Sure, there are a few other issues out there. But get these three right and the good will exceed the harm.

House Speaker Pat Bauer and former Speaker Pro Tempore Chet Dobis have served together as Indiana legislators since 1970. That’s a lot of collaboration, and undoubtedly a little conflict, over 40 years.

Conflict is center stage now as Dobis has been removed from his second in command leadership position. The reason: he didn’t support his Democrat colleagues on a committee report that would have likely killed the Illiana Expressway, a project heavily supported in Dobis’ Northwest Indiana district.

Frugal Hoosiers has the latest, with an assist from the Northwest Indiana Times. The impact on the remainder of the legislative session, and beyond, remains to be seen.

At the Indiana Chamber’s "An Evening With Frank Luntz" on February 16, maybe we will hear the pollster/communicator talk about climate change. According to CQ Politics, Luntz did just that recently.

Not that we weren’t already in for an interesting evening (following the annual Legislative Reception), but this could add a little intrigue.

Luntz’ forte is formulating terminology that can redefine political policy debates. During the Bush administration, he wrote a memo suggesting that Republicans could dampen public concern about global warming by stating — over and over — that the environmentalists’ proposals were loaded with "scientific uncertainty" and would impose an "unfair economic burden" on the nation. By embracing the Luntz approach, climate change skeptics successfully sowed seeds of doubt on climate change and delayed federal action.

But that was then. Now Luntz is applying his "language guidance" talents to help the greens sell their proposals to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Based on polling conducted at the end of 2009, Luntz said that the vast majority of Americans believe that global warming is real and that mankind is contributing to the problem.

According to Luntz, Americans tend to dismiss the scare tactics that environmentalists and global warming skeptics use to shape public opinion. "If you really want to scare Americans, it’s not about glaciers that are melting or the struggle of the polar bear," he said. "What scares Americans is the idea that this great technological industry will be developed in China or India rather than here in America."

Luntz’ report was released at a time when the environmental community is waking up to the reality that the ambitious, economywide climate change bills passed last year by the House and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are dead.

As the environmentalists and pro-legislation businesses decide their next steps, they’re likely to keep Luntz’ advice in mind. "The American people don’t accept the status quo," he said. "The American people not only think that we can do better as a country, they want us to do better as a country. And they don’t care whether it’s Republicans or Democrats who are offering it — they expect more."
 

One of the more legendary figures in Indiana newspaper history is Jim Barbieri, who spent more than 50 years at the Bluffton News-Banner. I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Barbieri several times during his career that carried far beyond the publication he guided and into the communities it served.

I do not know Mark Miller, current president and publisher of the News-Banner. But his column in Monday’s edition nails the local government reform debate on the head. It makes it clear that communities, whether big or small, and citizens are victimized by the current structure and modernization is mandatory. Barbieri undoubtedly would be proud, and lawmakers should take notice.

Below is a summary; here is a link to the full column.

It’s clear to me that the argument that these administrative and technical offices — the treasurer, auditor, clerk, assessor, coroner, surveyor and recorder — “answer to the voters” is empty nonsense. Voters cannot be there every day to ensure things are getting done. Voters cannot decipher who is at fault when two key offices cannot cooperate over a number of years. Voters are not in a position to make these judgments.

Voters can select and monitor leaders. Voters cannot supervise day-to-day details.

It’s clear to me that, short of a constitutional convention (a long shot indeed), it is politically impossible to put most of the Kernan-Shepherd proposals into practice, at least in one swoop. Too many turfs being covered, too many worried about re-election.

There is an argument to let the voters decide, to put out a proposal to go from three commissioners to one or not, to appoint or elect department office heads and see what the public wants. But years ago, our ancestors didn’t get to vote on government structure. There is an argument that it’s way too complicated to put on a ballot.

And inertia — the resistance to change the way things are — is a pretty powerful force.