INDIANAPOLIS – Sexual harassment allegations and rule changes overshadowed Organization Day, Tuesday’s ceremonial start to the legislative session.
“It’s been an awful, frustrating 24 hours. I feel like (the Legislature) is being portrayed in a way that I’ve never experienced and I certainly would never tolerate the type of behavior that the people who trust us are concerned about,” GOP House Speaker Todd Huston said.
It was the day after the Indianapolis Star reported three women had accused Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor of sexual harassment, including unwanted physical contact and romantic pursuit of an intern. In the article, Taylor didn’t deny the harassment. Instead, he apologized for past behavior that “may have blurred the lines.”
Taylor, known for his rambling floor speeches, offered a cryptic five-minute welcome with a focus on speaking for those “who feel like they don’t have a voice.”
“We have to recognize that when we fall short, we owe a debt to them,” he said. “And so, as a leader, … my focus, our focus … will be the protection of Hoosiers across the state.”
Then, he pivoted to an emphatic condemnation of racism. Taylor said. “That’s not what Indiana is about, and I will not tolerate it in my caucus or this General Assembly.”
He took no comments from reporters later, reading long-shot priorities off a typed document.
Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray told reporters Tuesday that he was “extremely disappointed” in his counterpart. “I’ve expressed that to him,” Bray said. “We conduct ourselves at a much higher level in this chamber.”
Asked if the Senate should investigate Taylor or take any other actions, Bray noted the alleged instances of harassment took place before 2018 when Bray was elected Senate leader. Bray said he doesn’t support adding a human resources professional or attorney to the Senate Ethics Committee, because it would “take accountability away” from lawmakers.
Also in the Senate, Bray laid out beefed-up conflict-of-interest requirements. It was previously optional for senators to cite conflicts and opt out of votes. Now, they must.
Bray said qualifying conflicts are direct and personal financial interests that have “unique, direct and a substantial” effect on either a lawmaker’s income or the income of a family member.
Read the entire Whitney Downard/Leslie Bonilla Muñiz story for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, here.