LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A bill that sets out a procedure to remove rogue administrators is up for a vote by the entire Indiana Senate Monday or Tuesday — but likely Monday, said Drake Abramson, legislative aide to Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette.

Alting media contact Laura Baxter said if the bill was not put to a vote by the end of the day on Tuesday, the bill was dead. However, Baxter said she expects the Senate to vote on the bill before the deadline.

If the Senate passes the bill, it will go to the Indiana House, where it could be amended. The House must approve the bill before it goes to Governor Eric Holcomb’s office for signature or rejection.

Statehouse Overview: What Happened at the Indiana General Assembly Last Week

The Journal & Courier will publish an article available on jconline.com about the Senate vote on Bill 304, and this article will appear in the print edition the following day.

Senate Bill 304 authorized the Senate Committee on Local Government on Jan. 20 with a 6-3 partisan vote.

The bill was introduced in early January in reaction to two Democratic Tippecanoe County administrators – one of whom was forced out of office by convictions on 21 theft counts and the other who is currently serving the under investigation by the Indiana State Police and the Indiana State Council. Accounts.

All three Democrats on the Senate committee — JD Ford of western Indianapolis, Rodney Pol of Chesterton and Greg Taylor of Indianapolis — voted against the bill.

Republicans Rick Niemeyer of Lowell, Mike Bohacek of Michiana Shores, Vaneta Becker of Evansville, Kevin Boehnlein of New Albany, James Tomes of Wadesville and James Buck of Kokomo voted to send the bill to the Senate.

Niemeyer, Tomes, and Alting are listed as authors of the bill, and Bohacek is listed as a co-author.

In response to administrators of Wabash and Fairfield townships in Tippecanoe County, Alting said last year that he planned to sponsor legislation proposing a procedure for removing a township administrator.

Niemeyer introduced Senate Bill 304 in early January and it was defeated by the Senate committee with minor changes.

The bill provides a four-step process for removing a capricious trustee.

Proceedings begin with the township council passing a resolution for the removal of the administrator, Niemeyer said, indicating that the bill is designed to be tedious, passing between multiple elected governing bodies to prevent removal of a director for partisan politics.

Under Senate Bill 304, the township council’s resolution is then forwarded to the County Board of Commissioners and County Council, both of which must pass a similar resolution.

If the first three stages are approved, the matter goes to county court, where the judge will have the final say on the removal based on the merits of the resolutions.

At each stage of the process, an embattled administrator can present a case against the resolution, Niemeyer said earlier this month at a news conference in Lafayette.

Failure to gain support for the removal resolution at any stage of the process prevents the resolution from going to court and ends the potential removal, as Niemeyer explained in early January.

If the bill passes the Senate, it will go to the House, where it must also pass. If the House and Senate approve the bill, it will go to Governor Eric Holcomb, who must sign it before it becomes law.

Contact Ron Wilkins at [email protected] Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.