INDIANAPOLIS - Gov. Mitch Daniels asked Indiana lawmakers on Tuesday to approve a statewide smoking ban and dedicate more money toward victims from last summer's state fair stage collapse during his final State of the State speech.
Daniels used part of his 30-minute televised speech to push the right-to-work bill that has prompted boycotts by Indiana House Democrats, while spending more time touting actions from his first seven years in office.
Daniels presented lawmakers with a more modest agenda than a year ago, when he pushed for a major revamp of Indiana's education system that the Republican-led Legislature largely approved.
In contrast to last year's promotion of charter schools and private school vouchers, Daniels didn't give specifics of what type of statewide smoking ban he wants enacted or how much money should go to the families of those killed or injured from the August stage collapse beyond the state's current $5 million liability cap that has already been paid out.
"A catastrophe so singular merits unique treatment, and I hope you will augment the amounts already provided the victims and their families by the state and private donors," Daniels said.
The governor also renewed a call he's made for several years for an "overdue modernization" of township government, but gave it only a brief mention in his speech after giving the subject much more attention last year, after which legislators took little action.
Daniels vowed that his administration "will not loaf" during his last year in office.
He said the state would spend a record $1.2 billion on highway projects this year, including progress on the Hoosier Heartland Corridor between Lafayette and Fort Wayne and the U.S. 31 upgrade between South Bend and Kokomo.
Daniels touted what he said had been his administration's success in making Indiana one of the top states for economic growth in the country - even as its unemployment rate remains at 9 percent.
"It was our ironic bad luck to create a top economic climate just as the nation plunged into its worst modern recession and business investment slowed to a crawl," he said. "We became the prettiest girl in school the year they called off the prom."
