Indiana House GOP Leader: Democrats to End Boycott

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana House Democrats who fled the state nearly six weeks ago to protest a Republican agenda they considered an assault on labor unions and public education planned to return to the Statehouse on Monday, ending one of the longest legislative walkouts in recent U.S. history, the House Republican leader said.

House Majority Leader Brian Bosma said he had been informed that Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, and fellow Democrats would return from their headquarters-in-exile in Urbana, Ill.

Democrats were meeting in Illinois on Monday, and a spokesman for the Democrats said Bauer planned a news conference after the caucus.

Bosma said he would reconvene the House at 5 p.m.

Bauer and most House Democrats had stalled action in the Indiana House after fleeing on Feb. 22 to the Illinois hotel to protest 11 pieces of legislation. The state constitution requires a quorum to conduct any official business, and the impasse had the potential to force a special session or even a government shut down if a new budget wasn't adopted before July 1.

Since the walkout began, Republicans have killed a "right-to-work" proposal that would prohibit union representation fees from being a condition of employment and have agreed to changes on several other bills, such as capping the number of students who could use taxpayer money to attend private schools through a controversial voucher program.

Sponsored Links

The standoff got a bit nasty at times -- with name-calling, scathing political ads, rowdy rallies and fines of $350 a day for absent Democrats -- but last week Republicans and Democrats seemed to tone down the rhetoric and were cautiously optimistic that the discussion between Bosma and Bauer could lead to a resolution.

Bosma said throughout the standoff that Republicans were open to changing their proposals but wouldn't cut any back-room deals with Bauer or take any items off their agenda.

Despite the delay, House Republicans won't have to remove much from their agenda because the only bill that was actually killed by the walkout was the "right-to-work" proposal. Republicans in the House and Senate have assured Democrats the issue will not be resurrected this year, and Bosma extended deadlines for other measures.

The Indiana boycott came a week after Wisconsin's Democratic senators left for Illinois in their three-week boycott against a law barring most public employees from collective bargaining. Wisconsin Republicans used a parliamentary maneuver to pass the law without them, and the matter now is headed to court.