Indiana's largest law firm and top-ranked bond counsel has hired a state lawmaker who recently voted in favor of the state leasing the Indiana Toll Road.
Rep. Luke Messer, R-Shelbyville, began work with Ice Miller's lobbying division this week, according to local news reports.
Ice Miller has worked closely with the state in many capacities, including work on the lease agreement. Ice Miller also played a managing role in the state's involvement in building a new stadium for the Indianapolis Colts.
Messer had been the executive director of the Indiana Republican Party. He will leave the General Assembly at the end of his term this fall, and told the local press that until then he will avoid state policy issues in his work for the law firm.
The legislature adjourned March 14, a day after the state signed an agreement with an international consortium to lease the toll road for 75 years at a cost of $3.85 billion. The lease agreement is being challenged in court.
Messer voted along with a narrow majority to help pass the so-called Major Moves legislation that included the lease agreement. "Actually, I did not know [Ice Miller] represented anyone in connection with the Toll Road," Messer was quoted as saying in local press accounts. He said his vote and his new job are "completely unrelated."
The state expects to pay about $25 million in legal fees for work on the toll road lease agreement, the newspaper reported, including work with other firms working on the deal. It also expects to pay $19.5 million for consulting work done by Goldman, Sachs & Co. in Chicago.
Indiana last week signed the lease agreement with Cintra-Macquarie, a Spanish-Australian joint venture.
