Lawmakers make little progress Tuesday

INDIANA STATEHOUSE (WISH) - State lawmakers made little or no progress Tuesday toward the final compromise needed to bring the 2010 General Assembly to a close.

In fact, much of the talk in the Statehouse was about what didn't get done this year. Several groups spent time Tuesday highlighting bills that are dead or dying.

Government reform was on the minds of Marion County Democrats. They got together on the first floor to complain about Republicans who won't agree to their bill for township by township referendums on the future of trustees and poor relief.

"This is a lot bigger reform than the Republicans are asking for in their bill," said Ed Treacy, the Marion County Democratic Chairman. "This is a true opportunity to give the people of Indiana a chance to say what do they want in township government."

Meantime, two lawmakers, Representative John Day (D-Indianapolis) and state Senator Mike Delph (R-Carmel) were honored on the second floor with "Mr. Clean" awards for helping win passage of an ethics bill.

They each got an engraved scrub brush. But it became a ceremony about what those seeking ethics reform didn't accomplish, for example, a gift ban. Julia Vaughn of Common Cause said, "There's still work to be done."

Down the hall the Attorney General endorsed a ban on texting while driving along with George Fleetwood, the Indiana President of AT&T and state Senator Tom Wyss (R-Fort Wayne).

"This is as bad as driving drunk," said Wyss, "because you take your eyes off the road for even a longer period of time than a drunk driver."

It's an issue for next year. The texting while driving bill is already dead.

As for what's still alive, there were only brief talks between Republicans and Democrats on the major remaining issue here, what to do about the state's unemployment insurance fund.

The only deadline lawmakers face arrives on Sunday.