• Former Carl Brizzi top aide agress to plead guilty to bribery
• Mike Pence signs “power grab” bill
• Convenience stores sue for right to sell cold beer
• Indiana reaction to the NTSB plan to reduce drunk driving limits
• Indiana Tea Party claims IRS discrimination

Ok, so the last time John Ketzenberger moderated was in July of 2010.  He’ll do a great job.  Please tune in.

There is a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag outside the Richmond home of Ken Johnson, a Tea Party symbol.
But when the IRS finally responded to his request for nonprofit status he felt like his rights were being violated.  “They wanted hard copies of everything that had ever been on our web page,” he said, “every piece of material that we had ever distributed at any kind of a rally or meeting.”    That was just part of what the IRS asked for in a five page letter.

“We had no way to go back and replicate, you know, the past,” said Johnson.

Eventually Johnson and the Indiana Tea Party decided it was too much trouble.  They gave up on the effort to secure nonprofit status.  It’s the kind of treatment that has prompted calls to action on Capitol Hill.

Johnson’s Congressman, Luke Messer, wants an investigation.  “The American people demand the truth,” said Rep. Messer on the House floor this week, “and this Congress is duty bound to make sure they get it.”  Messer is also a sponsor on a bill making it a crime for the IRS to discriminate.

Johnson, meantime, wants others to learn from his experience.  “I would hope that people would pause,” he said, “irregardless of their political persuasion and say, if they can do it to them, could they do it to us?”

According to Tea Party leaders, Johnson’s organization was only one in targeted in Indiana.  The Indiana Tea Party raises just $5,000 to $6,000 a year, money that comes in mostly through $5 and $10 donations.  Nonprofit status was sought so that donors would be able to deduct their contributions.  The lack of nonprofit status, Johnson says, has had no effect on its operations.

Convenience store owners represented by the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association announced a federal lawsuit against the state Alcohol and Tobacco Commission Tuesday.  They accuse the commission of violating their constitutional rights  with a rule that permits the sale of warm beer but prohibits the sale of cold beer.

“My customers are unable to buy cold beer, said Greg Cobb of Freedom Oil.  “They can buy cold wine which is 13 percent alcohol.  They can’t buy cold beer  which is, little bit, about 4 percent alcohol.”

A bill to permit cold beer sales in convenience stores died in the General Assembly earlier this year.

Democrats took to the airwaves on talk radio to make the case that Mayor Greg Ballard changed the rules in way that is unfair.  “This is a power grab,” said Council President Maggie Lewis on the WTLC program “Afternoons with Amos.”  “I believe that the Administration did not want to deal with the Democrats on the Council so they went to the Statehouse to ask them to fight their battle.”

The bill backed by Ballard not only eliminates four seats on the City County Council, it also gives the Mayor budget powers that will reduce the authority of Democratic officeholders including the Sheriff.  “He chose not to work with us in a bi-partisan way,” said At-Large Councillor John Barth, “but to take his argument in a partisan way to the Statehouse and that’s just now how people want things to get done.”

The mayor was unavailable but Republican party leaders reject the Democratic allegations.  “It is not a power grab,” said Marion County GOP Chairman Kyle Walker.  “It’s all about accountable government and the fact of the matter is the average voter does not know their at-large councillor.”

Some Democrats, however, believe that the bill passed by the GOP controlled General Assembly and signed by a Republican governor will become a political asset for them in the next election.  “The strategy for something like this is pretty simple,” said Marion County Democratic Chairman Joel Miller.  “You tell the truth.  You trust the public to be intelligent and informed and you make sure that everybody knows exactly what the Republicans are up to.”

One thing you can say:  Republicans created the at large seats and now they’ve taken them away.  The four Democrats who hold at-large seats will remain in office until the end of their terms on December 31, 2015.  After that the council will be comprised of 25 members rather than 29.

• Notable bill signings by the governor
• Vetoes
• Doc Bowen’s legacy
• School referendums
• The Pence policy on Sagamores of the Wabash
• Sen. Jim Merritt’s smart phone app

Mike Pence held another public bill signing Thursday afternoon, this one dealing with a bill to expand the school voucher system, and afterward he talked about the Marion County government bill.  Pence says that he is taking to people on all sides the matter, though he wouldn’t identify who they are.

“So we’ve been taking our time to listen carefully,” he said, “to study the legislation, to consider the long history of Uni-Gov and ultimately we’ll base our decision on what we believe is the right thing to do, the right thing for Indianapolis and the right thing for Indiana.”

The governor did say that he is not talking to political party leaders.  Mike Pence is also, at least publicly, undecided on the bill to give state assistance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  He must act on it by Saturday as well.

Siblings of students who now receive vouchers and students who live in a district with a failing public school will now be able to get a voucher without first going to a public school.  There is also a higher income threshold for voucher families that means some middle class students will qualify.

The governor signed the bill in a ceremony at Calvary Christian Academy on the south side.  Hundreds of children from 7 private schools were on hand.  Calvary Christian currently has 55 students who receive vouchers and Principal Charles Barcus says the new legislation means there will be more voucher students there next year.

“I can see probably 75 or so,” said Barcus.  “It could be more but again we’re trying to grow in a controlled manner.”

“It’s the right thing to insure that our children are not required to attend schools that don’t work for them,” said Pence, “because their parents don’t have the financial means to relocate or send them to a different school.”

Pence also signed a bill that permits teachers to purchase liability insurance through the state.  That eliminates the need to get it though the teachers union.

“I am vetoing these licensing bills,” he said, “because I believe they create barriers to the marketplace for Hoosiers and restrict competition.”

The bills applied to diabetes educators, dieticians, music therapists, among others.  It’s the continuation of a philosophy that Pence spelled out on his first day in office in January.  That’s when he signed a number of executive orders including one meant to limit state regulations.

“I’m signing an executive order to establish a moratorium on new regulations,” he said at the time, “in an effort to cut red tape.”

“I want to make sure that we’re putting the best interests of the people of Indiana first,” Pence said Tuesday with regard to his philosophy on using the veto pen.

The governor is still mulling over the possibility of vetoing the bill that would eliminate 4 at-large seats on the City County Council.

Meantime, in Indiana a governor’s veto can be overridden by a simple majority vote in the General Assembly and one of those licensing bills passed the state Senate on a 46-to-3 vote.  The sponsor, GOP Senator Pat Miller, told 24 Hour News 8 she will consult fellow Republicans before she decides her next move.

The Indianapolis Republican launched a smart phone app four months ago and believes he’s the first state legislator in the country to do so.  You can use it to look up legislation, poll results, and even to purchase Merritt campaign gear.

It’s geared toward constituents.  “I was just struggling to communicate with 130,000 people in the simplest, cheapest way and came up with the app,” says Merritt.  “I anticipate many legislators around the country doing this.”

Senator Merritt pays for the app using campaign funds.

It’s a reaction to the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut and the product of a task force that began meeting at the Statehouse even before Mike Pence took office.  “We’ve been discussing how to plan for and prevent these tragedies from ever coming to the state of Indiana,” said Pence.

It’s a bill that was almost derailed when a committee in the Indiana House inserted a mandate for guns in every school.  After Attorney General Greg Zoeller objected, the mandate was removed.

The bill signed by the governor calls for a study of school safety measures that will lead to new legislation in coming years but the governor indicated that the gun mandate is gone for good.  “I’m just someone who believes that that ultimately ought to be a decision of the local community and the local school,” he said.

But all of those local schools now have a new incentive to consider hiring a resource officer who may, or may not be armed. Under the new law matching grants of up to $50,000 dollars are available to any school.

The bill also calls for better communication among state agencies to identify threats.  For example, schools are to be notified if there is any arrest of a student who is suspected to have mental problems.