Crane tells Kiwanis of ‘surreal’ legislative session
The 2021 session of the Indiana General Assembly was certainly a strange one.
Still in the throes of a worldwide pandemic, the state’s legislators had to deal with questions not only of how to lead the state’s recovery but whether they’d even be able to get together at all.
“This legislative session was surreal,” Sen. John Crane (R-Avon) told the Greencastle Kiwanis Club on Thursday. “At the time, we weren’t even out of the pandemic. Were we even going to meet?”
In the end, legislators did meet, but with adjustments. The House chamber was not big enough for its 100 members, so they met across the street at another government building. Meanwhile, 40 percent of the Senate, including Crane, had to relocate to the chamber’s gallery.
“There were 20 of us who actually set up makeshift desks there,” Crane said “It worked. It wasn’t ideal, but I felt blessed we were even in the same room.”
Once they were in the same room, a lot of things happened during this long session. One was spending several months setting the state up to tighten its belt only to have the April fiscal forecast come in at $2 billion more than the December forecast had estimated.
Crane credited state leadership over the past 10-12 years as “setting us up to weather something like COVID.”
“Fortunately, we were able to leverage that Rainy Day Fund to weather the worst of COVID,” he said. “And then we were able to build it back up.”
Even moreso, though, Crane called COVID “the great revealer,” noting that it revealed where various businesses, organizations and goverments were strong and weak.
In Indiana, he said it revealed a tension between the executive and legislative branches, with Gov. Eric Holcomb’s ongoing emergency orders during the pandemic.
Crane said that in speaking with constituents, he heard a lot of “how dare he” regarding Holcomb, but from both sides — those who thought the orders were too restrictive and those who thought they should have gone further.
“And we said, ‘We can’t do anything,’” Crane said.
With that in mind, General Assembly came into session with many legislators looking to have more input regarding the governor’s emergency powers.
He said there were between 20 and 30 bills in the Senate alone and probably as many in the House. Leaders then combined these into a single bill in each chamber.
Eventually, both chambers agreed on the provisions of House Bill 1123, which Holcomb then vetoed.
“This bill doesn’t say the governor doesn’t have emergency powers,” Crane said. “But the bill is designed that if the order is extended, the legislature can come back into session and weigh in.”
What has happened since then has been a legal battle that initially faced questions of whether Holcomb could even sue another part of state government.
“Frankly, I don’t know what the current status is,” Crane said.
He did, however, share his opinion on why such battles matter.
“The pandemic awakened people to the affairs of their government,” Crane said. “It’s helped people realize the impact of government is real, whether we recognize it or not.”
Opening the floor up for questions, Crane addressed a number of topics, including redistricting, the resurgence of the pandemic and even Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C.
Crane said he thought insurrection was too strong of a word for what happened. He also did not go so far as to blame Donald Trump for the issue.
“I think President Trump needs to be much more thoughtful in how he says things,” Crane said. “And that’s where I have a huge problem with his leadership.”
Even with tough questions, though, Crane said he is glad to be back visiting groups like Kiwanis, which he applauded for its focus on children.
“We have a responsibility to steward the gifts that God has given us to help those who come behind,” Crane said. “How can we help those who God has placed in our lives? How can we help our communities?
“If we’re all trying to do our part, individually or as a group like Kiwanis, then we can make a difference in our world.”
Crane said the worst part of the 2021 legislative session was the lack of people in the Statehouse, which he called a “ghost town.”
“That was disappointing because it’s the people’s house and our goal is, the best we can, to hear from the people out there,” Crane said. “My absolute favorite part of being a senator is to visit with the fourth-graders and other students who come visit the Statehouse.”