Speaker Bauer, we're glad it's not a secret anymore

We may not have an equivelent to the CIA in Indiana, but that doesn't mean we don't have state secrets. Until just today, those secrets included the House Calendar.

We're thankful that Speaker Bauer has finally decided to shed some light on his thinking this session. When he was speaker, Republican Leader Brian Bosma opened up the legislature for the public in unprecedented ways. Speaker Bauer was taking us backwards by, until today, hiding from the public which bills the legislature will be considering.

The Senate seems to be working hard to pass property tax legislation to ease the burden most Hoosier taxpayers are finding when they receive their bills in the mail. On Friday, their calendar was 3 pages full of bills coming down from Senate Committees and ready to be heard on the Senate floor.

Ours? Missing in action.

If, as the Speaker insists, the short session can't handle much more than property taxes, then why did it take him over 15 days to determine the House's schedule? Someone should let Speaker Bauer know that time is of the essence, and if we are to get things done, putting bills on the calendar, instead of waiting until the last minute and wasting everyone's time, would be most appreciative.