Latest news with #MikeBohacek
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislative immunity is an old concept gaining new notoriety
The National Conference of State Legislatures said most state constitutions contain similar immunity from arrest provisions. (Photo from Indiana State Archives) Many Hoosiers recently learned that Indiana has an immunity statute that protects lawmakers from some arrests during the legislative session. The reaction has been surprise and frustration. One social media user posted, 'How have we gotten to the point in this state where our elected leaders are above the law? This is pure insanity & would NEVER be acceptable for the average citizen.' Another reader responded, 'Are they immune from common sense too?' So, I thought I would delve into the provision and explain why it exists and how often it's used. State Sen. Mike Bohacek was pulled over for suspected drunk driving in January and recorded a blood-alcohol content of 0.238%. But the Michiana Shores Republican wasn't charged until this week due to the legislative immunity provision. The first important fact is that no modern-day lawmaker created this exemption, and it basically mirrors a similar provision for federal lawmakers. The National Conference of State Legislatures said most state constitutions contain similar provisions. The state's prohibition is found in Article 4, Section 8 of the Indiana Constitution. 'Senators and Representatives, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest, during the session of the General Assembly, and in going to and returning from the same; and shall not be subject to any civil process, during the session of the General Assembly, nor during the fifteen days next before the commencement thereof.' Indiana's current Constitution was adopted in 1851 with numerous amendments since then. But this portion goes back as far as the state's 1816 constitution before Indiana became a state. Then it was under Article 3. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE For a long time, there was no definition of breach of the peace in Indiana code but lawmakers in 2021 added one: 'breaking or disturbing the public peace, order, or decorum by any riotous, forcible, or unlawful proceedings, including fighting or tumultuous conduct.' The federal immunity provision is almost exact. Some historical texts indicate the language was created so that lawmakers weren't blocked from being able to vote on a matter or otherwise participate in proceedings. In his Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story said this: 'When a representative is withdrawn from his seat by a summons, the people whom he represents, lose their voice in debate and vote, as they do in his voluntary absence. When a senator is withdrawn by summons, his state loses half its voice in debate and vote, as it does in his voluntary absence. The enormous disparity of the evil admits of no comparison. The privilege, indeed, is deemed not merely the privilege of the member, or his constituents, but the privilege of the house also.' The Supreme Court of the United States has interpreted the provision to apply to all crimes, but Indiana has generally seen it used in cases of misdemeanors. Bohacek's case is almost identical to one from 1992 when then-Rep. Keith Bulen was pulled over for drunk driving in January. Police also didn't arrest him due to the immunity clause and he was charged weeks later after session ended. Similar to Bohacek, Bulen refused the breathalyzer test and said a prescribed medicine made him groggy. But Bulen's incident resulted in him hitting an off-duty police officer's car. Bulen's case, though, was not hidden from public view at the time. He was eventually acquitted. In 2002, two northwest Indiana lawmakers — Reps. Charlie Brown and Vernon Smith — used the provision to contest their criminal case. The Gary Post Tribune reported the pair was arrested June 18 on traffic and related offenses. They protested the action and claimed they were shown a lack of respect as elected officials and residents. The legislature was in special session in Indianapolis, although the men were in Gary. They were arrested immediately but the chief of police quickly apologized. The men were charged with obstructing traffic later that year by a special prosecutor. Smith was acquitted but Brown was found guilty. If Hoosiers want to change the constitutional provision they will have to convince lawmakers to start that years-long process because Indiana doesn't allow citizen-initiated constitutional amendments or referendums. It remains to be seen what will happen to Bohacek, including any punishment by leaders of the Senate. Voters have the ultimate say on consequences at the ballot box, but they will have to wait a long time. Bohacek isn't up for election again until 2028. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Indiana GOP Sen. Mike Bohacek charged with DUI months after incident
Sen. Mike Bohacek, right, talks to Sen Greg Walker, R-Columbus, on the Senate floor on Jan. 23, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Charges are pending against Republican Indiana Sen. Mike Bohacek for a January drunk driving incident that remained under wraps for months — shielded by legislative immunity during the 2025 session. Bohacek, of Michiana Shores, was stopped by police on Jan. 24 after a citizen reported him 'drinking an open container and stumble out of his vehicle' at a Panda Express in Michigan City, according to charging documents obtained by the Indiana Capital Chronicle. He was later pulled over near Swan Lake Cemetery on U.S. 20, where he refused a breathalyzer test. Police then took him to a hospital, where a blood test showed a blood alcohol content of 0.28% — more than three times Indiana's legal limit of 0.08%. But Bohacek wasn't arrested at the time. Under Indiana law, members of the General Assembly are shielded from arrest in most cases during the legislative session — a protection known as legislative immunity. That meant Bohacek's case was kept sealed and the senator remained uncharged for months. Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann, appointed as special prosecutor in the case, said the charges were filed shortly after his office was appointed in May but they weren't made public until Monday afternoon. Two other judges recused themselves and the current Special Judge is LaPorte Circuit Judge Julianne K. Havens. Bohacek did not respond to the Capital Chronicle's requests for comment. A Senate communications staffer also declined to comment, saying the incident 'falls into the 'personal matter' category.' Anonymous rumors about the incident circulated online after the January incident, but details were not publicly disclosed until Monday. Charging documents provided by Germann show that Bohacek was stopped by a Michigan City police officer just before 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 24, a Friday. The senator was allegedly speeding while driving a 2023 Dodge Charger bearing his Indiana legislative license plate. The officer at the scene claimed Bohacek's speech was quiet and slow; that his eyes were 'red, watery (and) bloodshot,' and that he had poor balance and staggered from his vehicle. Charging records additionally note that he was 'covered in food.' Panel advances 15-and-under social media ban Bohacek 'admitted to consuming his prescription medication Tramadol as prescribed prior to driving.' Tramadol is a prescription opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain, often after surgery or for chronic conditions, according to the Mayo Clinic. After refusing a breathalyzer, the senator's blood was drawn at around 4:30 p.m. the same day at Northwest Health Hospital in LaPorte. Results of that test later indicated a blood alcohol content of 0.283%, and no drugs present, according to the charging paperwork. Bohacek was back taking votes in the Indiana Senate chamber the following Monday. Online court records show Bohacek had several prior traffic citations, including ignoring a stop sign; speeding; and driving the wrong direction on a one-way. Bohacek was first elected to the Indiana Senate in November 2016. He represents District 8, which includes Starke County, as well as portions of LaPorte, Marshall, and St. Joseph counties. He most recently served on the Corrections and Criminal Law, Health and Provider Services, and Local Government committees. Before joining the General Assembly, Bohacek served as a two-term LaPorte County Commissioner and was a member of the Michiana Shores Town Council. He additionally works as an enterprise consultant with Echo Global Logistics and owns MSL Services Inc., a company based in Michiana Shores, according to his legislative biography. A specific section in the Indiana Constitution states that lawmakers are immune from arrest during session in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace during the legislative session, as well as while traveling to and from the Indiana Statehouse. The most recent session started on Jan. 8 and adjourned on April 25. Bohacek's charges add to a series of other alcohol-related incidents involving separate Indiana lawmakers. CONTACT US In May 2023, Republican Rep. Jim Lucas was arrested after crashing his vehicle into a guardrail and driving the wrong way on an interstate entrance ramp. Lucas, of Seymour, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident, both misdemeanors. He received a suspended sentence, was placed on probation, and was removed from interim legislative committee assignments. Lucas was reelected for a seventh term last November. Before that, Democratic Rep. Dan Forestal was arrested in 2019 for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, resisting law enforcement, and impersonating a public servant. Forestal, of Indianapolis, died in 2021 after his legislative tenure had ended. In 2009, former Democratic Rep. Dennie Oxley was arrested for misrepresenting himself as a state legislator to avoid arrest for public intoxication and was later convicted. Oxley claimed legislative immunity at the time of the incident, even though he was no longer an elected representative. And in 2002, Republican Sen. Johnny Nugent was arrested for DUI with a blood alcohol content of 0.13%. Voters repeatedly re-elected Nugent until he retired from the Indiana Senate in 2014. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Senators send Medicaid work requirements to governor's desk
Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, speaks on a bill to establish Medicaid work requirements on April 17, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) A signature from Gov. Mike Braun is all that remains for a Medicaid work requirements bill to become law, though such a move would require federal approval before it could go into effect. Under Senate Bill 2, Hoosiers getting their health insurance under the Healthy Indiana Plan would need to log at least 20 work or volunteer hours a week with the overseeing state agency, a move that supporters hope will curb the program's enrollment numbers. 'I'd like to remind everybody who Medicaid is for: it is for our poor and our disabled. So every dollar … that is being redirected to somebody who should not be eligible, is taking a dollar away from somebody — some Hoosier — who is poor and or disabled,' said Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown. Every other member of the voting Republican caucus agreed: moving the bill forward on a 37-10 vote. The program, otherwise known as HIP, covers working-age Hoosiers with low-to-moderate incomes and has been in place — in some form or another — since former Gov. Mitch Daniels' administration. But Democrats decried the move, countering the belief that it would decrease costs. Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, pointed to a provision that quadruples eligibility checks from an annual process to a quarterly effort. 'My concern is Senate Bill 2 will eventually continue to drive up the costs of administering Indiana's Medicaid program. So while we're trying to save money, the way the language sits now … will drive up costs, administrative costs, bureaucracy,' said Yoder. '… Making Indiana's Medicaid program more complicated will only increase the likelihood of eligible Medicaid members losing their coverage.' She also worried that the proposal would have a ripple effect on greater health care access across the state, such as the closure of clinics and longer emergency department waits. Breaking down budgets: Why Medicaid expenses are growing Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, said his daughter accessed disability services under a Medicaid waiver. 'You'll find that those of us that rely on Medicaid are also the most defensive of Medicaid and making sure that those folks that are on the program are eligible … and are being served appropriately,' said Bohacek. '… the path that we're going on now, it will make the entire program untenable. And this program is way too important for those that quality.' The Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation estimate that imposing Medicaid work requirements could cull between 102,000-116,000 Hoosiers from the expansion population rolls, far short of the more than 250,000 who would have to be cut in order to meet the 500,000 cap suggested in an earlier version of the bill. Though the bill no longer includes an explicit numerical cap, the language allows the Family and Social Services Administration to limit enrollment based on funding, which Sen. Fady Qaddoura called an 'appropriation cap.' 'I see this as a policy goal of capping Medicaid enrollment based on appropriations,' said the Indianapolis Democrat. '… there are other solutions. The solution is not to reduce eligibility. The solution is not to reduce appropriations.' Republicans point to the bill as a way to save much-needed money going into the next two-year budget cycle — though the Healthy Indiana Plan isn't funded by state dollars. Instead, the federal government pays for 90% of the insurance program while provider and cigarette taxes cover the remainder. Several patient and anti-poverty advocates rallied earlier this month to oppose the restrictions proposed under Senate Bill 2, including the Indiana chapter of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. Lucy Dagneau, a senior director overseeing the organization's national Medicaid campaigns, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle that work requirements, specifically, can have a detrimental impact on those with cancer. Such constraints can 'impose additional barriers to care and paperwork between cancer patients and their doctors,' Dagneau said. 'I think in a state like Indiana, it seems so unfortunate that the state would take steps backward when the Healthy Indiana Plan has been so successful and such a lifeline for people with cancer and a support in the lives of people who could be diagnosed with cancer,' said Dagneau. According to ACS CAN, Medicaid covers the care of an estimated one in ten adults with a history of cancer and one in three children diagnosed with cancer. 'ACS has done a number of studies that show that Medicaid expansion specifically improves cancer survival rates. It reduces cancer mortality (and) it increases the likelihood that cancer patients receive timely treatment and an earlier stage diagnosis,' Dagneau said. 'Pretty much across the cancer care continuum, Medicaid expansion makes dealing with cancer, preventing cancer and treating cancer better.' Though listed exemptions to the bill's work requirements would likely include someone diagnosed with cancer, 'qualifying for and maintaining an exemption can be confusing and onerous,' according to ACS CAN. The biggest driver of Medicaid costs is Indiana's aging population, many of whom rely on it to pay for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home health aides and other long-term care costs. Senate Bill 2 also includes language that would assess the so-called 'lookback period,' where regulators assess an individual's financial assets before determining their Medicaid eligibility. 'That's actually how wealthy people get on Medicaid … you can sign all your assets over to a family member and then you have to wait five years and then you go on Medicaid,' said Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka. 'We're just not sure that they're really waiting five years and we just wanted to … report on what they're doing to claw back from those violators.' However, like with the Medicaid work requirements and increased administrative workload, such a provision would need federal approval. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
