On Organization Day, legislators soak it all in
Lobby groups, activists, supporters, school children and even a gowned bride taking wedding photos filled the Indiana Statehouse on Tuesday during Organization Day in Indianapolis, with many passing out information and calling on legislators to listen to their demands.
Family and friends joined the newly elected and reelected lawmakers in chambers to see their loved ones sworn in for the 2023 legislative session in the House and the Senate.
Newly elected state Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, stood with his wife, Cindy, and their parents as he was sworn into office. He is one of five newly elected senators to join the delegation this cycle.
“I’m really looking forward to this,” Dernulc said Tuesday.
He said his new role will be challenging and is scaled up from his former responsibilities as a Lake County Councilman.
“Instead of looking at 500,000 for our county, you’re looking at 7 or 8 million people,” Dernulc said, adding making the right decisions is still “common sense.” He says he is eager to serve in his new role for the benefit of the region and state.
“I want to make sure everybody is represented. I’m really looking forward to doing that,” he said.
Dernulc defeated state Sen.
Michael Griffin, D-Highland, who was seeking his first elected term after being seated by caucus in February 2021 to replace retiring State Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond. Dernulc’s win flipped the seat from Democratic to Republican.
The newly minted state senator joins incumbent state Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, who defeated Republican Jeff Lawson for his first elected term after being seated by caucus to replace former state Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, upon her retirement in October 2021; state Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, who ran unopposed; and State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, and state Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, who were not up for reelection this cycle. On Nov. 16, Melton announced his bid to become Gary’s mayor in 2023.
Dernulc, who is also chairman of the Lake County Republican Party, said he is “highly considering” resigning from that role in the coming months and expects to see potential replacement candidates begin to surface. He also intends on conducting a caucus to fill the remaining few weeks of his term as Lake County Councilman. Dernulc said he expects to hold the caucus in early December. Pete Lindemulder, R-Schererville, was elected in November to fill the seat Jan. 1.
Across the hall in the House, representatives joined together to be sworn in for the 123rd legislative session.
There were no new faces in the Northwest Indiana House delegation. Incumbent state Reps. Hal Slager, R-Schererville; Julie Oltoff, R-Crown Point; Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso; Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary; Earl Harris, D-East Chicago; Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond; Vernon Smith, D-Gary; Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron; and Mike Andrade, D-Munster, all were sworn for new terms.
State Rep. Rodrick Bray, R-Martinsville, who was elected speaker pro-tem, welcomed the new senators
and said there was much work to be done. He said legislators need to find a way to continue to deliver public health services, address health care costs and mental health care, and continue to work on addressing inflation. He said legislators also have to figure out a way to help businesses find the employees they need.
“We have challenges from the Ohio River to the Michigan state line,” Bray said.
The 2023 session will focus on drafting a new state budget. State tax collections have continued coming in higher than expected when legislators adopted the current two-year, $37 billion budget in 2021, and legislators will see plenty of requests for additional state spending.
Besides the constant push for increased K-12 school funding, a Holcomb-appointed commission has recommended a $240 million annual boost to lift funding for county public health departments to the national average. Administration officials have also discussed the higher costs from national inflation on state construction projects and the need to increase pay in order to retain state employees.
Republicans have supermajorities in the House and the Senate, which allows GOP lawmakers to pass bills into law even if no Democrats are present.
Over the summer, Republicans used a special session to make Indiana the first state to pass an abortion ban — since stayed by state courts — since the U.S.
Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The state Supreme Court has allowed abortions to continue in Indiana as it considers a lawsuit from abortion clinic operators who argue that the ban violates the state constitution.
The state Supreme Court justices are scheduled to hear oral arguments in January on the abortion ban lawsuit, which Bray cited as a reason for not taking up the issue again in the coming session.
“It wouldn’t be wise at all for us to take a crack at any changes right now until we know what that ruling is going to be,” Bray said.