When Indiana House Democrats left the Statehouse for Urbana, Ill., nearly three weeks ago, they left the Republican majority without enough members to meet quorum requirements. Their absence effectively put the brakes on a legislative agenda they claimed was radical.

Voters will ultimately decide whether their protest was warranted, but the immediate question is what effect it has on the session. Here’s an update on where things stand:

What’s done

Legislation originating in the Senate, with its quorum-proof GOP majority, was unaffected by the walkout. Bills approved in that chamber include an immigration bill modeled after Arizona’s controversial bill and a scaled-down prison reform bill.

There also was legislation that moved swiftly through the process, that both houses have approved and that Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed into law. One is the long-delayed unemployment insurance bill, and another will allow counties to establish vote centers, which showed impressive cost-savings in counties where they were tested and proved popular with voters.

For bills caught in the balance in the House, they can still be considered when Democrats return. Many need more time and study than they would have received even without the walkout – notably bills involving new abortion restrictions and school vouchers.

What’s left undone

The House Republican caucus’ tally of bills killed by the walkout is 23. That’s a bit disingenuous: No legislation is really dead until adjournment because rules allow for language from one bill to be inserted into another.

House Bill 1479, establishing procedures for the state to take over struggling schools and hand them over to turnaround school operators, was a key piece of state Superintendent Tony Bennett’s legislative agenda. Look for at least some of its language to find second life in an education-related Senate bill.

And if they aren’t revived, some of the legislation died a merciful death. A tea party-placating resolution calling for a constitutional convention to limit the authority of the federal government was among the measures. Another resolution, allowing the General Assembly to appoint an independent commission to draw congressional and legislative districts, faced tough odds in the House.

“I’m not sure it was on a swift road to passage,” said Julia Vaughn, policy director for Common Cause of Indiana. “It was about as weak a proposal as you could put forward.”

What must be done

Some observers have noted that the most successful legislative sessions are those in which the fewest bills pass. By that measure, a session that began with more than 1,000 pieces of legislation probably needed a cooling-off period. But there are two items of business that must be done, beginning with a biennial budget. The current spending plan runs out June 30.

The House Ways and Means Committee completed its public hearings on the budget well before the walkout. With few dollars to fight over, budget discussions so far have been unusually peaceful. And the final document requires virtually no participation from lawmakers overall.

“When it really gets down to it – the last 10 days of the session – four people really finalize the budget,” said Rep. Win Moses, a 10-term Democrat from Fort Wayne.

Conference committees comprised of four people – usually a Republican and Democrat from both the House and Senate – often draft final language for bills.

Redistricting is the second task at hand, required as a result of the decennial census. With majorities in both the House and Senate, Republicans will control the process regardless of when it happens. Julia Vaughn of Common Cause, who is working with a statewide organization to include public suggestions in redistricting (see Page 14A), said the General Assembly must approve congressional maps by session’s end, but said there’s no requirement to finish the legislative maps by the April 29 deadline.

“What we hope they do is just concentrate on the congressional districts, then spend the summer engaging Indiana voters in the process of drawing legislative districts, talking about communities of interest, and then come back on Organization Day in November and introduce a bill,” she said. “They could have (maps approved) by the second, third week of the session next year and plenty of time for candidates to file before May.

“If they are serious about doing this right, what’s the rush?” she asked.

The cost

GOP claims aside, the Democrats’ exodus hasn’t cost anything but patience so far. Staff salaries would be paid whether or not the lawmakers were in attendance.

House Democrats have said they will not accept their $152 daily expense pay during their hiatus. Speaker Brian Bosma began assessing $250 per-day fines – apparently a compromise amount after freshman GOP lawmakers demanded the penalty be set at $1,000 a day. Veteran lawmakers advised them that they might someday be on the other end of a walkout and face fines levied by a Democratic-controlled House.

The additional cost for taxpayers would come if and when a special session is called. The legislature has until April 29 to conclude its business this session – that’s seven weeks away. Consider that a short session every even-numbered year lasts just eight weeks.

“There is no time crisis,” Moses said. “Everything that needs to get done can easily get done in three weeks’ time.”

Bosma acknowledged last week that House Republicans could continue working informally on legislation, aside from committee votes on Senate bills.

“We have discussed wiring around all of this if it continues for too terribly much longer,” Bosma said.

If a special session is required, the best indication of cost is what was spent two years ago, when a budget impasse required extra work days in June. Expense pay for lawmakers totaled $12,420 a day, plus a weekly charge of $13,300 in travel expenses, according to the Legislative Services Agency.