Recent editorials published in Indiana newspapers

Terre Haute () - Tribune-Star. September 23, 2016

Rep's new job creates conflict.

Leveraging elected position to obtain employment is improper

Local State Rep. Alan Morrison has apparently succumbed to a malady that besets far too many legislators who fail to understand or acknowledge conflicts of interest when everyone else sees them clearly.

Morrison in May took a job with a division of a Lafayette-based security company who just two months earlier was granted sole authority by the legislature to make vaping decisions in the state. The rep twice voted in favor of that legislation.

Meanwhile, the state's new vaping law and how it was created and approved has become the subject of much controversy - and widespread belief that the FBI is investigating its adoption - at the Statehouse. The law effectively created a monopoly for the company, Mulhaupt Inc., and has triggered a movement to get the situation corrected in the next session of the General Assembly.

While insisting his being offered and accepting a job with the company that benefited from this legislative action are in no way improper, he certainly does seem to understand that he's put himself in an awkward position going forward. He has acknowledged that he would recuse himself from voting on the vaping matter in the future. And that means his constituents, if they choose to return him to the legislature for another term in this upcoming election, will have no representation on this issue. In essence, he chose his own well-being over that of the people who elected him.

Morrison lost his job at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology more than a year ago, and he admits he quickly let all of his Statehouse contacts in Indianapolis - even people who lobby him for favorable votes on proposed legislation - that he was looking for a job. By taking that approach, he created a situation that had a high probability of producing this type of conflict or, at the very least, the appearance of conflict.

Despite his dismissive approach to the issue, this is a problem. And Morrison should stop pretending it's not. He would not have gotten this job without his legislative contacts.

The Indianapolis Business Journal first reported on Morrison's conflict last week. In its story, David Orentlicher, a former legislator and professor at the Indiana University McKinney School of Law, summed up the issue accurately and succinctly.

"You shouldn't be leveraging your public office to get a new job," Orentlicher said. "You're supposed to be using your position to benefit your constituents."

Morrison's constituents need to take note of this breach of trust.

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South Bend Tribune. September 22, 2016

This conflict doesn't serve the public interest.

The latest example of ethically challenged behavior comes courtesy of the Indiana General Assembly.

This one is a blatant conflict of interest involving state Rep. Alan Morrison. Morrison, R-Terre Haute, voted in favor of legislation in 2015 and 2016 that made a single Indiana business the only one that can certify companies to make the liquid used in e-cigarettes. That business, Mulhaupt's Inc., is - wait for it - Morrison's employer as of May.

That's right, Morrison now works as a sales consultant for a division of Mulhaupt's, the Lafayette-based company that the legislation in question requires e-liquid producers to sign a five-year contract with. (If you're wondering about the virtual monopoly status the law bestows on Mulhaupt's, you're not alone: Seems that both legislative leaders and, reportedly, the FBI, are taking a closer look at this particular detail.)

For his part, Morrison, in a breathtaking display of audacity, told the Indianapolis Business Journal that he doesn't believe that voting twice in favor of legislation and then taking a job with the company that clearly benefits from the law is a conflict of interest.

In fact, that's a textbook definition of conflict of interest. Adding insult to injury was Morrison's explanation that after leaving his former position last year at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, he "let it be known to any and every person that I worked with, whether that be lobbyists in the hallways, people in Legislative Services Agency, (or) people in the business community" that he was looking for a job.

Wonder if he cleared his networking and job-hunting activities with the Hoosiers whose interests he's supposed to be representing.

Count former legislator David Orentlicher, a professor at Indiana University McKinney School of Law, among those troubled by how Morrison nabbed his new position.

As Orentlicher points out, conflicts of interest may be inevitable in legislatures that are, like Indiana's, part time. But this particular example goes way too far. "You shouldn't be leveraging your public office to get a new job," he says. "You're supposed to be using your position to benefit your constituents."

He's right. Wonder if Morrison's constituents are paying attention.

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The (Bloomington) Herald-Times. September 21, 2016

Section 5 delay painful but no surprise.

Indiana Finance Authority Director Dan Huge told state lawmakers Tuesday the completion date anticipated for Section 5 of Interstate 69 has been delayed.

It had to be one of the least surprising and most predictable news announcements imaginable.

Section 5 of I-69 is the 21-mile stretch of Ind. 37 just south of Bloomington to Martinsville. The expected date of completion has been pushed to October 2017. The expected date had been June 28, 2017, which last year was extended from an earlier completion target of Oct. 31, 2016.

It's the latest bad news for the project over the past several months. During that time, there have been nonperformance and default notices, as well as work stoppages because of nonpayment.

The potential for a delay was implied by every report of a new glitch in the complex relationship involving the Indiana Finance Authority; I-69 Development Partners, the organization hired by the IFA to design, build, finance, operate and maintain Section 5 for 35 years; and various contractors and subcontractors working for I-69 Development Partners.

What this means for real people is that the construction zone will continue to slow traffic and create potential safety issues for a longer time than earlier projected. It will mean more headaches for commuters from Bloomington to Indianapolis and travelers who use Ind. 37 to come to Bloomington for any reasons, but especially high-traffic events at Indiana University such as football and basketball games, commencement and fall semester move-in. And yes, the delay means the road will be under construction for another fall semester pilgrimage to IU and Bloomington.

Completion of the new section of the interstate should open up economic opportunities and make travel easier and more convenient - from Bloomington to Martinsville. The excitement of that should be tempered, though, by this: The anticipated benefits of connecting Evansville to Indianapolis with I-69 - let alone Bloomington to Indianapolis - won't be realized until many years after that.

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The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. September 23, 2016

Test of accountability.

At the same time lawmakers face a challenge in attracting educators to Indiana schools, they also must find ways to keep some out. An interim study committee is grappling with the problem of screening school employees in light of some high-profile cases and a study that found weaknesses in its background check system.

As long as schools struggle to attract educators, the risk of hiring individuals who shouldn't be around students grows greater.

The panel also received results this week of a statewide survey on the teacher shortage, including this comment, from an administrator who reported one-fifth the number of teaching applicants the district normally received: "We have seen a decrease in quantity and quality of applicants."

Student safety is a priority, of course, so the work of the Interim Study Committee on Education this week to tighten the background checks system is vital. The panel approved recommendations to require more frequent background checks. Initial screenings would have to be done before school employees begin work. Currently, school districts have three months before the checks must be completed. Another recommendation is to require school officials to check employees' references, including a candidate's most recent supervisor.

Adults who prey on young people look for access and opportunity. If they are caught engaging in misconduct in a school and allowed to leave without other repercussions, it's not unlikely they will seek employment in another school.

Indiana's current lax approach to sharing information on sexual misconduct in schools was one of the reasons it earned an F in a recent USA Today study on teacher background checks.

The study commission also looked at streamlining the process of revoking a teacher's license and requiring school employees to undergo background checks every five years, not just at hiring. The checks would apply to any school employee who has contact with children, including coaches and substitutes.

The tighter rules should apply to all schools, not just public schools. With education funds flowing to hundreds of private and parochial schools across the state through the voucher program, the state must demand greater accountability from those schools in sharing information about licensing and discipline. The competition between public and private schools puts pressure on both to conceal any negative publicity, but it's easier for a private school - not subject to public access laws - to do so.

The steps recommended by the panel represent a good first step, but the state can do even more to protect students and ensure its schools attract the best educators and employees.

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