Indiana Senate Bill 178

The Future of Attorney General Curtis Hill

As sine die is approaching on Indiana’s 2020 legislative session one bill that will receive much of the attention is Senate Bill 178, which will leave the future of Curtis Hill, Indiana’s Attorney General, up in the air. Senate Bill 178, titled Various Election Matters, authored by Senator Greg Walker includes an amendment that could bar the incumbent Attorney General from running for reelection.

Attorney General Curtis Hill found himself in hot water on sine die in 2018 when he was accused of sexual misconduct. He was accused by four women, one of which was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, of inappropriately touching them at a sine die party. In a disciplinary case it was proposed that his law license be suspended for 60 days without automatic reinstatement. The Indiana Supreme Court will decide what punishment, if any, Attorney General Hill receives.

Senate Bill 178 originated in the Senate. The bill was originally assigned to the Senate Committee on Elections and passed out with a vote of 7 yeas to 0 nays. The bill went on to pass out of the Senate with a vote of 47 yeas to 0 nays. The Attorney General language was not in the bill as it passed out of the Senate. The bill went over to the House of Representatives where it was assigned to the Committee on Election and Apportionment where it passed out with a vote of 8 yeas to 2 nays. On second reading, when the bill can be amended in front of the full chamber, Representative Wesco added an amendment that stated; if a candidate for the office of Attorney General has been disbarred in Indiana or suspended from the practice of law in Indiana for 30 or more days in the period of five years before taking office they will not be eligible to run, it also stated if the individual holds the office of the Attorney General and is either disbarred or suspended for 30 or more days the individual will forfeit the office and a vacancy in the office will exist. It should be noted that Representative Wesco is a vocal supporter of a primary opponent of Attorney General Hill, John Westercamp. The amendment passed in the House with a vote of 84 yeas to 9 nays. The bill went on to pass the House in a final vote of 83 yeas to 13 nays.

This amendment was added purely for political reasons in the House of Representatives. It is no secret that Attorney General Hill is not liked by many Indiana establishment Republicans. It is no wonder that they want to make sure that this will result in him losing his office either by a future punishment or at the convention. Attorney General Hill has the most statewide votes in Indiana election history. There will be many voters that see this as taking away their vote. This could be damaging politically to Republicans that vote in favor of this bill. In no way am I saying I support the Attorney General, but I believe that this should be left up to the delegates at the convention whether they want Attorney General Hill running for reelection.

The discussion now is in the Senate on whether or not they will approve the bill with the Attorney General language in it. It will be interesting to see as the end is near for session.

Update: The bill failed to make it out of conference committee and died. Attorney General Hill had his law license suspended for 30 days with automatic reinstatement.