V21, N14 Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015 Civil rights debate begins without Pence marriage based on the indi- Holdman, Long vidual’s sincerely held religious forge opening bill, belief.” The most inconspicuous Bosma skeptical, figure in this looming chapter, Gov. Mike Pence, is still weigh- conservatives oppose ing his options, with dangers coming with any position he By BRIAN A. HOWEY eventually takes. On Tuesday INDIANAPOLIS – The opening the administration recast what round of what could be the defining has been a straddling position, legislation in the 2016 Indiana General telling Howey Politics Indiana Assembly, SB100 on the civil rights through spokesman Matt Lloyd extension, occurred during Organization that the governor “will certainly Day and as expected, few stakeholders give careful consideration to are happy. this and any other legislative State Sen. Travis Holdman’s proposal put forth by the Indi- bill would extend civil rights to sexual ana General Assembly.” While orientation that includes public accom- many stakeholders were poring modations. It carves out an exemption through the bill on Wednesday, for businesses with four employees Pence was off to Las Vegas for or fewer. Sources say the current civil a two-day Republican Governors rights code has a five-employee carve- Association meeting. out. And it would prevent the state from Multiple high ranking taking “discriminatory action” against an legislative sources tell HPI that “individual who declines or will decline State Sen. Travis Holdman’s SB100 kicks off the civil to perform, solemnize or facilitate any rights expansion chapter. Continued on page 3 Ending the meth carnage By BRIAN A. HOWEY INDIANAPOLIS – When you listen to Republican locally elected public officials describing the mayhem here in Indiana – the Methamphetamine State! – you really “The demands of serving in have to wonder about the priorities at the Indianapolis have severely Statehouse. limited my time at home. We are There was Senate Judiciary Chairman in the process of adding to our Brent Steele, relating wave after wave of family through adoption, which mugshots appearing has changed my priorities.” State Sen. Brent Steele will seek to in the Bedford Times- address the meth issue two decades Mail week after week - State Sen. Carlin Yoder, in after his first attempt. (HPI Photo by of arrested meth cook- his decision not to run in 2016 Brian A. Howey) ers and the “smurfs” Page 2 who seek to circumvent pseudoephed- meth lab incidents in 2014, down from rine tracking systems. “It’s killing us,” 1,726 in 2012 and 1,808 labs in 2013. he said. “It’s eating our county up and Since Oregon went to prescription- our state up.” only pseudoephedrine in 2006, the For State Rep. Ben Smaltz number of meth labs discovered in of Auburn, it’s the 82 homes in DeKalb the state fell from 192 in 2005 to nine County that are on the methamphet- in 2013, according to the Oregon Alli- amine registry. “The cost of remediat- ance for Drug Endangered Children. ing these houses is thousands of dol- Columbia City Mayor Ryan lars, so they abandon them,” Smaltz Daniel talked of a family where is a non-partisan newslet- said of homeowners and landlords, two teenagers manufactured meth, depriving the county of property tax contaminating their home. After tens ter based in Indianapolis and revenue. There are foster parents of thousands of dollars were spent Nashville, Ind. It was founded who receive kids “at all hours of the remediating the home, police returned in 1994 in Fort Wayne. day” often wrapped only in a sheet, to find “the boys cooking meth again, It is published by because all of their clothes, including with the help of their father, who was WWWHowey Media, LLC those off their backs, are contami- a smurf,” the term used for people nated. who go from pharmacy to pharmacy 405 Massachusetts Ave., “There were 362 children buying the PSE that is tracked by the Suite 300 Indianapolis, IN removed from meth houses last year,” NPLEX system established three years 46204 Smaltz said. “That’s the number that ago. sticks with me. We need to separate The boys and father were Brian A. Howey, Publisher the use of methamphetamine from the arrested and jailed, soon to be fol- production of methamphetamine. I’m lowed by cousins, along with an aunt Mark Schoeff Jr., Washington doing it for the 362 kids.” and uncle. “That’s the creeping effect Jack E. Howey, Editor Ken- Mary Lou Howey, Editor dallville Police Maureen Hayden, Statehouse Chief Rob Mark Curry, photography Wiley noted that while 362 children have Subscriptions been removed HPI, HPI Daily Wire $599 from meth HPI Weekly, $350 manufacturing Ray Volpe, Account Manager homes, “There are about 10 317.602.3620 times that email: [email protected] many,” mean- Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nick Hermann describes the meth ing that another “cancer” on his community while State Rep. Ben Smaltz looks on. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey) Contact HPI 3,000 kids or www.howeypolitics.com so are living in squalid, dangerous and lethal condi- that it has,” said Daniel, the president [email protected] tions that authorities haven’t reached. of the Indiana Conference of Mayors Howey’s cell: 317.506.0883 In Noble County, Wiley said, police and a driving force behind the Indiana Washington: 202.256.5822 there have dealt with 57 active labs Coalition Against Meth. Daniel points Business Office: 317.602.3620 and his department has received 160 to pleas from the Indiana State Police, calls of reports of meth cooking. Wiley police chiefs, fire chiefs and prosecu- described finding toddlers wearing tors who are calling for laws creat- © 2015, Howey Politics Indiana. the same diapers for days, with feces ing the PSE prescriptions. “Enough All rights reserved. Photocopy- running down their legs. “We need to is enough,” Daniel said, describing ing, Internet forwarding, fax- follow the lead of Oregon and Missis- the NPLEX system as “three years of ing or reproducing in any form, sippi,” he said. failure.” whole or part, is a violation of That was in reference to Vanderburgh County Pros- the two states that have made pseu- ecutor Nick Hermann describes it as federal law without permission doephedrine, the prime ingredient “a cancer in our community” that from the publisher. in meth making, a prescription drug. siphons off police and fire department Indiana State Police reported 1,488 resources dealing with the impacts of Page 3 this savage drug, and the wake of blown up homes, with the most powerful legislator in the state, Bosma respond- jails and courts filled with a growing list of offenders. He ed, “It might very well be. But it’s a controversial solution. discussed a meth manufacturer whose home caught fire The state police think it’s a great idea. The pharmaceutical from his one-pot system in a Mountain Dew bottle, along people obviously do not.” with the jacket he was wearing, which he discarded into a Martin County Prosecutor Mike Steiner believes nearby baby crib, all of which burned. that the reason the General Assembly has settled on puny He notes that chronic cold sufferers have 140 solutions like the NPLEX tracking system is because of the other over-the-counter products available. The notion that campaign money that flows from Consumer Healthcare those with allergies will suffer with a required prescription Products Association related political action committees, is “a cop out,” Hermann said. “Why doesn’t the legislature which pump money into the campaigns of legislators and do something?” Hermann asked. governors. “That’s why nothing happens,” Steiner said. All of these public officialsbelieve that the So here’s a promise. While police, sheriffs, mayors NPLEX system used to track the sale of PSE has “failed,” and prosecutors follow the meth labs, the contaminated something that House Speaker Brian Bosma acknowledged homes, the rural dumping sites that become mini-EPA re- to Howey Politics Indiana earlier this month. “I am a fan of mediation zones, the neglected foster children who arrive putting it on a prescription,” Bosma said in an HPI Inter- in the middle of the night wearing only sheets, and the view. “I know that it’s controversial with many folks, but extended families residing in county jails, this columnist I would more than pleased to have pseudoephedrine as and perhaps this newspaper will be following the campaign a prescription drug because even with our sophisticated money. tracking system in place, they are getting multiple pur- Prosecutor Steiner speaks for all of these public chasers to travel from spot to spot.” officials, and the tens of thousands of Hoosiers tired of the Pressed on the NPLEX system’s effectiveness, meth carnage, in a riveting message to Gov. Mike Pence, Bosma repeated, “It’s not working.” Speaker Bosma and legislators of both parties: “You’re When I pressed Bosma about using his clout as either for us or against us.” v Press. “My focus is really about the religious liberty issue Civil rights, from page 1 here and I think that’s what is important about this bill.” Pence, Senate President Pro Tem David Long and Speaker Long said at Monday’s Indiana Chamber preview luncheon, Brian Bosma have met multiple times on the issue. The “It’s not just ‘four words and a comma,’ and anyone who governor’s office was aware of the timing of the release says that is short-changing the discussion here. We’re try- on SB100 on Tuesday. While the Indiana Pastor’s Alliance ing to do our best to get a balanced piece of legislation.” rallied just outside of Pence’s office doors, with congre- That’s exactly where Democratic gubernatorial gants praying for the first-term governor, Pence was out of the building, attending events in Anderson and Muncie.