Indiana lawmakers ended their brief 2012 session Friday after passing controversial labor legislation, an automatic taxpayer refund, and a phase-out of the estate tax, among other measures.
It was the eighth and final legislative session for two-term Gov. Mitch Daniels, now in his last year of office.
“I hope these eight years have established a new expectation that every single year we will look to do important significant things,” the Republican governor said Monday at a press conference.
“I believe that can be said of the last eight years, including number eight,” he added. “I hope there will always be something that bothers us, something that excites us about how we can build a bigger state.”
The General Assembly failed to pass two items on Daniels’ agenda, including a bill to authorize a voter referendum on a $1 billion mass-transit plan for central Indiana as well as some of his proposals for local government reforms.
Daniels has pushed unsuccessfully for several local government reforms for years. Lawmakers this year passed two of his many proposals, including a bill limiting the hiring of relatives and a ban on allowing local officials being elected to serve as their own boss.
They did not pass Daniels’ proposal to eliminate township boards, or his proposal for counties to only have one elected commissioner, instead of the current three.
“My biggest regret is that we only achieved two of the local government reforms that we sought, but still that marks forward progress and I hope a foundation for future improvements,” Daniels said.
