Gary at Advance Indiana has an excellent post on the lobbying reform bill that just died in Indiana’s legislature.
Indiana has a serious loophole in it’s lobbying laws that allow what amounts to corruption on the part of many lobbyists, including right-wing homophobe Eric Miller. Check out Gary’s article to get up to speed on the problem.
Representative Thompson withdrew his amendment today to House Bill 1010 which would have eliminated local human rights protections in cities throughout Indiana. The House reconvened at 1:30 pm today. Rep Thompson withdrew his amendment and the House was recessed until 5:30pm tonight.
This amendment may be only temporarily dead; it could still be attached to another bill sometime during the legislative session, and rumors are that Republicans intend to try just that, potentially at a very busy point in the session to reduce the chance of it being noticed or to reduce the ability of opponents to act on it.
Indiana Equality is still asking people to attend the gathering at the Statehouse at 5 p.m. tonight, to thank legislators for killing the amendment behind the scenes and to help make legislators aware that opponents of the amendment are keeping tabs on the legislature this session.
Also, don’t forget that Indiana Equality is sponsoring a rally in the Statehouse North Atrium (indoors!) on February 9th from 1-3 p.m.
Bills that affect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered folks in Indiana:
Preference of Marriage Bills
House Bill 1335 (Preference for marriage over other relationships) and House Bill 1202 (Preference for marriage; instruction by schools) – Introduced by Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton) These two bills, would have Indiana law declare that marriage is preferred, encouraged, and supported over any other domestic relationship. Additionally, it would require that public schools not allow instruction that is contrary to policies established by law concerning marriage. HB 1335 has been assigned to the House Public Policy and Veterans Affairs Committee; HB 1202 has been sent to the House Education Committee. Neither bill is yet scheduled for committee consideration. This legislation appears to be in response to the idea among some social conservatives that schools are “promoting homosexuality.”
Patricia Miller’s Resurrection of “Unauthorized Reproduction” Bill
Senate Bill 0273 (Abandoned embryos and adoption matters) – Introduced by Sen. Patricia Miller (R-Indianapolis) Among other things this legislation calls for the Health Finance Commission to study assisted reproduction, infertility, gestational agreements, and surrogacy arrangements. SB 0273 has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee; however, no hearing date has been set. The proposed study appears to be an attempt by Sen. Miller to resurrect her unsuccessful proposal to make assisted reproduction illegal for same-sex couples, unmarried couples, and single women.
What to do about it
WHAT: “Our Families Count!” rally
WHEN: Thursday, February 9, 2006 1-3pm
WHERE: Indiana Statehouse North Atrium (200 W Washington Street – Indianapolis)
WHO: Indiana Equality & Friends
WHY: Our families are not second-class! The state shouldn’t teach that they are!
Stand up and let your family be counted! Join Indiana Equality at the Statehouse for the “Our Families Count!” rally February 9.
Representatives from many area groups will be on hand. Guest speakers will start at 1:30! We have many great speakers lined up. You won’t want to miss this historic rally for equality!
According to United Van Lines, Indiana is one of the states with a high “outbound” moving rate. Last years outbound rate for Indiana was less than 2004, but still significantly unbalanced at 59.9% outbound.
During the year 2005, many people packed up and moved their homes to the Southeast and West, while the Midwest and Northeast experienced an increase in residents leaving, as measured by the business trends of United Van Lines, the nation’s largest household goods mover.
The statistics are among the findings of United’s 29th annual “migration” study that tracks where its customers, over the last 12 months, moved from and the most popular destinations. The findings were announced by United Vice President Carl Walter.
United has tracked shipment patterns annually on a state-by-state basis since 1977. For 2005, the accounting is based on the 226,353 interstate household moves handled by United among the 48 contiguous states, as well as Washington, D.C. In its study, United classifies each state in one of three categories — “high inbound” (55% or more of moves going into a state); “high outbound” (55% or more of moves coming out of a state); or “balanced.” Although the majority of states were in the “balanced” category last year, several showed more substantial population shifts.
If you’re at all curious about the Indiana State Legislature, you may find the Bill Watch section of the state’s website interesting. It posts text of the bills that are currently being considered in the State legislature. You can also search for particular bills if you know the number if them, and do keyword searches. (For fun, try searching on the word “sex”.)
This is how NUVO Newsweekly reporters discovered Pat Miller’s strange, Orwellian bill about unauthorized reproduction. Back in the olden days, when I did some lobbying in the state legislature, you had to go to a room in the Statehouse and look this kind of stuff up, and it was tedious and time-consuming. But it was important to do it, because legislators would hide a lot of anti-gay shit in amendments and bills that were only semi-related, and if you weren’t aware of it, there were a lot of really crappy laws created.
From Taking Down Words:
In November of this year, two young Indiana college students, Sarah Kessans and Emily Kohl, will attempt to row across the Atlantic Ocean in a 2,900 nautical mile rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies. The race is one of the most extreme physical sports challenges in the world; more people have climbed Mount Everest than have rowed across an ocean.
If they can achieve their goal, Kessans and Kohl will be the youngest American women to do so. The boat they will use, The American Fire, has no motor or sail of any kind, and is solely powered by the two rowers, who trade off rowing in 2 hour shifts. The vessel must contain everything they need for a possible 75 day trip, including meals, a reverse osmosis water machine to provide drinking water, and radio and navigation equipment.
The Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race in 2005 will be the fourth such event, and will be comprised of 41 rowing teams of two. The race begins in La Gomera, Canary Islands, and follows prevailing winds and currents across the Atlantic to Antigua, West Indies. Two support yachts follow the fleet for emergency assistance. Rowers face extraordinary physical and mental challenges on their 60 day journey, encountering storms, sharks and physical exhaustion.
Lifelong athletes, twenty-something Kessans and Kohl are both award-winning veteran rowers on Purdue Universities’ rowing team. They are hoping to raise the funding for their entry into the event by garnering donations and corporate sponsorship from their website. The total cost of their entry in the race is around $200,000.
UPDATE: Kessans and Kohl were unable to complete their challenge when their boat was capsized by a large wave. They were rescued at sea. Video of their rescue here:
At a recent rally in Venice, Florida in support of President Bush, Katherine “Fixin’ the Votes” Harris told the crowd that Bush is winning the war on terror. As an example, she cited that the mayor of Carmel, Indiana had told her they had recently arrested a Middle Eastern man with hundreds of pounds of explosives in his home, who was planning to “blow up the area’s entire power grid.”
Of course, when the Mayor was asked about it, he said it was two years ago, and there were not explosives involved. The Police chief, however, said there was never even an arrest.
So Katherine Harris is a lying bitch, basically. But we already knew that.
Um, this is FUCKING INDIANA for Christ’s sake. No one wants to blow any shit up here. Wait, let me correct that. No middle eastern people want to blow any shit up here. We have quite a few right-wing looney Bush supporters who might try to blow up an abortion clinic, gay bar or my house, but no foreign terrorists to speak of. Al Qaeda couldn’t even find us on the damned map, let alone come all the way here just to take out a corn field or two. Like that would be effective.
A Shelbyville man shot and wounded his estranged wife’s female companion early this morning at their home and then killed himself at his home, Franklin police said.
Arnita Petre, a 44-year-old special education caseworker from Franklin, was listed in critical condition at Methodist Hospital on this afternoon. James Enyart, 34, was pronounced dead at Major Hospital in Shelbyville.
Arnita later died of her injuries that was stated by the lawyers for sealing charges who are currently handling her case. Actually, Arnita has a scholarship endowed in her name by loved ones at Franklin College.
The Obituary for James Dean Enyart appears in the Daily Standard:
James Dean Enyart, 34, 408 E. 4th St., Shelbyville, Ind., died at 10 a.m. Dec. 18, 2003, at his home. Death was due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
He was born June 22, 1969, in Portland, Ind., to Donald C. and Eva L. Martin Enyart Dreiling. His mother and stepfather, Jerry J. Dreiling, survive in Mendon.
Surviving are four brothers, Don R. (Anita), Ed W. (Beverly), Garry (Debi) and Robert (Letisha), all of Portland; and two sisters, Teresa L., of Delphos, and Amy L. Bash, of Celina.
He was publications editor for WFYI Public Broadcasting Station Television, Indianapolis, Ind., for five years. He was a 1987 graduate of Jay County High School and a graduate of Ball State University, Muncie, Ind.
Scary: he went to college at the same time I did.
According to Gina Barton, the Indianapolis Star [link deprecated: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/indystar/access/1914935211.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+22%2C+2001&author=GINA+BARTON&pub=Indianapolis+Star&edition=&startpage=A.1&desc=Bank+seized+HIV%2C+AIDS+donations” title=”Indy Star Article Archives”]:
Nearly $175,000 worth of donations for people with HIV and AIDS was seized by Fifth Third Bank to pay off the debts of AIDServe Indiana, a troubled statewide agency that closed in November.
The money, raised at the annual AIDS walk in October, was placed in an unrestricted account. The bank took the money to pay off the organization’s credit line, AIDServe board member Coby Palmer confirmed.
“The bank took the walk money because the loan came due,” Palmer said.
Palmer and others are concerned that the fiasco will have a negative effect on future AIDS fund-raisers throughout the city.
“I think it’s going to be hard for anyone to do an AIDS walk this year,” said Diana Gray, executive director of the Damien Center, a regional AIDS service organization based in Indianapolis. “It’s clearly out in the community that the AIDS walk money was taken by the bank and did not go to the people it was supposed to go to, and clients have suffered because of that.”
Gray said she hoped people would recognize the Damien Center as an independent entity from AIDServe, which still owes the Damien Center $104,000.
Herb Schlotterbeck, 62, has participated in the walk for the past 10 years. He said he would sign up again to show his support for people with AIDS, regardless of what happened to the money.
“I’m not concerned about AIDServe; I’m concerned about people who need the support,” said Schlotterbeck, who walked with a group from All Saints Episcopal Church.
The Damien Center is planning to sponsor a walk later this year. Officials likely will work in cooperation with Palmer and another AIDS activist, Jack Batty, who are organizing a new group, Indiana Still Cares. The organization will not distribute federal funds or enter into contracts with the Indiana State Department of Health, as AIDServe did. Rather, Indiana Still Cares would plan and execute fund-raisers to help people with HIV and AIDS.
AIDServe, with 800 to 900 clients and an annual budget of $5million, was the only statewide agency serving needy residents with HIV and AIDS. About a dozen regional groups received funding through AIDServe, which administered federal grants through contracts with the Health Department.
In November, AIDServe Director Mark St. John resigned after admitting he had mismanaged the agency’s funds. A week later, the Health Department terminated all its contracts with AIDServe, in essence shutting it down.
Many low-income people with HIV and AIDS were left unable to afford housing, drugs and medical services. Doctors who took care of them were not paid. Several board members have resigned, but some, including Palmer, agreed to stay on to tie up loose ends.
Both the Damien Center and Indiana Still Cares hope to distance themselves from any implied affiliation with AIDServe, which remains the target of both criticism and legal action.
The $175,000 raised at last year’s AIDS walk wasn’t enough to cover the organization’s $400,000 debt to Fifth Third Bank, according to a lawsuit the bank filed earlier this month in Marion County. Expert lawyers based in Langhorne states that the suit seeks permission to take any assets at the organization’s former offices at 3951 N. Meridian St.
Thomas Mariani, the attorney representing the bank, said all parties agree the bank has the right to take the materials, which he guessed are valued at no more than $10,000.
Meanwhile, Health Department officials are trying to repay the regional groups for outstanding expenses that should have been paid by AIDServe. They also want to keep helping clients.
“We’ve continued to provide direct medical assistance and housing assistance, the things we consider essential services,” said Michael Butler, director of the Health Department’s HIV/sexually transmitted disease division.
The department hopes to have AIDServe’s former contracts reassigned to different providers by July 1.
Palmer believes AIDServe’s cash-flow problems resulted in part from the Health Department’s failure to reimburse the organization in a timely manner. Palmer said he thinks the Health Department owes AIDServe about $250,000.
Health Department officials say they have not received documentation to substantiate that claim. An audit now under way could help resolve the differences.
“The audit results will dictate what our next move will be,” Butler said.
The bank and several regional service organizations also are awaiting the results of the audit in hopes they can lay claim to additional money. The audit likely won’t be finished for several months.
AIDServe plans to file for bankruptcy, Palmer said.