Indiana Republicans are taking a page out of the Wisconsin playbook, saying Thursday that they plan to dealing with bills without Democrats who fled the state, the
Indianapolis Star reported Friday.
House Speaker Brian Bosma, an Indianapolis Republican, and Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, a Fort Wayne Republican, said the Senate will start identifying bills next week in which they can insert issues being held up by the House walk-out. That includes the state budget, redistricting and other key issues that must be addressed by an April 29 deadline.
"The future of the democratic process is at stake right now," Bosma said.
The Senate could pass a budget by amending it into another bill that has already passed the House. House Democrats would still need to approve the final budget, but they would have no input into the bill.
Democrats walked out of the state Legislature after Republicans introduced a bill regulating wages and union jobs on local government public construction projects. They fled to Urbana, Ill., denying the Republican-controlled House the quorum needed to conduct business.
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