Ind. Law - Guns on campus and in State Office Bldg; golf carts on county roads

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Ind. Law - Guns on campus and in State Office Bldg; golf carts on county roads

Niki Kelly has a story today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on some of the bills introduced this session. A few quotes:

[Jim Banks, R-Columbia City] filed companion bills to allow guns to be carried on college campuses and some state properties.

?I don?t intend to scare people. We are talking about responsible gun owners who have a permit to carry a gun,? he said. ?I think it?s worth the debate.?

The campus-carry bill has gotten attention given recent campus shootings nationwide. But Banks contends none of those shootings has involved people with permits.

The second bill would dovetail onto a bill from last year prohibiting municipal restrictions on guns in city, county and other public buildings. As currently written, the bill would not allow guns in the Statehouse because there is a courtroom but would allow guns in the rest of the government-center campus. [ILB: See SB 180, Firearms on school property; SB 181, Possession of firearms on state property, including a state supported college or university] * * *

Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, wants to extend the ability of municipalities to authorize golf carts on their roads to unincorporated areas in the county.

?We accidentally left counties out,? he said.

The county sheriff would have to approve of such a move. State law requires the driver be licensed but local officials can add additional restrictions. Those on the golf carts can cross a state highway but not drive down it.

His legislation is House Bill 1013.

ILB: Well, counties were not exactly accidentally left out in the 2009 law. They were in. But in the 2009 special session that followed, a "surprise" amendment in the budget bill narrowed the application of the new law. For more on the ensuing problems, see this Aug. 5, 2009 entry headed "New golf cart law, as amended, may work a hardship on those outside Culver town limits," and this Aug. 9, 2009 entry headed "New golf cart laws may need corrective amendments."

A bill to remedy the situation was introduced in the 2010 session, but "Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Tom Wyss wouldn't allow a vote on it," according to this March 18, 2010 entry, which concludes:

In short, the 2009 legislation included cities, towns, and counties. Wording slipped into the 2009 SS budget bill narrowed the exceptions for golf carts enacted during the regular session to golf carts operating under an authorizing municipal ordinance. This was one of the "budget bill surprises" - language very few knew about until long after the special session was over.

This is one example of how this practice, which subverts the legislative process, is often successful. The ILB will write shortly on the fate of several other 2009 "surprises", including restrictions on out-of-state placement of juveniles by judges, and the designation of the specific locations of certain local curb cuts by Indiana statute.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 8, 2012 11:15 AM
Posted to Indiana Law

Source: http://indianalawblog.com/archives/2012/01/ind_law_guns_on.html

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