In light of national current events and response to last week's article on Indiana's gun ban bill, The Chronicle is beginning a new series entitled "Follow That Bill." The column will feature legislation proposed in the Indiana and U.S. Congresses.
Bills are conventionally discussed only after they have been put on the books as law, at which point well-intentioned efforts to engage in the legislative process are largely ineffective. The Chronicle hopes its readers will become more well-informed of potential laws so they may voice their opinions to their representatives prior to the House and Senate votes.
Contact information on relevant legislators will be provided as available. Representatives based on your location are listed at http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/legislator/search/ Hundreds of protesters gathered in the state capitol Wednesday to rally for government transparency. "The Revolt at the State House" speakers and organizers included those from the Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian Parties.
"This is about people having a say. A famous Hoosier once said, 'A government by, of and for the people'," said speaker and attorney Paul Ogden, referencing Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Ogden has had trouble trying to file public information requests.
"This is our business and our money. We shouldn't have to jump through hoops to get information," said organizer Melyssa Donaghy.
Several congressmen, including Sen. Mike Delph and Rep. Bruce Borders, stopped to observe the speeches emanating from the capitol's rotunda.
The litany of issues raised included the proposed state bailout of the Capital Improvement Board (CIB), which operates the Pacers' Conseco Fieldhouse and the Colts' newly-built Lucas Oil Stadium. According to the Indianapolis Star, legislators have been negotiating behind closed doors on how to fund up to $15 million to keep the stadiums afloat. Ideas in play include a state-wide alcohol tax, although lead legislators have said solutions affecting only Marion County are more likely.
"The individuals on the CIB clearly do not have the best interests of the people of Indianapolis in mind when they decide they need to give another $15 million of our tax money to billionaire sports owners," said Gary Welsh, speaker and author of the blog "Advance Indiana."
The Team Hammond Taxpayer's group was represented by Jim Premeske, who called for the elimination of property taxes, the subject of a heated debate as caps on property taxes are again considered in the Indiana legislature. A bill to move up the effective date of the caps from 2010 to 2009 passed the Democratic-controlled House last week, but Republicans in the Senate are expect to stall the bill, saying it is too late in the year for local governments to rework budgets already planned around the expected revenue. An amendment to the state constitution solidifying the caps, which would require the vote of Indiana citizens, is also in the legislative works.
Donaghy says she hopes the persistence of volunteers helps protest numbers grow in the future.
"Realistically, nothing is going to change after this revolt. [Congressmen] are just like children. It takes consistent discipline to make them behave," she said. "When I started this, I didn't know anybody. It was me riding around on my bike for 10 hours telling my neighbors to join me. That was less than two years ago." Ethics in government was also stressed as a sub-theme of the rally.
"What you're seeing is a lot of 'pay-to-play', like in Illinois, but there the [former Governor Rod Blagojevich] says it out loud. Here, it's silent with a wink and a nod," said Ogden.
Dozens of such protests and "tea parties", meant to symbolize a modern Boston Tea Party, are cropping up throughout the country. A national protest coordinated in many American cities is being organized for April 15, the last day to file 2008 income taxes.
The capitol saw hundreds of protesters upset with their government.
"Patriot Paul," (Paul Wheeler) showed up in his colonial best with a sign reading, "To legislators: Ready, aim, fire yourselves."
is a member of the 
