Why are you seeking election?
I’m finishing up my second term, and I’d be starting my third, if I’m lucky enough to get reelected. It’s been a wonderful experience for me, so far. I feel like what we’ve been able to do is pretty meaningful. The Senate has chosen me to be their President Pro Tem, so it’s a unique opportunity, and it’s been a huge honor for me and I’d like to be able to continue to do that.
Obviously, if I’m not successful in my election, I wouldn’t be Pro Tem any longer, and there’s still some things we want to do. In particular right now, some things that are very important, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve again.
Why are you qualified for the position?
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I’ve practiced law for 25 years. I was county attorney in Morgan County for a number of years, city attorney in Martinsville, plus a lot of redevelopment commissions and planning commissions. That’s given me an intimate understanding of how local government works. All those things help me to understand how to get my hands around what goes on at the Statehouse.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
This year, in particular, is going to be a challenging year. We do a budget every two years. It’s a big number, about $35 billion, and it’s going to be particularly difficult to do that this year with the effect of COVID-19. We’ve seen revenue kind of head south on us. Coming up with a budget in this time is going to be of paramount importance.
An issue that is very important to me is dealing with health care costs … There was a study done a couple years ago by the Rand Company that showed Indiana and it’s hospital costs, and it compared Indiana with 24 other states. I’m not proud at all to say that Indiana was the most expensive, and noticeably so as compared to most of those other states. Hoosiers deserve better, and we’ve got to figure out why that’s the case. We’re trying to get that turned around primarily with things like transparency, so people know what bills they are going to get.
Another big one for this session is we’re doing a Census in 2020, and 2021 is a redistricting year. We want to get that done so that the state has confidence in those districts, U.S. Congress, (Indiana) Senate and House, to know that they are fairly drawn.
What are some of the biggest issues facing Indiana today?
COVID-19 has to be a main issue. That will come and manifest itself in a couple different ways. Our economy has taken a core shot. We’re going to be down hundreds of millions of dollars. We have to find ways to get that economy back open again. I can’t do it, the governor can’t do it, it’s up to the business people who can take a risk and start them again … but we’ve got to set the table for that.
We’re going pretty hard at trying to pass legislation this year to give protection for organizations. If a company or entity is doing all their due diligence and trying to take precautions, then there is going to be some liability protection for those folks. That will help them acquire confidence to get back out and back at it.
How do you plan to push legislation that addresses your priorities?
You take an idea and you’ve got to convince people that it’s important. By doing that, you circle around and talk to everyone involved in the process or those who are interested, and you have to start early. Once you get people behind that idea, then you can file the bill and try to get it to the session. It really comes down to a lot of conversations. Whether they are for you or against you, it doesn’t matter to me because we all need to be there for those conversations. The goals we all have are the same, it’s how to go about those that are some of the challenges.
How do you plan to help your district specifically, and communicate with constituents about what is going on at the Statehouse?
I think I’ve had some of my best conversations just in the grocery store when somebody comes up and asks me about something. I answer mail, emails, phone calls. I also send out E-News every week about things that are going on and what is on my mind.
There are lots of different ways to get the message out from me to them about what’s going on, but also, and more importantly, listening to them in those same forms saying, “This is what’s important to me, this is an idea I had.”
Thoughts on Indiana’s COVID-19 response, and what role do you think the General Assembly should play next year when passing pandemic-related legislation?
The governor has done a great job at handling this. He’s been very good about being open and direct about the goals he’s trying to achieve. It’s been controversial on both sides: Some people think he hasn’t done enough, some think he’s going too much. Generally, he’s done a good job, and handled it fairly well.
One of the things the governor has implemented a lot are his emergency executive orders. Generally, these executive order have not been used this way in the past, and that normally contemplates tornado or a floor, something that is short lived. This is much more enduring and longstanding, so you’re going to see the legislature work on how we can contemplate a pandemic like this in the future, and what the governor’s role will be, and what the legislative role should be.
Some people have asked me, “Well shouldn’t the legislature be involved in this?” Yes, in some ways … it’s hard for a 150-member of the House and Senate to make decisions on something that can be changing on an hourly basis. You may need that executive branch to handle that. Making a decision on a dime is very difficult for us to do. Even as the President Pro Tem, I can’t just say, “This is what we’re going to do.” I can say that, but I have to convince 49 other people to support it. By definition, we don’t make quick decisions.
What is your position on public school funding? Should Indiana give more money to public schools, specifically raising teacher pay?
K-12 is the biggest line item in the budget. It’s over 50% of it. This is much larger than anything else. This is the most important job we do as a state, frankly. We added $763 million new dollars to the budget last year. We were able to watch maybe about half a dozen schools give teacher pay raises. Candidly speaking, this session, it is entirely possible that the budget we pass this year will be smaller than the budget we passed in 2019. Are the schools going to get another $763 million in new dollars? I don’t think so.
We hand out money to schools based on a number of items, based on the number of students in the school. That money goes to the school board, and they decide where it goes. We do not dictate, nor do I think we should get into the world of what a teacher should get paid. It’s their job to decide how that money is delineated. We just want to make sure we are funding them in a way, so that they can pay teachers in a way that is competitive.
Do you think it is beneficial or detrimental to decision-making that both chambers in the General Assembly have supermajorities?
If you are in a supermajority in the House and the Senate, you have to govern yourself. You can make bad policy, if you’re not careful. But 95% of bills that pass in the Senate are bipartisan. The reason behind that is because the Democrats come to the Statehouse and bring value to it, and we also listen to them. You don’t see the acrimony in Indiana as you do in Washington, D.C.
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Name: Rodric Bray
Residence: Martinsville
Family: Wife, Kelly; two teenage sons
Occupation: Attorney at Bray, Bray and Bray
Educational background: Martinsville High School; bachelor’s degree, Indiana University; law degree, Valparaiso University
Political experience: Elected to Indiana Senate in 2012
Memberships: First United Methodist Church; Home Bank Board of Directors
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