INDIANAPOLIS — It may have felt like deja vu for Democrat lawmaker Steve Stemler when he showed up on the floor of the Indiana House Wednesday afternoon.
Stemler was one of only three House Democrats who broke with minority leader Patrick Bauer’s decision to stall the beginning of the 2012 legislative session by not showing up for a quorum call.
The delay tactic, dubbed a “filibuster” by Bauer, was an echo of the 2011 session, when every House Democrat but Stemler took part in a five-week walkout to derail a contentious “right to work” bill that Republicans want passed this time around.
The legislation would prohibit employers from entering into contracts that require workers to pay union dues or fees.
Stemler opposes the “right to work” bill, as do the two fellow Democrats who intentionally walked out of a House Democrat caucus meeting Wednesday to show up on time for the session’s scheduled start. Two other Democrats were sent to the House to report that the rest of their colleagues weren’t going to show.
“I’m here because it’s where I think my constituents want me to be,” said Stemler, a Jeffersonville Democrat.
That comment was echoed by Reps. Peggy Welch of Bloomington and Dave Cheatham of North Vernon.
“I believe my constituents want me to be here now to do the work,” Welch said.
Their appearances weren’t enough to make a quorom, though.
Only 65 of the 100 lawmakers in the House were in the chamber when Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma tried to start a legislative session guaranteed to be even more contentious in coming days. Two-thirds of the members have to show up to meet the quorum.
At a press conference late Wednesday, Bauer said he’ll keep most of his members out of the House chamber until their demands are met. Those demands, he said, include a series of public hearings around the state on the “right to work” bill.
Bauer, flanked by most of his caucus members, said Republican backers of the bill were trying to “ram it” and “cram it” through, while most Hoosiers don’t know enough about the impact of the bill.
While GOP backers of the bill describe it as a “job creator” needed to lure union-averse businesses to the state, labor leaders and Democrats see it as a union-busting bill that would result in lower wages.
Republican leaders in the Statehouse, including Gov. Mitch Daniels, want to fast-track the controversial bill, and avoid the potential for negative publicity when the Super Bowl is played in Indianapolis on Feb. 5.
The legislation is slated for its first hearing on Friday in front of a joint House and Senate committee. The hearing could go on in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 37-13, filibuster-proof majority.
Bosma, meanwhile, held his own press conference as Democrats remained behind closed doors. Bosma said there was no chance that the “right to work” bill would be pulled off the legislative agenda, as it had been last year.
Bosma declined to say whether he’d start imposing fines on the missing lawmakers, as he did last year during the walk-out. A new “anti-bolting” law passed after the 2011 walk-out allows fines of up to $1,000 per day for lawmakers who skip out on the legislative session. Existing House rules also allow Bosma to impose additional fines.
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