Indianapolis Film Critic Matt Socey and I talk about tonight’s Academy Awards. I can assure you we will be more entertaining.

On this edition of Indiana Issues, we talk hate crimes, teacher pay, school safety, cigarette taxes and we make our political predictions. Our panel includes Mary Beth Schnieder of the Statehouse File, Democratic Strategist Lindsay Haake, Republican Jennifer Ping , nd Libertarian Mark Rutherford.

0:00 – Introduction

1:00 – Bias Crimes

9:00 – Teacher Pay

18:00 – School Safety

25:00 – Cigarette Taxes

28:00 – Political Predictions

Indiana Issues is recorded at Edge Media Studios in downtown Indianapolis.

Indiana lawmakers might be facing an unexpected constitutional hiccup as they move forward with legislation to make the Superintendent of Public Instruction an appointed position instead of elected.

Last session, lawmakers passed a bill that called for the position to be appointed in 2025, however, with incumbent Jennifer McCormick not running for re-election, legislation is moving to have the position appointed in 2021 when she leaves office.

The hiccup, however, is under the Indiana Constitution, the Superintendent of Public Instruction is sixth in line to become Governor, should something happen to the other constitutional offices.

Under Article 5, Section 10(f), the Constitution states…

(f)  An individual holding one (1) of the following offices shall discharge the powers and duties of the governor if the office of governor and the office of lieutenant governor are both vacant, in the order listed:

(1)  The speaker of the house of representatives.

(2)  The president pro tempore of the senate, if the office described in subdivision (1) is vacant.

(3)  The treasurer of state, if the offices described in subdivisions (1) and (2) are vacant.

(4)  The auditor of state, if the offices described in subdivisions (1) through (3) are vacant.

(5)  The secretary of state, if the offices described in subdivisions (1) through (4) are vacant.

(6)  The state superintendent of public instruction, if the offices described in subdivisions (1) through (5) are vacant.

The provision was added to the State Constitution after 9/11, according to former State Representative Mike Murphy who authored the measure.

“Shortly after 9/11, I began to think about Indiana’s vulnerability in a post-9/11 world.  We were certainly less safe, and less trusting of everything around us.  I worked with then-House Democratic Caucus Chair Dale Grubb, to explore ways in which we could make Indiana more secure, “ Muphy told Indy Politics.  “ We consulted the FBI, State Police, anti-terrorism experts like Peter Beering, and local law enforcement. After months of study, Rep. Grubb and I announced an “Indiana Preparedness” package of  10 bills that each in its own way, sought to preserve Hoosiers’ sense of security.”

After doing the research, Muphy said  Indiana’s gubernatorial succession provisions in Article 5 of the Indiana Constitution were inadequate for the modern world. They essentially dictated that if the Governor could not serve, then the Lt. Gov would step up.  If the Lt. Gov could not serve, then the General Assembly would choose a Governor.  But what if there was no General Assembly?

While the idea may sound like something out of an episode of “Designated Survivor” the question can’t be too far-fetched.  Murphy noted that at least once each year (State of the State), all members of the General Assembly, along with the Governor, Lt. Gov, the Supreme Court, and all of the Governor’s cabinet members gather in the House chamber.

“I realized that one truck bomb, driven into the basement of the Capitol, through the west entrance of the building could wipe out virtually all of the leadership of state government in one flash of fire,” he noted.  “State government would cease to exist, with no prescribed methods for re-establishing leadership.  Just a few years earlier, someone tried to drive a truck filled with cans of gasoline into the Tippecanoe County courthouse lower lever. Fortunately, the truck bomb failed to explode.”

So with that said, lawmakers in two separately elected sessions of the General Assembly amended the Constitution; 2002 and 2003 and voters approved the measure in the November 2004 general election.

The glitch in the system now is, does the Indiana State Constitution allow a non-elected official to serve as Governor?   In some states, such as Illinois, only an official elected by the voters could serve as Governor.   Both House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tempore Rod Bray said they would have to look into the matter.  However, the Speaker noted to the media this past Friday that it is probably not appropriate to have a non-elected official in that role.

Andy Downs, of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue University Ft. Wayne, noted at the federal level, unelected officials can serve in the Presidency.

“The short answer is the line of succession at the federal level includes many people who are not elected.  Granted, they are confirmed by the Senate, but they are not elected,” Downs said.  “I think people will be willing to accept an unelected Superintendent of Public Instruction in the line.  What I think would concern the public more, is not having a succession plan.”

“Frankly, the collective wisdom of the General Assemblies in 2002 and 2003 never pondered this issue,”  Murphy stated.  “I leave it to the contemporary leadership of the 2019 General Assembly to act, or waive action, as they see fit.”

Indiana lawmakers have a busy week ahead as they try to meet committee deadlines for numerous bills including the budget, bias crimes, gaming, alcohol, the Indiana Pacers and variety of other issues.

It is also at this point that things can get contentious in the House and Senate chambers as major legislation starts to move.

Both House Speaker Brian Bosma and President Pro Tempore Rod Bray spoke to the media as lawmakers adjourned for the week.

You can hear them both in the Leon-Tailored Audio above.

On this edition of Indiana Issues,we examine the President’s State of the Union address, a decision involving House Speaker Brian Bosma’s campaign fund, the abortion battle resurfaces in Indiana and “vice” makes news at the Statehouse. Our panel includes political commentary Lindsay Marie, WIBC reporter Eric Berman and political commentator Jennifer Hallowell.

0:00 – Introduction

1:00 – State of the Union

7:00 – Speaker Cleared of Wrongdoing

15:00 – Abortion Battle Brewing

19:00 – Vice News

28:00 – Predictions & Prognostications Indiana Issues is taped at the Edge Media Studios in downtown Indianapolis.

I’ve recently been reading the book, “The Radical King.”  It is a collection of speeches by Dr. King that have been used to argue that King was “just as radical” as his earlier contemporary, Malcolm X.

I don’t agree with that assessment, and I point to a speech he gave six months before he was assassinated.  King spoke to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia.  The lecture was entitled, “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?”  In his address, King encourages the students to work hard and love themselves, despite the obstacles they might face.

However, it is this phrase that has always stuck with me…

“our slogan must not be “Burn, baby, burn.” It must be, “Build, baby,

 build.” “Organize, baby, organize.” Yes, our slogan must be “Learn, baby,

 learn,” so that we can earn, baby, earn.”

Instead of engaging in acts of violence that usually turn into acts of counterproductivity, King told students to build up their communities, get politically active and above all else, get an education.

And as we remember King this weekend, I think that part of his message, particularly when it comes to getting an education for urban youth still seems at times to get lost, either by default or design.

Take a look at some of these statistics,

• 21% of blacks live in poverty.
• 38% of people in poverty have a high school diploma or less.
• The black high school graduation rate lags behind the general population.
• And although the number has been on the rise lately, only 24% of the black population over 25 has a college degree or more.

When we look at the clear link between poverty and education, it is unfortunate that efforts to improve urban education tend to get swept up in a sea of politics.

Instead of staying focused that job of schools is to educate students, teach them to think and help keep them on the path of being productive students,  some people would rather schools be places that employ adults, and the children are an afterthought.

Instead of looking for ways to expand educational opportunities in urban educational settings, there are those who want not only to limit but reduce and further restrict a parent’s ability to choose the educational environment that works best for their kids.  And please note, if these folks tried the same behavior in the private sector, they would likely be in violation of our nation’s antitrust laws.

And one last point.  When it comes to the contentious issue of teacher pay,   there is research out there that indicates more choices would result in an overall increase in teacher pay, because schools would have to compete for teachers, just like they would students, so they would have to pay more to attract top talent, which results in better-educated children.

And I think Dr. King would agree that it is much easier to build, organize and earn when you’re armed with an education.

There’s been a lot of talk these days over at the Indiana General Assembly about increasing teacher pay and various proposals are surfacing to deal with the issue.

Governor Eric Holcomb wants to repurpose Teacher Appreciation Grant dollars (to the tune of $60 million over the biennium) to go towards salaries and tax credits for teachers who buy school supplies.   House Republicans are “encouraging” school districts to dedicate 85 percent of their operational expenses to the classroom or explain to their constituents why that isn’t happening. Indiana Democrats, particularly State Senator Eddie Melton, has called for increase dollars to schools so that teachers can get a five-percent increase in pay over the next two years.

Frankly, I think before there is any discussion about more state funding for teacher pay, we should have a discussion about what schools are currently doing with the cash they’re getting.

Remember, it’s local school districts that set the pay for teachers, not the state.

I did some cursory research recently and looked at how much schools in Indiana were getting in state aid.

I collected data from the Indiana Department of Education on how much state aid (Basic Tuition support and complexity grant dollars) traditional public schools have received since FY 2014 as well their student populations and the number of teachers, here’s I  found so far…

• FY 2014 – 989,330 students/ 57,277 full-time teachers / $5,506,395,395
• FY 2015 – 985,517 students / 57,100 full-time teachers/ $5,498,031, 260
• FY 2016 –  1,022,461 students / 57,201 full-time teachers/ $5,746,947,138
• FY 2017 – 1,024,677 students/ 57,433 full-time teachers/ $5,848,240,464
• FY 2018 – 1,026,580 students / ***  /$5,938,860,576

(The number for 2018 won’t be available until this summer, but it is fair to assume it was at least 57,500.)

There are a couple of things we can extrapolate from these numbers.   First, while the number of students has increased from 2014-2018 (37,000) the number of teachers has stayed relatively flat, but schools received nearly $422 million more dollars since 2014 and this does not include the $289 million that Governor Holcomb wants to give them over the next biennium.

So ask yourself, if the number of teachers has stayed about the same, but there are more students and more money going to the schools, where are the dollars going?   I think that might be the question that needs to be answered first. Who knows what we might find? I’m thinking more money for teacher pay.

On this edition of Indiana Issues, we discuss teacher pay, hate crimes, cigarette taxes, and the various statehouse agendas.

Our panel includes Libertarian Mark Rutherford, Democrat Kip Tew, and Republican Kyle Waker.

0:00 – Introduction
1:00 – Teacher Pay
8:00 – Hate Crimes Legislation
17:00 – Statehouse Agendas
24:00 – Cigarette Taxes
28:00 – Predictions & Prognostications

Indiana Issues is recorded at Edge Media Studios in downtown Indianapolis.

With 2019 coming to an end, we’d like your thoughts on a few issues.

So if you have a few minutes, feel free to take our informal survey.  It takes less than five minutes to complete and was made possible with help from our partners at Indianapolis Public Schools, Hirons Communications and the Institute for Quality Education.

Click here to take the survey.

We plan to post the results posted in a few days.

If you’re stuck for an idea for a Christmas gift this holiday season, might we make a suggestion?

Try a gift certificate from one our Indy Politics partners.

• Leon Tailoring
• Nicky Blaine’s
• Downtown Comics

And of course, you can also get them a subscription to the Cheat Sheet, but that present is so awesome, you should also get one for yourself.

Happy Holidays!