B. Patrick Bauer

B. Patrick Bauer
Photo
Member of the Indiana House of Representatives
from the 6th district
Assumed office
January 3, 1969
Personal details
Born (1944-05-25) May 25, 1944
Fort Wayne, Indiana United States
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Karen
Residence South Bend, Indiana
Alma mater University of Notre Dame, Indiana University
Profession Educator

B. Patrick Bauer is a Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing the 6th House District since 1970. His district consists primarily of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County in northern Indiana.

Bauer and his wife Karen have three children, Bart, Megan and Maureen. When not working as a legislator, he serves as the Dean of External Affairs for Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana. He is also an advisory board member for Indiana University South Bend and the Urban Enterprise Association of South Bend.

Indiana Speaker of the House

Rep. Bauer was elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives of Indiana on November 7, 2006. The Speaker of the House presides over the Indiana House of Representatives and sets the legislative agenda. The Speaker also assigns other members of the House of Representatives to their respective committees. His term expired at the end of the 2010 session of the Indiana General Assembly.

Rep. Bauer also served as Speaker of the House of Representatives during the 2003 and 2004 sessions.

Indiana House of Representatives Minority Leader

With the start of the 2011 session representative Bauer became the minority leader of the House of Representatives of Indiana.

One of his first acts as minority leader was to lead a 34-day walkout of 40 Democratic representatives over a right-to-work bill. The bill (House Bill 1468[1] ) would have prevented union dues from being taken from non-union workers in union shops.

With the start of the 2012 session of the Indiana House of Representatives, he led a boycott of the house floor to again prevent action on the right-to-work bill (House Bill 1001[2] ). The effort failed, and the bill passed (55 to 41) the Republican dominated Indiana House on January 25, 2012. On February 1, 2012 it was passed by the senate (28 to 22) and signed by governor Mitch Daniels.

Twenty-three bills[3] "timed-out" and were killed by the right-to-work dispute.

As of July 26, 2012, Bauer was removed from this leadership position.[4] Bauer supported the state mandated purchase of syngas through coal gasification technology.[5] Developers of Leucadia National proposed a $2.6 billion syngas plant in Rockport, Indiana. Under the terms of the deal endorsed by Bauer, the state of Indiana would have bought syngas under a 30-year contract and then mandate that utilities within the state pass on any losses from the transaction on to Hoosier customers.[6] Gas from the plant would make up about 17 percent of the state's supply. The deal received criticism due to government intrusion in the energy markets, and for forcing consumers to sign up for risky long-term gas purchases at prices substantially higher than market prices.[7][8] Questions were also raised due to Leucadia National hiring Mark Lubbers to promote the deal. Lubbers is a former aide and close friend of former Governor Mitch Daniels.[9] The project was ultimately panned by the state legislature in 2013.[10]

Committee membership

Rep. Bauer serves on the Committee on Joint Rules.

References

  1. State of Indiana. "House Bill 1468" (PDF). Indiana General Assembly. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  2. State of Indiana. "House Bill 1001" (PDF). Indiana General Assembly. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  3. State of Indiana. "Killed Bills" (PDF). Indiana General Assembly. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  4. "House Democrats oust Pat Bauer as minority leader". Lafayette Journal and Courier. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  5. "Indiana advances leadership in clean coal technology". Governor's Office. March 2009. Retrieved 2012-02-015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. Bradner, Eric (February 14, 2012). "Vectren: Shale-gas boom makes Rockport coal-to-gas deal risky". Indiana Economic Digest. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  7. Bradner, Eric (February 15, 2012). "Indiana House committee hears testimony on planned Rockport coal-to-gas plant". Evansville Courier & Press. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  8. Evanoff, Ted (January 2, 2011). "Daniels takes natural gas bet that others refused". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  9. Welsh, Gary (May 1, 2011). "Lubbers: Critics Of Coal Gasification Deal Are Sneaky And Evil". Advance Indiana. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  10. Bradner, Eric (2013-04-27). "BRADNER: Rockport plant will never be". Retrieved 2013-04-29.

External links

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