By Casey Smith | Indiana Capital Chronicle
For The Republic
INDIANAPOLIS — Republican State Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, is effectively in time-out after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors in connection with his May arrest for driving under the influence.
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 won’t be joining them, however. That’s despite his known support for marijuana legalization, for example.
That’s because Indiana’s Republican House Speaker Todd Huston has final say over which lawmakers participate in committees.
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.
Huston keeps Lucas off committees
Huston said last month that he hopes Lucas gets “the help that he needs and makes sure that situation doesn’t happen again.”
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 He has since been replaced by Rep.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’s 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.
Driving under the influence
Lucas failed multiple field sobriety tests early May 31, when Seymour police found him nearly three miles south of the crash site where he hit a guardrail driving the wrong way on an interstate entrance ramp, according to an Indiana State Police crash report obtained by the Capital Chronicle last month.
A portable breathalyzer test showed his blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at .097 — higher than the .08 legal limit in Indiana. Lucas additionally had THC — the active ingredient in marijuana — in his blood the day he was arrested.
He pleaded guilty last month to two charges: leaving the scene of an accident, a Class B misdemeanor, and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor. He was handed a 180-day suspended sentence for leaving the scene and a 60-day suspended sentence on the OWI charge.
As part of his plea agreement, Lucas will spend one year on probation, but also must complete an alcohol and drug program, pay court and probation fees and pay nearly $4,000 for crash repairs and restitution to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
He also must attend a victim impact panel, and faces substance abuse screenings and some driving restrictions.
— The Indiana Capital Chronicle covers the state legislature and state government. For more, visit indianacapitalchronicle.com.
