Hoosier Banker 13 PHOTO CAPTION: As president pro tempore, Sen. Rodric Bray presides over the Indiana Senate. Legislator of the Year, in part because of your work on legislation that won strong bipartisan support. What is the key to building bipartisanship? “There is a way to do it, and the first step is obvious. You have to be willing to pick up the phone or walk across the aisle and talk to folks who may not align with you philosophically. Keep the conversation civil and substantive by talking about the meat of the bill and staying on topic. “The other secret is to start early. With the session starting in January, start the conversation in May or June. Talk to anybody who might be interested, or any organization or group that might be affected. Get their input, and take all views into consideration. “By August, start writing up the bill, then circle back and share it with others so they can weigh in. Continue to build a coalition leading up to December, when bills are filed. By then, everybody who might be interested in the topic understands what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it. “There can be a bit of paranoia around the Statehouse, but by starting early and having all those conversations, you wipe that away. Most of the time, by the time you get to January, you’ve taken everybody’s communications into consideration, rounded off the rough edges, and you have legislation that can be fairly broadly supported.” In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, banks have helped by processing Paycheck Protection Program loans to assist small businesses. What more can the Indiana banking community do to support economic growth? “First, I want to say how important those banking partners were to people when this whole situation began. PPP loans were confusing when they first came out, but people needed them right then. “I know bankers across the state who scrambled to make it happen, and there was no shortage of stress, but Indiana got those loans that kept small businesses open. Banks have had a wonderful impact on the state. “As for what more the banking community can do to support economic growth, just continue to be that partner who will figure out the answer, regardless of how difficult it may be. We’re simply not going to be able to recover from this without banks.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==