The Indiana Statehouse is pictured on Monday, July 8, 2024, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal)
In less than 45 minutes, a dozen committee members swiftly moved through a Wednesday agenda analyzing nine government commissions to determine whether the boards still existed functionally or only on paper.
The reason for the speed was almost immediately clear: only one of the nine boards, committees and commissions or councils had current members show up to testify.
Some had apparently dissolved and been absorbed into other appointed bodies. Others appeared to have expired after meeting their statutory duty. One is part of a multi-state council that meets semiannually.
But a representative from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission told a legislative staff member it still met and just hadn’t updated its website That came as a surprise for committee member Sen. Greg Taylor, who is also supposed to be a member of that commission.
Taylor, the Senate Minority Leader, said he’s been the body’s appointed member of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission for at least four years but has never been contacted for a meeting.
“I don’t know what the commission is talking about but would love to know when they’re meeting and what they’re talking about,” Taylor told his fellow committee members.
Taylor, an Indianapolis Democrat, is one of 14 lawmakers on an interim study committee identifying defunct government-appointed committees.
In particular, the committee focused on the following committees:
- Child Services Oversight Committee
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission
- Environmental Adjudication Directory Selection Panel
- Governor’s Security Council
- Indiana Civic Education Commission
- Interstate Rail Passenger Advisory Council
- Lewis and Clark Expedition Commission
- Medicaid Advisory Committee – Standing Fiscal Subcommittee
- Oral History Project Advisory Committee
Taylor said he believed the commission, which was created in 1996, honoring the late civil rights leader should exist and continue to plan celebrations. According to its website, the body hasn’t met since Oct. 26, 2021. Prior to that, it met on Dec. 17, 2020.
Aim of the committee
Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart, said the purpose of the interim group was to determine whether a group had met within the last two years and still needed any of the state resources dedicated to it, whether it was staffing or funding.
“The items that are on the agenda today are those entities that have not been working to fulfill their charge. I would like to stress that today and in our next meeting … we’re not going to be judgmental,” Miller said. “We’re going to look at anything pertaining to the viability of each entity and make sure that they’re carrying out that charge.”
Two other Republican lawmakers — Sen. Brian Buchanan of Lebanon and Rep. Mike Aylesworth of Hebron — testified that they were members of the Interstate Rail Passenger Advisory Council, a multi-state effort with other midwestern neighbors. Meetings occur twice a year but often conflict with the legislative calendar — Aylesworth said one meeting occurred on Nov. 21 last year, which was Organization Day for the General Assembly.
Much of the talk centered around federal funding, Aylesworth said, including a recent grant application to study high-speed rail options connecting Indianapolis to Chicago. The group gets $500,000 in state funding annually.
At the end of the meeting, Miller said 66 other commissions existed in code to review. The decision to scrutinize such bodies stems from 2023 legislation authored by Rep. Steve Bartels that failed to advance but seeks to repeal, merge, consolidate and change various entities.
“My intent is to reduce government, unnecessary government. We still want some government,” Bartels told the Indiana Capital Chronicle after the meeting. “But the bottom line is … these people aren’t doing things.”
“If you haven’t met in two years, you probably are not necessary. It’s hard for somebody to come and justify,” he continued.
Taylor pointed to some issues he saw with specific boards, such as dissolving the Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority, which was established to finance, design, construct and own Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, according to its website. Taylor wondered if the group still had ongoing debt obligations that would need to be addressed before it could be absorbed by the Indiana Finance Authority, as suggested by Bartels.
Additionally, Bartels told the committee about 18 other boards throughout the state that have members appointed by the governor. He pointed to one he served on as an appointee — the Indiana 15 Regional Planning Commission — as one that could operate better without such appointees.
“There’s no real need to have state government appointees on these boards and commissions,” he told the committee, adding that he’d consulted with the executive branch as well.
Miller said the committee would next meet on Sept. 9, but didn’t yet have a set time. He indicated that the committee would meet at least one other time before concluding its business.
By Whitney Downard — The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit online news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
