INDIANAPOLIS – Republican State Rep. Jim Lucas is effectively in time-out after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors in connection with his May arrest for driving under the influence. Lucas represents parts of Bartholomew, Jackson, Scott, and Washington counties.
The GOP lawmaker from Seymour was not appointed to any interim study committees convened for 2023. Between legislative sessions, elected members spend time dedicated to specific topics and traditionally deliver reports to their colleagues summarizing their work alongside legislative proposals.
Legislators will spend their interim break studying various topics of interest, including the impacts of cannabis legalization on the workforce and possible tax reform. Lucas will not be joining them, however, despite his known support for marijuana legalization, for example.
Indiana’s Republican House Speaker Todd Huston has the final say over which lawmakers participate in committees. Huston said last month that he hopes Lucas gets “the help that he needs and makes sure that situation doesn’t happen again.”
Lucas, who has held office since 2012, has said he does not plan to step down, despite the crash and its aftermath. He did not return a request for comment on Thursday.
House Republicans spokeswoman Erin Wittern told the Indiana Capital Chronicle Wednesday that Huston still wants Lucas “to take time to focus on his health and well-being.”
“The speaker still upholds that sentiment, and neither reappointed Lucas to the Compliance Advisory Panel nor appointed him to any new interim committees,” Wittern said.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s (IDEM) Compliance Advisory Panel is charged with assisting small businesses meet requirements established by the federal Clean Air Act. Two members of the House and two members of the Senate help make up the seven-person panel.
Lucas was selected to chair the panel in 2022 for what is normally a two-year term. He has since been replaced by Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, who will sit on — but not chair — the panel.
It is not the first time Lucas has been stripped of his duties. In 2021, Huston removed Lucas from the House Interim Study Committee on Elections and the Interim Study Committee on Public Policy after he was accused of racist behavior at the Statehouse and on social media.
Lucas was also demoted that year from vice chair to a regular member of the Standing Select Committee on Government Reduction.
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