The House Democrat walkout concluded on Monday with surprisingly little fanfare.  Minority Leader Bauer announced Monday afternoon that his caucus would be returning to the Statehouse around 5:00 that evening.  Sure enough, the House Democrats voted as present at Speaker Bosma’s quorum call and not a single speech or point of personal privilege was made by either party.  House business immediately continued on as if nothing had occurred during the past five weeks.

Even though House Democrats returned, they are now faced with the daily fines imposed upon the absent members during the walkout, totaling $3,150 per legislator.  Speaker Bosma decided to withhold the $152 daily per diem legislators receive while in session until the fines are paid.  There still exists much consternation on this issue and it remains to be seen how it will be resolved.  In order for the fines to be rescinded, there must be a majority vote in the House, which is unlikely given that 60 members are Republicans.

The House Calendar which remained the same since late February was cleared on Wednesday evening as House members voted on all remaining third reading bills. 

The state budget, HB 1001, passed by a vote of 60-37 after 334 amendments were filed on second reading.  Last week, the Senate began hearings and testimony on the state budget.  Now that the bill has passed the House, it can officially be voted on and amended in the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

The House Democrats have claimed a victory in their walkout by effectively killing HB 1468, the right to work bill, and weakening HB 1216, which deals with public works projects.  However, right to work was tabled early on during the walkout and many other bills the Democrats protested are still very much alive including HB 1003, the school voucher bill, which passed the House by a vote of 56-41.  Other education reform bills that expand charter schools and limit teacher collective bargaining have the strong support of Governor Daniels.

As the month of March has essentially been washed away in terms of legislative action, now it is time to play catch-up to ensure the General Assembly can adjourn sine die on April 29.  Almost every major House committee scheduled a hearing on Thursday and even on Friday.  Legislation we thought could end up dead is now revived. 

The House once again extended the third reading deadline to April 21st while the Senate remains at April 13th.  Given the tight schedule, we could see conference committees begin to form before third reading deadlines as legislation is amended and finalized by both chambers. 

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