(Music plays) Resigning legislators and more from the television studios at WFYI, it is Indiana Week In Review.

The weekend of September 22, 2023.

>> Indiana Week In Review is made possible by the supporters of Indiana primary testing stations.

>> This week, the Indiana Supreme Court disciplinary commission wants the court to discipline Attorney General Todd Mikita, for comments he made about Doctor Kaitlyn Bernard.

>> Last year, Doctor Bernard made news about after she provided abortion care to a ten-year-old discussed it with the Indianapolis Star.

She went on the news to discuss that shortly after and called Bernard an abortion activist acting as a doctor with a history of failure to report.

No such history existed.

The state disciplinary says those comments as well as other reports to the media in which she discussed an investigation into Bernard before he brought the case to the medical licensing board violates Indiana's rules of professional conduct for attorneys.

He defended his remarks by saying he was fulfilling his official duties and that Bernard gave up any rights to confidentiality when she spoke to the Indiana star.

>> Will this disciplinary complaint ultimately impact Todd Roquita in any way?

It is the first question for our Indiana Week In Review panel.

Democrat, Delaney, Republican, Mike O'Brien.

The host of Indiana lawmakers, editor and chief of the Indiana local news initiative.

I am Indiana public on testing chief.

Before we talk about Tyler (unknown name), congratulations on your new gig.

>> Thank you.

We are excited for the local news initiative.

Delaney, the lust Attorney General before Todd Roquita got his license suspended for 30 days, for criminally battering for women, even if Roquita is discipline.

There is a long way to go before that might happen.

What at most can't be realistically expect?

>> I think you could expect a much harsher penalty.

I think what Curtis Hale did was absolutely reprehensible.

It showed a flawed conduct and showed flawed judgment, but did not abuse the office.

He was not into using his office to abuse people which is a sharp difference with Todd Roquita.

Roquita is using his position as Attorney General not just advance himself by appealing to the white winged crazies, -- right winged crazies, but is using it to intimidate like he is trying to intimidate IU and Doctor Bernard because he does not want meaningful discussion about what the abortion ban means for children like a ten- year-old.

He wants to pretend it doesn't happen.

You know what?

It does.

Using his office the way he has to achieve the goal that he wants and admitted he violated the candidates in his response that you put out, of course he doesn't and the statute that he also broke the law in response to the ethics.

I think the Supreme Court took a look at this and the disciplinary commission could look at this and recommend a stronger penalty.

>> This did ultimately, the Indiana Supreme Court disciplinary did have an impact on Curtis Hale.

She lost the nomination at the Indiana Republic party.

Even if Todd Roquita is disciplined, given what he is discipline for, is he likely to face similar consorts is?

>> The Republican side is a little bit crowded as far as contested convention for the governor.

Doctor Bernard herself, the medical licensing board agreed and took care of that.

>> It opened the question.

For Roquita, enough.

Don't say IU Health.

You what Restrictions on abortion rights.

They got that.

What Roquita is doing is legitimizing the left and is saying it will never be enough.

They want to go out to the doctors and women getting abortions over state lines.

The vast majority of Republicans do not want that.

Roquita is doing nothing in legitimizing the worst fears of people that I still think the vast majority of Republicans don't agree with.

>> I want to make one point on that.

The way Roquita defines HIPAA is not the way the statute defines it.

You gave him a parachute so he would not be totally embarrassed.

>> I agree.

>> If his definition of HIPAA is correct, that means the governor appearing the day after the first COBIT death, that by oriented HIPAA.

He said a 55-year-old died in Marion County yesterday.

If it is not individually identifiable as the statute requires, the governor is guilty of violating HIPAA.

>> The question I asked at the top is, is Todd Roquita, if, that is and if, if he is disciplined, will he have any significant consequences?

Realistically, will he?

>> You have to wonder.

Presumably he is engaged in the kind of contact he has.

He is constantly throwing bombs into a very partisan and ideological way that appeals to a certain faction of the Republican Party.

That has been his style.

It seems to be working.

It is part of indicative as a real shift we have seen in the way we judge elected officials and politicians.

How competent and able someone is to deliver good government.

Now it seems the greater more is reserved for those who can be the most vocal, the most strident, the most active and bomb throwing.

Whether or not, a lot of the battles he has waged, they are losing battles and end up costing state taxpayers dollars.

>> I think the most recent one, I saw WR TV, I saw a story it was yesterday or today, that he has filled out... >> The Indiana citizen foundation has also reported that those same $550 an hour lawyers somehow managed to contribute to Roquita's campaign.

>> Is anybody assessing this?

If you know the way the makeup in function of the Supreme Court this binary commission, you understand this is not some elephant that goes.

This is a very by the book.

If you look at the makeup, it is a very high bar.

These are competent and well-regarded attorneys.

These are the real deal.

>> I asked if Todd Roquita would be impacted in any significant way.

If he is disciplined, doesn't he get to go and parade that I am fighting for the unborn, and they are at me for it.

Will this help him more than anything else?

>> For his base, yes, definitely for his base.

It sounds like for him, and I think this is a calculated move on his part.

He recognizes that.

He looks like he is standing up on the right side.

I am on the right side of history for the righteous.

Those who believe what he believes, this is a good thing.

This is definitely a good thing.

>> I am thinking majority of Hoosiers are relenting that.

>> They would say we should restore the law.

>> They are saying the majority of Hoosiers can connect these dots.

>> They have been short of that.

(Laughter) >> Timeout for viewer feedback.

Each weekly post an unscientific poll question.

This is a should Todd Roquita be disciplined by the Supreme Court?

A, yes, B, no.

Does President Biden deserved to be impeached?

87% say no.

If you would like to take part, go to WFYI.org.

A recent report says girls in Indiana face alarming increases in a serious mental health concerns and that the state is witnessing generational trauma in the making.

Yet,... >> According to the recently released Indiana girl report from the Indiana youth Institute integral coalition of Indiana, nearly half of all seven through 12th grade girls in the Hoosier state experienced depression last year, and one in four seriously considered suicide.

Girls in Indiana want between the target of bullying invoice.

In 2021, girls were admitted for inpatient care in hospitals more than three times as often as boys, and girls reported excreting sexual dating violence at five times the rate of boys.

Those issues also up in the classroom.

Chris oversees wellness programs in Avon schools.

>> If you are coming in and her anxiety is overwhelming you, if your chest is so tight you cannot breathe, if your thoughts are racing, how are you going to be available to hear the instruction?

>> The Indiana Department of Education quietly removed resources from a page about social, emotional, and behavior wellness off its public website, including the states social emotional learning toolkit.

They are now posted on a portal for educators that requires users to login and enter an enrollment key.

The state says it was part of an overhaul to help make the website easier to use.

Advocates say it is a response to right-wing attacks.

>> Michael O'Brien, how do we confront the fact that mental health is at risk than ever among young people, and of course the pandemic made exponentially worse, particularly for girls.

It is also under attack.

>> I believe all of that.

I have a 14-year-old who just started high school, and a ten-year-old behind her.

That is very top of mind thinking about paying attention to what is happening.

Are they OK?

That said, I don't totally agree with the premise of this under attack in Indiana, but it is affected.

If you look at the track record, they won the top 30 Republicans entirely focused on putting hundreds of myth is of dollars into mental health.

We passed a public health law that the governor, I got a call after that past and they asked how we did that.

Every other state is doing a statutory ban on masks and you are doing the opposite.

How does that happen?

I don't agree that the premise of this is under attack.

The DOE thing moving it to the portal, that is where teachers find resources.

If she has a problem, she is not to go find the toolkit.

If you put her on Instagram, she might find it.

I agree with the problem, but I think Indiana has made major steps forward to try to address it.

>> We saw mental health care in schools, we saw Bill after Bill for years, really struggled to do anything meaningful if they get after it all.

Think about who had been working on these for a long time... That or function of the problem has gotten more and more serious.

>> The transition for girls from high school to high school is transition at best.

You can be bullied by people you have never laid eyes on.

The problem is pronounced.

I hope we recognize that it is a serious health issue.

I applaud Jim Mercy for the series of ads they have had for the football since he's talking about the fact mental health is an issue in that people need to seek help.

The more we destigmatize that condition, the more it will be treated effectively outside of the ideology.

>> I want to point out for those who are watching, the national crisis hotline on the screen.

You can call or text 988 Indiana.org.

It has been around for about a year in Indiana.

Indiana is leading the nation in the percentage of calls to 988 that get answered.

That is important connecting people to the right resources as quickly as possible.

Those calls on average are picked up within 10 seconds.

It is a fantastic resource if you or anyone you know needs help.

988 is the place to go.

I want to ask about, she just talked about Stig now.

-- she just talked about stigma.

Stigma still remains a problem.

There has been a lot of progress in that area, but especially for young people.

Have we started to reach a point that more and more people are finally recognizing the importance of, it is not a weakness, that is, if you break your leg, you go to the doctor.

She do you feel a shift in that?

>> I feel like we see a shift since the pandemic, since 2020.

I feel as though we take a step forward, two steps back.

We talk about protecting children.

We talk about the things we want to do so we are not harming children.

We have adults able being children at the house.

We make efforts to improve, and then we do other things that take us back.

I would like to see a four real conservative effort to really focus on children in a real way that impacts children with what they need.

Not with what adults think children need but actually have some children say what they need.

Where can we help improve your lives?

We need to talk to kids.

I don't feel like we conducted kids.

We talk to adults about what we think kids need.

>> I don't think there are a lot of silver linings from the COVID-19 pandemic, unfortunately.

All the public health...

Initiatives.

Is a greater recognition of mental health as a problem that needs to be confronted and not weakness that has to be headed more and more?

Is that a silver lining?

>> It is an inevitable result of the pandemic.

I think if there is a family that has not been touched by some aspect of mental health problems, that person is probably delusional somehow detached from reality or they have ignored it.

Or they are the luckiest family.

It is an equal opportunity disease affliction.

I don't think, to get little bit more nuanced these political division, which he talked about in the open, it is not that there is a caucus that says "I am supportive of depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia."

Most people would want to see treatment.

The hangup to be specific, is it is about parental rights and the role of government interacting with young people, vulnerable young people and how they should manifest itself.

Whether counselors should be in place to conduct screenings without parental approval, because often times if a parent is objecting to a child being screened my guess is that parents probably are a part of the problem.

>> It is certainly something you would jump to.

>> It certainly can be a bidding factor.

Maybe a problem that is hardwired.

We won't know because there is this designer to help with mental illness, but the denial they could possibly be my child, and number two, we don't want some government employee coming in standing between me and my, that is the problem.

It is more nuanced than for or against.

>> Some Indiana voter advocates the Hoosiers are shortchanged and lawmakers reside in the middle of their terms.

More legislators have stepped down including two state senators who left office less than a year in their new four year terms.

>> Julia Vaughn says it is particularly frustrating when lawmakers leave less than a year after being reelected.

>> These are not folks who are new to the legislature who were not familiar with the demands the office has.

These were experienced legislators.

I really wish they had thought longer and better and more into the future.

>> Under state law, lawmakers leave their states early are replaced with private partners and caucuses.

Vaughn says it should not be party insiders who get to choose.

She wants to see special elections.

>> One of the arguments that has been made against having special elections in these cases is the expense.

So perhaps as a deterrent, we could require the retiring legislator to chip it for the cost of a special election.

>> Vaughn...

Stepped down.

>> Before we discuss this, I want to talk about something that happened this week that we are not talking about in this topic, which is unfortunately the Indiana Senate lost a member this week.

Senator Jack (unknown name) passed away suddenly.

Thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends in his caucus, certainly.

That is of course not what Julia Vaughn is talking about with this somewhat tongue-in-cheek idea of charging lawmakers if they resign early.

As she noted, there are exceptions.

There are people that step away for illness, for caretaking purposes, and sadly it has been a little while.

I guess in news, but this awful news this week.

We are not talking about the situation obviously.

When we talk about lawmakers leaving the General assembly early, is there a better way forward?

>> Well, in terms of the replacement process, certainly there are lots of methods.

If you look at what states around the country do, if you had any majority, there is not even a majority.

50 states, 25 do basically special election.

That is the most common.

Nine have appointments, and others - have local commissioners or some elected officials.

Others maybe have a lawmakers themselves.

The remaining members of the chamber will decide.

Only four states including Indiana have way what political parties Together, representatives.

Illinois, North Dakota, Indiana,... >> That might be the way to change.

If this is the way Illinois does it.

>> We are in a distinct minority.

Does that mean we are one of those for smart states or other 25 other states that are smarter?

>> I think the cost cannot be ignored here, which is elections in general are costly.

There wouldn't also be that many of them, but enough.

We don't have one or two a year.

The last 10 years or so we have averaged in a cycle more than four.

It has been nearly 10 sometimes.

>> Colorado is the other one I cannot remember.

We have also had seasons we have not had that.

>> It has been a while.

>> In modern times the turnover rate of the General assembly has been incredible.

It is the reason to go against that.

>> Is the cost ultimately too high to move to a special election?

>> I don't think so.

I feel as a voter, I am shortchanged if the person I voted for does not stay in office.

And that the party gets to decide who my representative is.

I don't feel like the cost is too high.

We need to have true representation.

>> Special election is what you have to do for state senators.

For state senators like this, you could put them on the next general election.

>> Julie talked about that as well.

Even fitting them into a municipal election.

In the case of John, that would not work because the ballots already went out.

Fitting them into existing elections, is that an option?

>> I think that is a smart way to do it.

The runway is not that long.

If we did it that way, this person would be appointed by the caucus, which I think they should be.

I think the party has to intervene here.

We talked about party politics in a similar situation.

I think the party should take the person that fulfilled the term, but it should probably cycle in the next general election when the General assembly is elected.

In this case, it would be in general 24 inch out run to stay on the cycle.

There are states that do that.

>> We have the states right here.

>> We technically saw it.

Technically there was a special election to fill out the very small remainder of her term, and at the same time, at another part of the.

Chevron US Senator Mike Vaughn announces he is endorsing Donald Trump for president.

>> In a statement, he called the former president a businessman and outsider in praise and for appointing Supreme Court justices who overturn abortion rights.

Something Trump has danced around celebrating in recent months.

Trump is leading the Republican primary field by a wide margin according to polling.

He won Indiana's general election by 19 points in 2016, and 16 points in 2020.

His Senate colleague has been open about his opposition to Trump's candidacy is cycle, saying other candidates give up and down the ballot a better chance of succeeding.

>> This feels weird to ask about the endorsement of a former president in the leader at this point of the primary motion process.

Is there any downsides in Indiana to endorsing Donald Trump?

>> Downside other than interesting someone who tried to steal the election?

(Laughs) >> To a lot of Hoosiers, I don't know!

I don't think there is!

>> I don't really think there is except for a small group of people, including me!

(Laughs) I think there are people who definitely think that endorsing former president Trump makes sense, it is the right answer.

It is too early to tell where things are going to play out since we are in September.

I think he is still a favorite.

He is still favored by a lot of people.

We shall see.

>> There are other series candidates in his primary pool, including Indiana's own, Mike Pence.

... >> In the short term I don't think there's anything negative, because he's planning to a constituency that says that is what we want.

Obviously other representatives of the Senate have already done the same thing.

There must be some perceived value.

The reason I say there is also a longer-term gate is history I think will look kindly on this.

Some political consultants say who cares as long as I get past the next election.

I think all of this when history is written comparable say that we are sad to see so many people.

I know that nobody has been convicted yet, so let's not convict them.

>> That is Indiana Week In Review for this week.

Our panel is Democrat and Delaney, Republican, Mike O'Brien, John's formation of Indiana lawmakers, and Indiana local news initiative.

You can find Indiana Week In Review's podcast episodes@wfyi.org, or on the PBS app.

I am Brandon Smith.

Join us next time, as a lot can happen if the Indiana week.

(Music plays) >> The opinions expressed are solely those of the panelists.

Indiana Week In Review is a WFYI production in association with Indiana