BRAUN EXTENDS GAS TAX HOLIDAY UNTIL SEPT. 5 — BUT FOR HOOSIERS, THE MOST EXPENSIVE BILL ISN'T AT THE PUMP, IT REMAINS THE PRICE OF JUSTICE

Indiana Governor Mike Braun

INDIANAPOLIS — Governor Mike Braun has once again extended Indiana's temporary gas tax holiday, calling it a "new energy emergency," this time through September 5, giving Hoosiers another month of relief at the pump while urging the Indiana General Assembly to make the tax suspension permanent through legislation. What about the "old emergencies?"

Remember the The Indiana General Assembly on Feb. 26 passed House Bill 1033, a judicial reform bill that onlhy targeted Indianapolis. What about fixing Attorney Discipline that was actual lawfare in the past? Or addressing it as the cause of nobody wanting to go to law school or practice law in Indiana's other 91 counties?

Instead, his gas tax extension continues as Braun's signature affordability initiative, one aimed at providing immediate savings to motorists, commuters, farmers, truckers, and businesses that rely on transportation every day. At a time when many families continue to wrestle with higher costs for groceries, insurance, utilities, and housing, few would object to paying less to fill up their gas tank. But gas is cheap relative to the cost of justice in the Hoosier state.

Every penny helps for sure, but he has yet to address the real shortage in the state and it's not gasoline, it's the number of lawyers that he can blame Loretta Rush's failed, DEI, harsh and unfair leadership of the bar and courts for causing.

Governor Braun deserves credit for recognizing that government should be looking for ways to leave more money in the pockets of taxpayers rather than automatically collecting more of it. But the Hoosier Enquirer believes Indiana's affordability crisis extends far beyond the gas pump, and want him to act and request the resignation of Indiana's Chief Justice now.

The 'Affordability' Crisis Braun Has Yet to Address

Gasoline may be cheaper for another month. But Justice is not.

The cost of hiring a lawyer in Indiana has become one of the least discussed affordability problems facing the state's middle class. While elected officials debate pennies per gallon at the pump, countless Hoosiers cannot afford the thousands—or tens of thousands—of dollars often required simply to protect their legal rights.

For many families, the courthouse has become economically inaccessible.

Need a lawyer for a custody dispute?

A probate matter?

A business disagreement?

A civil lawsuit?

A consumer fraud claim?

For ordinary working Hoosiers, the answer is increasingly the same:

"I simply can't afford one."

Large corporations can. Insurance companies can. Government agencies certainly can. Successful entrepreneurs often can.

But many middle-class families—the very people politicians claim to champion—find themselves priced out of the legal system altogether.

The Legal Desert

The Hoosier Enquirer has repeatedly reported on what it has described as Indiana's growing "legal desert." That is the term CJ Rush uses to describe the lanscape she created but fails to take any reponsibility for causing. She has run of lawyers, their children, their peers, and put fear in the hearts of all practitioners of a DI investigation or need to responded to her commission's aggressive nuttiness.

If every month nearly every community reads or learns of a lawyer suicide or reads how bad the lawyers or a lawyers is, who will want to study law? Nobody. She has created a typical democrat economy of unintended consequenses, and she is either too dump to figure it out or to weak to admit failure. Bruan needs to get rid of her before it gets worse. She never should have sought a 3rd term and Indiana voters should have never retained her despite the PAC money spent to misinform voters.

In too many counties, there are simply not enough practicing attorneys to meet demand. In others, experienced lawyers have retired without enough younger attorneys replacing them. Rural communities have been hit especially hard, leaving residents with fewer choices and, often, higher legal fees.

Basic economics takes over. Markets regulate better than a witch, and that is what she's fast become to too many lawyers in Indiana that used to work hard to help people. People today with no help at all thanks to her ignorance. Facts matter. She is learning that. But will Governor Braun?

When supply decreases while demand remains steady, prices rise. With gas he gets it. With law he apparently is afraid of her too. Or as she says, "he needs to be educated."

The result is that legal representation increasingly resembles a luxury rather than a necessity.

Access to justice should never become a privilege reserved for those with the deepest pockets. 1 lawyer for ever 400-500 hoosiers is insanity.

Who's really in charge of DEI Indiana?

Braun's Blind Spot

Governor Braun has made affordability one of the defining themes of his administration.

On fuel. On taxes. On government spending. Those are important issues.

But in the Hoosier Enquirer's view, one of the largest affordability failures in Indiana remains almost entirely absent from the Governor's public agenda.

The cost of obtaining justice. Lowering fuel costs is meaningful.

Lowering barriers to the courthouse may ultimately be even more important. It may be time to review all her prior unfair and even illegal suspension of Indiana lawyers.

Because now a family may spend a few thousand dollars on gasoline in a year. One lawsuit can consume an entire lifetime of savings, or generational wealth.

Where Is the Leadership on Indiana's Courts?

The Hoosier Enquirer has been sharply critical of the leadership of Chief Justice Loretta Rush for years, arguing that Indiana's judicial system has become less accessible, more expensive, and less accountable during her tenure.

Governor Braun has not publicly joined those criticisms.

Nor has he publicly called for Chief Justice Rush's resignation.

Supporters of the Chief Justice point to court modernization, technology initiatives, specialty courts, and administrative reforms accomplished during her years leading Indiana's judiciary. They argue those efforts have strengthened the court system.

Critics—including the Hoosier Enquirer—see the record differently.

They argue that despite years of initiatives emphasizing diversity, equity, and inclusion and other administrative priorities, Indiana continues to struggle with attorney shortages, rising legal costs, delays, inconsistent access to legal services, and declining public confidence in parts of the judicial system.

Whether one agrees with those criticisms or not, the underlying affordability problem is becoming harder to ignore.

The Price of Justice

Indiana politicians frequently speak about making life more affordable.

That conversation should include the cost of legal representation. It should include the shortage of attorneys. It should include delays in the courts. It should include whether ordinary citizens can realistically enforce their rights without risking financial ruin.

Justice delayed has always been a concern. Justice priced beyond reach may be an even greater one.

Looking Beyond the Pump

Governor Braun deserves credit for extending the gas tax holiday through September 5.

Many Hoosiers will save money because of it.

But affordability should not stop at the gas station. Repeating this seems needed.

The Hoosier Enquirer believes Indiana's leaders should be asking a broader question:

What good is saving a few dollars every time you fill your tank if you cannot afford to hire a lawyer when your family, your business, your home, or your constitutional rights are on the line?

Until Indiana confronts its growing access-to-justice crisis with the same urgency it brings to fuel prices, the state's affordability agenda will remain incomplete.

"Gasoline may be in short supply from time to time. Affordable justice has been in short supply for far too many years." - Gregg Smith, HE writer who has been calling for Rush's resignation and bringing Google level awareness to her many failures as the first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indiana (SCOIN).

And that may be the affordability crisis that deserves the Governor's attention next.