By CRAIG MAUGER, Courier-Times
cmauger@thecouriertimes.com
A state representative from Henry County has created a proposal that would mean major changes in the way state government works.
Rep. Tom Saunders, R-Lewisville, says if he introduces his proposal as a bill to the Indiana Legislature, it will be dead on arrival. However, Saunders hopes his proposal starts what he calls "an important discussion on making Indiana government more responsive."
The proposal includes three main changes to state government:
The first change would make the state treasurer and superintendent of public instruction positions that would be filled by gubernatorial nomination and legislative confirmation. Currently, those positions are elected.
The second change is the Indiana General Assembly would become a unicameral body with 101 members - one from each of the state's 92 counties and one from each of the nine U.S. Congressional districts. Currently, Indiana state government, like federal government, has a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate.
The third change would be to require that every line item in the state budget and all other spending bills have two sponsors from different counties. Also under the proposal, all spending bills would have to be posted on the Assembly's Web site at least 48 hours before they can be voted on.
"The governor would have the ability to sign or to veto the entire bill or to sign the bill while vetoing specific line items," a press release on the proposal said. "The assembly would be able to override any veto with a majority vote."
In an interview on Monday, Saunders said his proposal would give people a better chance to see how state government is spending money.
He added that Indiana's governor gets either criticized or praised over education, so he believes the superintendent of public instruction should be appointed by the governor.
Saunders believes his changes to the Legislature's setup would make representatives have a better relationship with the people they represent.
"It's kind of hard to do when you represent all rural areas and the only reason your district was drawn that way was to preserve a Republican seat or Democrat seat," Saunders said.
Kernan-Shepard Report
Saunders' proposal has a lot to do with another proposal from the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform. That proposal outlined major changes that would be made to local government in an effort to save money.
The commission's report, also known as the Kernan-Shepard Report, proposed reducing the number of elected local officials. It would create a single county executive and consolidate small school districts, among many other recommendations.
Most officials believe it will get a lot of attention in 2009. But Saunders says while the report has started a discussion on the way local government is organized, there also needs to be discussion on how state government works. That's were his proposal comes in.
"The locals are not the only bad guys here," Saunders said.
Others Chime In
State Rep. Phil Pflum, D-Milton, says he agrees that state government needs to be reformed along with local government.
"We need to practice what we preach," he said.
However, he doesn't agree with Saunders' proposal. He said the setup of the Legislature works well the way it is now.
State Sen. Beverly Gard said Saunders' proposal would fly in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court's slogan of "One Man One Vote." That's because a county like Marion County, which has 800,000 people, would have an inadequate amount of representation on the state level when compared to smaller counties like Union County, which has 7,000 people.
Saunders' opponent in this year's election, Libertarian Rex Bell, said a lot of the changes Saunders is talking about would take constitutional amendments.
"How important is that right now," Bell asked of some of Saunders' proposed changes. "There's so much we're facing right now."
Bell said the Kernan-Shepard would cut out people's contact with government.
"We can do more cutting up the food chain," Bell said.
Currently, Saunders is planning to hold onto his proposal. He said if the Kernan-Shepard proposal goes forward as a bill, he will offer his proposal as amendment.
Saunders predicts his proposal will get discussed and then voted down.
"But at least we'll have the discussion," he said.