Lawmaker who employs minors at ski resort shelves plan to scrap child labor laws

State Sen. Chip Perfect is setting aside his push this year to scrap Indiana child labor laws amid conflict-of-interest scrutiny that arose from his employment of hundreds of minors.

Instead, the Republican from Lawrenceburg and CEO of a southeastern Indiana ski resort filed an amendment to Senate Bill 342 asking lawmakers to study child labor laws this summer, a move that likely would put off a similar measure at least until 2020.

But his involvement in the bill to begin with — and the ethics committee ruling that it wasn't a conflict of interest — points to a larger issue: In a so-called citizen legislature, whose members usually have full-time jobs elsewhere, the line between a lawmaker's expertise and potential conflicts can be blurry.

Perfect defended his decision to file the original legislation during a Wednesday committee hearing, but said he was amending the bill because of the increased attention and negative consequences his business and family have been facing.

"In this citizen legislature, turns out we have lawyers every day who pass laws, we have people that work for utilities that pass bills helping utilities, we have farmers that are legislators that pass legislation to help farmers," Perfect said. "That’s the nature of a citizen legislature."

His original bill would have gotten rid of work permit requirements for minors and removed all restrictions on what hours 16- and 17-year-old Hoosiers could work. Other protections for minors would have still been present under federal law.

“I love the slogan that we’ve had for awhile, and I continue to use it: Indiana is a state that works. But, you know, I’m trying to shine a light on the fact that there ought to be a big asterisk on that slogan, because it’s a state that works unless you’re a minor where you can only work if you have permission from state institutions and under the restrictions arbitrarily established by those state institutions and enforced by the state," Perfect said, referencing Indiana's work permit requirement for minors.

Had the bill passed, Perfect would have been able to ask his younger employees to work more hours and later at night in some cases.

Previously: Lawmaker who employs youths and wants to gut child labor laws has no conflict, panel says

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His resort, Perfect North Slopes, sent its own human resources director to testify in support of the bill last week. Perfect later admitted those optics weren't good.

After IndyStar inquired last week whether Perfect's involvement in the bill was a conflict of interest, Perfect requested a formal ethics hearing. The Senate Ethics Committee ruled that there was no conflict of interest — at least not as defined by the Indiana Senate's ethics policy, meaning they didn't feel it had a "unique, direct and material effect" on a lawmaker financially.

Perfect also said he had informally talked to the former committee chair three years ago to ask about his involvement in other child labor legislation.

Other lawmakers defended Perfect's involvement during Wednesday's Senate Pensions and Labor committee hearing. Like Perfect, they argued that because Indiana's General Assembly is a citizen legislature that only convenes a few months each year, lawmakers naturally stick to what they know.

"Each of us has different levels of expertise and knowledge, and we come across an issue based off our ... knowledge (and) experience or brought up by our constituents, so I think it's important (that Perfect filed this bill)," said Victoria Spartz, R-Noblesville. "I would have not understood there was even an issue. I’ve never been involved with employment with minors or school-aged students."

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody, argued that it doesn't matter if Indiana has a citizen legislature: Perfect still had something to gain from the legislation, so he should have known to stand down.

“Even in a citizen legislature, lawmakers should hold themselves to the highest ethical standard and avoid even the faintest whiff of self-dealing," Zody said. "That Sen. Perfect couldn’t see the flagrant conflict of interest here is just the latest example of Statehouse Republicans believing the rules don’t apply to them. The Statehouse shouldn’t be a tool for the well-connected to make a quick buck.”

Call IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.