Republican Mike O'Brien.

Laura Merrifield Wilson, professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis.

And Ebony Chappel, director of brand and community strategy at Free Press Indiana.

You can find Indiana Week in Reviews podcast and episodes The new law is also meant to find employers caught violating the new law.

But Governor Mike Braun said during the ceremonial signing of the legislation that he didn't know of any Indiana companies currently breaking the law.

But it's likely companies from other states who are employing drivers illegally.

I think we know where it's coming from.

Indiana is just going to be a really good place to ferret it out because of how much commerce passes through our state.

The law makes it so that driving with a false CDL can be a level six felony.

So is this going to make Indiana highways safer?

It's the first question for Indiana Week in Review panel.

Democrat Terri Austin, Republican Mike O'Brien.

Laura Merrifield Wilson, professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis.

And Ebony Chappel, director of brand and community strategy at Free Press, Indiana.

I'm Jill Sheridan, managing editor at WFYI.

So, Terri, Indiana is leading the nation now in this effort, specifically with CDL licenses or CDLs.

Is this a good move?

Well, I think anything we can do to keep our highway safe and people safe is a positive step.

But this is not just about revoking CDL licenses.

It's about also ferreting out those fraudulent CDL schools.

And there are many of them out there.

It's going after the trucking firms, the companies who and many of them pop up overnight, quite honestly, who employ, and have, you know, no standards and don't do their due diligence for checking CDL validity.

Those are the kinds of things that I think this is a good first step.

But there's so much more that really needs to be done.

Almost half a million people were involved in accidents last year that involved large trucks, semis and others.

Well, we did hear the governor say, Mike, that, you know, Indiana's maybe not companies that are doing the here, but, it's other states that we're worried about too.

And now will be a good state to be able to ferret out these drivers.

How might something.

Like the feds are doing those too?

So the language in House Bill 1200, mirrored as far as the visas that that can be used, or if you're not domiciled, but you're legally here on a visa.

it narrowed which visas that actually applied to down to three.

And that's what House Bill 1200 basically just copied the federal standard.

but it's a it's a unique license because the feds can determine because of interstate commerce, the feds have determined what, they have.

They have a role in saying who can have a CDL.

But the states issue them.

And so the states can also determine who gets these and and whether or not they qualify.

So the reason the legislature.

So I guess what I'm saying is like we kind of got ahead of the feds, but it's going to be the standard across the country anyway.

we're not going to be doing anything different than what's happened in other places.

So I don't I don't think you're probably going to see a lot of states follow us on this.

We just tried to get ahead of it.

And the reason we try to get ahead of it was because we had two high profile deaths and crashes during session that caused the legislature to to react to one of those crashes.

Both were here illegally and one had had three different calls under three different forms of identification.

So we kept changing the identification every time they would find them and revoke the the CDL until they finally killed these people.

And, I think it's now in prison or is on its way.

So so that was that was the justification for those.

And we did have those high profile, accidents involving people, with uncertain documentation.

And I guess that's, you know, the issue behind this as well as we follow the federal government as well.

And, immigration legislation.

Is this targeting specific like that along those lines, or do you think this is more reactionary?

Ebony.

So I think that part of the concern, because there are some people in the trucking industry, they're very concerned about the narrative and the framing around this legislation.

when you look at the federal data, fatal crashes involving large trucks in Indiana has gone down year over year since 2022.

So I think that's important to point out.

Todd Spencer of the Owner Operator Association, told WTHR that he would like to see more data gather that points specifically to what groups of people or what licensors are involved in these crashes.

And I think that that would be an important point to raise up, because the narrative around it is targeting specifically immigrants who are coming over here, who are making a living for themselves.

Yes.

Are they're bad actors?

Absolutely.

Are there things that need to be done, as Terri pointed out, to make our roadways safer?

Absolutely.

You know, I have a stepmother who is a truck driver as her profession.

And so I see the strain that it puts on people.

Also, how some of these corporations, you know, they're taskmasters and they're just wanting drivers to be on the road for hours and hours and doing things that are unsafe.

So there does need to be a level of regulation that is upheld as a standard.

But I think being careful about the narrative, framing and painting one specific group and demonizing one specific group when it is an overarching issue, I think is part of it that needs to be discussed.

I know there was some talk as well.

Laura we, 1800 people in the state lost their their license here.

And would that impact the trucking industry and whether or not, you know, we would feel the, the impact of of losing those and we've heard maybe not so much immediately, but possibly down, down the road.

Yeah.

We'll have 1800 fewer drivers.

So it will have an impact.

to previous points, you still need to have, safe instruction and safety is paramount here.

and I think when Representative Jim Presslel introduced this legislation, the concern is, is going to be safety.

It was because you had these high profile incidents.

And if there's if this legislation is effective, not only, of course, will we need to replace those drivers.

So we're going to need to make sure that there are people interested.

We have a pipeline we're talking about as a vocation.

We have high quality schools that are offering, licensing training that really is is strong and it's high quality.

But in addition to that, I think when you look at other factors in terms of safety and especially when you're talking about a large semi truck, it's not like a little Honda Accord, you know, in terms of the impact it can have.

I think all of those things are factors in this legislation, I guess is just the beginning, not the end.

Yeah.

It's time now for viewer feedback.

Every week we pose an unscientific online poll question.

This week's question.

Will the states move to restrict CDLs for non citizens improve highway safety?

Vote yes or no?

The last question posed to viewers.

Will this funding help ease the child care crisis facing some Hoosier families?

The answer 50/50.

And I hear that's barely been ever done here before.

Only one vote difference.

If you would like to take part in the poll.

Go to WFYI.org/IWIR and look for the poll.

Governor Mike Braun recently issued a number of endorsements for Indiana House and Senate campaigns ahead of the May primary.

Ben Thorp reports Braun join President Donald Trump and threatening to back primary challengers against lawmakers who did not support redistricting, but also endorsed several House lawmakers who did vote against the effort.

In December, Governor Braun said he would be working with the president to challenge lawmakers who rejected efforts to redraw the state's congressional boundaries to favor Republicans.

Trump has made good on his own threats, endorsing a primary opponent in all but one of the races against state senators up for reelection who voted against redistricting.

Braun also endorsed the primary challengers for senators who voted against redistricting.

But in issuing his endorsements, Braun threw his support behind several House lawmakers who opposed redistricting.

A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

So, Mike, were there any surprises with these endorsements?

Not the Senate.

it was a little surprising that he endorsed people who voted against it in the House, including Greg Steuerwald, who is the author of the maps in 2020. who has a primary opponent?

it's wild I don't know, this is going to be a mixed bag, I think what I think happens at the end of the day, everyone's going to be able to declare victory.

Boggle world is going to pick off a few of these.

SMCCs is going to defend a few.

Everyone will say they won.

and we'll move on down the road.

if you look at the campaign finance resources came out.

so if you look at like Spencer Deery, like the outside money dynamic and the fundraising of the individual candidates is wildly different.

Spencer Deerys raised $502,000.

His opponents raised 21,000.

2 million outside money's been spent in that race.

I mean, that's not unique to that race.

That's the buck race.

It's the Walker race that goods raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.

His opponent raised eight grand.

so this is very much like there is no real sign of money.

Is that the only thing that matters?

But it there's still basic rules and politics that do apply in most almost every situation.

but sure, maybe some of these candidates are hitting 10,000 doors and maybe, you know, they're but this is a just to be just so everyone's clear.

This is not a Hoosier grown set of campaigns.

This is a DC based set of campaigns.

and and it is all outside money and it is all secret money.

So we don't know who that was paying for all this stuff.

where were all those funds coming from?

And I'll tell you what, they don't care at all about what happens next in Indiana.

They're going to get a pound of flesh and move on.

and we're going to have to clean up whatever mess, whether it's leadership challenges or income or whatever.

However the math changes.

I think Democrats are going to add to their so their, minority, at least one seat, in Indianapolis.

So but I think what the real outcome is going to be is like, everyone is going to say they won and and we'll just have to look back on it.

I mean, maybe really telling Terri, you know what what the outcome is, you know, as to where the Republican Party stands today and the rift amongst the party.

And, is it telling as well that Braun, you know, stood behind majority of what President Trump wanted to have done?

I don't think that was surprising at all.

I do think, though, that it could whatever the outcome of this primary election is going to be, and then again in the fall, could help lay the groundwork for future discussions about redistricting efforts at Indiana.

I think we're seeing that play out across the country and, you know, if we didn't get the bears, we're going to get something.

So maybe it's going to be redistricting.

So, Laura you also, had a, we we spoke to you for the story this week.

you know, an interesting point about, you know, just all the time and the money and the effort put towards these campaigns.

And is it all for.

Not if it's just, you know, note in the clips.

I mean, it very well.

Could be I think, interesting in terms of those endorsements is State Senate District six with Rick Niemeyer.

He's competing against challenger Jay Starkey.

No endorsement either from Braun or Trump.

Feels mostly unusual.

but you're talking about endorsements when you're talking about money.

There's so much focus on these races.

And I think when we're looking at it in a way it feels like this is the last opportunity to answer or, you know, how did Hoosiers really feel about redistricting?

But I would point out with all that money, all the advertising, it really feels like the challenges are shifted.

What they're saying and they're not focus on the redistricting message.

They're focused on who's going to be more conservative in the Republican primary.

Right.

and I think that is telling maybe some of the polling, maybe some of just the vibes in the room are that redistricting isn't going to be a winning message for those challengers.

They have to focus on something else if they're going to unseat those incumbents.

I mean, as you mentioned, you know, it has been extremely interesting to watch.

but those three House members that he chose to, you know, say it's all right if you voted for against redistricting.

I mean, maybe that is says a little bit more about, you know, it's really not about this issue at heart.

Yeah.

Yeah, I saw it as maybe a if you can't beat them, join them situation specifically with those three House seats, because those incumbents are very well suited to win their primaries.

Like easily.

I think the only one where we may see some sort of competition is in district 40. as you mentioned, with Greg Steuerwald and said that might be one of the only ones of that three where we see that.

So I think that it is the governor looking, you know, reading the tea leaves and figuring out maybe this is not necessarily an area where I need to focus and so much on bringing the hammer down.

I think he did come out this week, in support of the challenger to Niemeyer.

If I'm not incorrect.

So they didn't totally forget about the race, but oh.

Yeah, I, I don't know what's I got to go back and look at.

Well, I'll be watching in the the country's watching as well ahead of primaries.

Indiana also has a new leader for the Department of Child Services, as its previous director had been on medical leave.

Caroline Beck reports on the latest appointment from governor Mike Braun.

Jennifer Dorfmeyer will continue to lead DCS, which she has been doing since January.

Previous director Adam Krupp took a leave of absence after being hospitalized.

Dorfmeyer will oversee an agency of about 4000 state employees that are meant to protect Hoosier children from abuse and neglect.

Governor Mike Braun said that will continue to serve as a special adviser to the governor on child welfare issues.

when he did leave, she did an excellent job.

We'll see how that works for him in terms of the new role, and we'll go from there.

Before working at DCS Dorfmeyer had led Choice's Coordinated Care solutions, which helps families and youth navigate the foster care system.

So, Ebony, will we now see some stability with this, with this change in leadership at the agency?

You would think so.

Jennifer Dorfmeyer obviously someone with a wealth of experience and knowledge coming into this role.

However, the governor's decision to give Adam Krupp a new gig, so to speak, that we really don't understand how it's going to work.

and spend almost a quarter million dollars in doing so, I think points to creating more instability for this agency, which has already experienced so much.

the director has been away on medical leave.

you have overwhelming caseloads for the workers that are there.

Lots of turnover.

Adam Krupp, you know, eliminated some of those roles within the agency.

So I think it is creating more instability right now.

also, you point to the issue of added bureaucracy.

Who's going to really be in charge, who's really going to be running this agency?

And at the end of the day, what does it mean for Hoosier families and children to have money be pulled in this direction when we could have hired more help, more boots on the ground, help to do the day to day work of serving families and children?

I mean, Laura, do you think it is unusual for an advisor, a position like this from a previous director?

And I hope Jennifer is getting paid just as handsomely.

Yes.

I believe the Indiana Capital Chronicle confirmed that she is okay.

It does seem unusual.

And and in particular, you have three people essentially, because you also have the Health and Human Services secretary overseeing DCS.

on one hand, I can't think of many more important things than child welfare in our state, but we're also funding salaries.

So these are people, not policies or programs.

What I would love to see is that we see improvements in some of the areas that we really need to, and maybe having more cooks in the kitchen in this case could be a good thing.

But typically that's not how that that term works out.

That's not what we we say that.

so I think we'll have to wait and see.

It does feel very unusual.

I would hope that it has a positive effect and I just don't know.

I mean, when we are considering this, Terri, and we're thinking about, you know, the, the welfare of Indianas children.

Department of Child Services has had, a little bit of a rocky history in the state.

And a lot of directors, have even spoken out about how difficult this job is.

And Braun also mentioned during, his signing of the law, this week that this is a very difficult position to hold.

Does it make sense for, you know, two leaders to maybe, manage the agency?

Well, I think if.

You have clearly defined.

Roles and expectations and there's a clear line of authority, and they support the decisions that the other one may make.

The last thing you want is to set up an agency where people know how to do end runs around.

I mean, and we see that happen not just in government but in the corporate world too.

So I think whatever it takes to keep Indiana's children safe, because it's the it's the results that matter here.

And quite honestly, Indiana's results and scorecard on this issue are not good.

Yeah.

I mean, we have had, you know, issues in the past.

And I know the director Krupp had changed, as Ebony mentioned, the number of managerial roles and also reduced the number of regional offices.

Do you think those changes have added, support to an agency in need of support?

Yeah, we'll see how that plays out.

I think I think having more, more people at the highest level of government focus on child services and child safety is is a good thing.

how they how they operate interpersonally.

You know, I think their roles will have to be, well, if you will, to find there's a lot more money put in this agency in recent years.

ever since we separated it from after the, say, back in, what, 2006?

there's been a it's I think that's been helpful in terms of just like the focus on it and like the independent nature of it.

so like so it's good to have somebody if you're going to have a one off special adviser for any agency.

It's this one.

but yeah, we'll see how we'll see how the data plays out as how hard it is a hard agency.

I mean, you're the they you're trying to figure out whether kids should be able to stay with their parents or if a parent is getting ready to kill the kid.

And can you get can you intervene first?

And it's it's messy and it's it's a really complicated role for government.

But a necessary one.

Absolutely a necessary one.

Then we will be looking at as well.

Well the next election for Indianapolis mayor is already taking shape even though it's more than a year away.

Zak Cassel reports three Democrats are now vying for the spot.

There's an entire election cycle before voters will choose a new mayor in 2027, but that hasn't stopped Democratic candidates from throwing their hats into the ring.

City County Council member Vop Osili announced his candidacy in January.

Indianapolis State Senator Andrea Hunley put to rest rumors, filing her paperwork to run this week.

Another Democratic candidate, David Bride, has also filed to run.

He works at the city's Department of Public Works as stormwater division administrator.

Mayor Joe Hogsett has so far not said if he will run.

In a statement, his campaign said he is currently focused on governing.

So, Laura, do you think it's unusual to see this high of interest for a local mayoral race this early?

Yes, a year and a half out.

I mean, I'm still excited about the congressional midterms.

I'm one of those people.

The next day you celebrate and get excited for the next elections.

Like putting up Christmas.

Thanksgiving.

It is.

It is.

That's sacrilege to some folks.

It is unusual.

I think this does dissuade other candidates who might be interested.

I'm very interested what this does in terms of the psyche for incumbent Joe Hogsett, hasn't announced whether or not he would consider seeking a fourth term.

but I think the more candidates you have, sometimes you see that kind of factionalization, and it could open up for an interesting opportunity for a Republican candidate.

which to my knowledge, we don't have one in the race.

But you're talking about, Osili, Hunley really well qualified Democrats.

And I think when you look at Bride too, someone who's been very involved in local government, maybe a dark horse, I think this is a really interesting race, albeit one that will focus, I hope a lot more on after the congressional midterms.

I mean, we have not heard from Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett whether or not definitively he will run again.

I predict that he will not.

But Ebony, what are you thinking?

Oh, it is so hard to tell because we were told the last time.

This is the last time.

And that proved to not be true.

he also has quite a treasure trove of cash to put either behind himself or another candidate who he chooses tonight.

With such.

I do think that it is interesting to see this much energy around it, and I think that it points to some of the attention that we've seen on the mayor's office.

Tons of attention on the mayor's office.

which I think necessitates candidates willing to use some of that, energy, whether it be positive or negative, to raise themselves.

and especially when you think about a candidate like Andrea Hunley, you know, she has about $100,000 to Vops, I don't even know how many dollars I forgot the number.

but tons.

Lots more than that.

and time is a currency.

So the more time that you have to build your name recognition, do the interviews, work the circuits.

It just improves your chances.

So I think that these candidates see this runway and the lack of information from the current mayor as an opportunity to boost themselves up.

I mean, it will be an interesting race to these Democrats here in the capital city, as Ebony mentioned, you know, some controversy around the mayor's office.

Obviously, Vop Osili has been in this, his administration for quite some time.

But then you have someone like Andrea Hunley, who's spent a lot of time over at the state House.

Is this going to be a good race?

I think it's going to be a very interesting race, and I think we'll start to see, the candidates begin to define their priorities and issues.

Andrea Hunley was elected to the state Senate.

Was it two years ago?

Two years ago?

That's not a long time in government.

She was an outstanding principal.

For IPS, are for the inquiry school number two, and did a remarkable job of leading teachers and students.

And, you know, and she's well qualified.

whether or not people think you need a little more experience in government to actually become the CEO of a city is still going to play out, I think.

I mean, will we be looking to what does the Republican Party need to do to have a really solid candidate for this mayoral election next year?

Last time around, it was, Jefferson Shreve, who now sits on one of our congressional districts.

where do Republicans.

We had the best funded, best organized campaign we've had for mayor since Greg Ballard last cycle and didn't come close.

I think that the demographics and Mary, I've got to see sides my mouth.

I was Hendricks County chairman and and and voting, what am I to say?

What I try to say when I go to all Republican when I hit the button?

Yeah.

It's like, take that straight, straight ticket.

And Hendricks protected the Republicans.

Straight ticket in Marion County.

Protects the Democrats because you're already 40% behind after the first after election day.

You got to go make up.

you got to go win, like 80% of the rest of the vote to to get 51% because you're already 40% behind them when the Democrats vote straight ticket.

So I think it's really hard for Republicans to mount a challenge.

We had a great cycle last year and it didn't matter right now.

So I think our focus will probably be on council just.

Always the year that Ballard won though, you never know.

That's what we love about it.

Well that's Indiana Week in Review for this week.

Our panel has been Democrat Terri Austin.

at WFYI.org/IWIR or on the PBS app.

I'm Jill Sheridan, managing editor at WFYI.

Join us next time because a lot can happen in an Indiana week.

The views expressed are solely those of the panelists.

Indiana Week in Review is produced by WFYI in association with Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations.

Additional support is provided by ParrRichey.