Indiana News Update

Democratic candidate: More sub-prime regulation necessary
The home foreclosure crisis for Hoosiers became a hot button in the Indiana House District 33 race Monday with Democratic challenger Andy Schemenaur wanting more state regulations on sub-prime loans.  Schemenaur, a school administrator and fourth-generation farmer, also criticized incumbent Rep. Bill Davis, R-Portland, for voting against mortgage foreclosure counseling and the funding for it during the last session of the Legislature.

State’s largest voter registration drive is today
With just seven days left to register to vote, Indiana is holding the state’s largest voter registration drive. You can register to vote in two places today: Inside the Lafayette Square Mall, WTLC-FM and Hot 96.3 are set up to broadcast live from Center Court. The other drive will take place in Broad Ripple Park with Radio Now and Indy’s Music Channel. Today’s drives take place from 6 am – until 9 pm.  You can also pick up absentee applications at these locations today.

Learn more, tell more about who’s got the kids
Failure to conduct national criminal background checks of teaching applicants from out of state, and failure to require police and local school officials to report teacher misconduct to state authorities when it occurs here, leave Indiana children unacceptably vulnerable to potential abuse.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Daniels, Long Thompson and Horning face off in the second heated gubernatorial debate of the election season
Had it not been for the third podium between them at Tuesday’s gubernatorial debate, Republican incumbent Mitch Daniels and Democratic candidate Jill Long Thompson might not have realized Libertarian Andy Horning on stage. The first two spent the evening attacking each other’s policies and sometimes their character, while Horning protested the evils of big-party politics. “For a very long time we have felt just that we don’t have a choice,” Horning said. “What do you hate most about politics? Every time we vote for a major party ticket, we vote for 100 years of division.”
State BMV expands service to customers
The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators presented the International Award for Customer Service to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles last month. That’s not surprising. Ever since Indiana BMV Commissioner Ron Stiver was appointed by Gov. Mitch Daniels in October 2006, the state has taken significant steps in becoming more customer-friendly. The BMV took customer service a step further when it announced last week that motorists will be able to renew their vehicle registrations at emission testing sites. The program started at the Griffith testing site last week, and the other six sites in Lake and Porter counties will be phased in by the end of the year. And if you don’t think that is a real
Look ahead for beer brawl from retailers, liquor stores
In this corner, John Livengood. In the other, Grant Monahan. Whether Hoosiers can buy carryout beer on Sundays may well come down to who has the more powerful lobbying muscle: liquor stores or groceries and pharmacies. The grocery and pharmacy retailers plan an all-out push for Sunday sales during next year’s legislative session. But liquor stores don’t see much advantage for them.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Skillman surveys damage; Lt. Governor says 78 counties out of 92 in state have experienced a disaster
Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman visited Clark County on Tuesday to survey the damage wrought by the hurricane-force winds that swept the area Sunday. “Our state over the summer has been pummeled and pummeled and pummeled,” she said at a press conference at The Stemler Corp. in Jeffersonville. “Seventy-eight counties statewide experienced a disaster this year. We want to assess the damage and determine how the state government can help going forward.”
Candidates trade charges over gas prices
The Democratic candidate for Indiana attorney general says the state should investigate oil companies to determine whether price gouging has caused large spikes in gasoline prices at the pump in recent days. Her Republican opponent counters that she is “playing politics” with hard-hit consumers. Linda Pence, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, contended oil companies’ pricing practices, not gas station owners, are to blame for the recent increases. “They’ve got a clear idea what their costs are and how the cost can go up 25 and 50 cents overnight is ludicrous,” Pence said Wednesday.
Voter registration deadline looms
With two and a half weeks until time runs out to register to vote, the Madison County voter registration office is working hard. “We are having quite a few applications come in,” said Dena Willis, Republican voter registration board member. “We are getting a lot of people coming to the counter registering.” The office has seen 591 newly registered voters and 1,131 voters who updated their address since Aug. 1, Willis said. Madison County has 91,197 registered voters with 500 more pending as of Wednesday afternoon, up slightly from 90,627 registered voters in the May primary.

Sam Turpin — Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Daniels, Long Thompson debate issues

Democratic challenger Jill Long Thompson and Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels clashed over the economy, taxes and privatization Tuesday night, seven weeks before the Nov. 4 general election. The sharpest debate came over the state of Indiana’s economy. Daniels said the state has been cited for having a strong economic climate, but Long Thompson challenged his assertion that the state’s economy was doing well.

Panel gets few cost answers on illegal immigration

 

Lawmakers who want to know how much money illegal immigration is costing public services in Indiana got few answers Tuesday. Much of the Interim Committee on Immigration Issues’ meeting was focused on trying to quantify the costs that illegal immigrants have on public services such as Medicaid, prisons and schools. Mitch Roob, secretary of the state’s Family and Social Services Administration, said the state has to pay part of the Medicaid costs for pregnancies and emergency medical care for illegal immigrants who can’t afford them. That costs the state about $5 million a year, he said.
 
Indiana welfare changes get mixed reviews

Lawmakers evaluating the privatization of Indiana’s welfare enrollment heard nearly opposite assessments of how it’s going: Human services chief Mitch Roob praised it, and advocates said it’s hurting needy Hoosiers. Judging by the lawmakers’ comments Tuesday, they seemed more likely to believe the advocates. “A lot has to change for it to get better,” said Marilyn Kay Walker, a township trustee from Delaware County.

Sam Turpin — Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Mike Smith – Senate Democrat agenda lofty, but what’s the cost?
Talk about a legislative wish list. An agenda released by Indiana Senate Democrats last week included full-day kindergarten for every child, free textbooks for all students and universal access to health care. Then there were proposals to ensure that all Indiana residents can attend a state college or university, offer new tax credits and incentives and add police at the state and local levels. They’re among 82 initiatives in the plan, which Senate Democrats — outnumbered by Republicans 33-17 — said they would campaign on and pledged to pursue in the legislative session come January. Lots of voters will surely find many of them worthy. But what’s the cost to taxpayers?

Combined 911 operations will save dollars – and lives
We’ve talked for years in this community about whether combining the city and the county 911 operations makes sense. It does. The separate but adjoining emergency dispatch centers for Allen County and the city of Fort Wayne often get cited as an example of duplicative services that cost our taxpayers additional money and probably don’t provide for the best public safety possible for our residents. If we say we want to make government more efficient, more responsive and more effective, this is a prime place to walk that walk.
Governor makes campaign stop
Gov. Mitch Daniels, on a campaign visit to Shelbyville Saturday morning, said the state has offered emergency manpower and supplies to Texas victims of Hurricane Ike, which made landfall and brought torrential rains and damaging winds over the weekend. “Nobody supplied more manpower and help per capita during Hurricane Katrina than the people of Indiana,” Daniels said. “We’re always ready to help. We had Task Force One all lined up and prepared for this situation, and that group is probably one of the nation’s best response units. It’s composed of firefighters and other emergency responders and professionals.”

Sam Turpin — Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Lower taxes means more income for the state?
Indiana could lower its sales tax but apply it to more services and generate enough revenue to eliminate property taxes on homeowners, an interim panel of lawmakers was told Wednesday. Several proposals for eliminating property taxes completely or at least on homeowners were met with skepticism by the interim legislative commission on taxes. They included plans to replace the revenue with sales or income tax increases, and one to increase numerous other taxes and fees.

Cooling-off period for hot-button issue
Those who urged the Indiana General Assembly not to rush headlong into legislation to curb illegal immigration have gotten their wish for further study of the volatile issue. Expecting firm answers to the myriad questions on the table may be wishful thinking, however. Tuesday, in the first public meeting by the joint Interim Study Committee on Immigration Issues, varying perspectives were heard on topics ranging from the number of undocumented immigrants in Indiana to the state’s right to assume a federal law enforcement responsibility.

Long Thompson wants probe of Daniels’ planes use
Democrat Jill Long Thompson’s campaign filed a complaint with the state Inspector General’s office Wednesday seeking a formal investigation of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels’ election-year use of state aircraft. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate’s campaign also filed a public records request seeking Daniels’ travel logs and the e-mails, phone records and time sheets of all state workers who may have helped plan his trips or traveled with him. The request comes about a week after The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne reported that Daniels logged about 85 percent as many flights in state aircraft in the first seven months of this election year as he did all of last year.

Sam Turpin – Indianan Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Immigration panel gets conflicting data in first session
Lawmakers seeking a clearer direction on what, if anything, to do about illegal immigration in Indiana got conflicting opinions and loose numbers Tuesday during their first study committee meeting on the issue. Professors specializing in immigration law gave different answers and advice. And although a member of the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Hispanic Center said there were about 100,000 undocumented residents in Indiana, he said it could range from about 75,000 to 125,000. To be sure, the co-chairmen of the Interim Study Committee on Immigration Issues knew they wouldn’t get all the information they are after in their first meeting. They plan at least three more fact-finding meetings on an issue that was emotional and contentious during the last legislative session.

Candidates clash over job duties
The Democratic candidate running for attorney general unveiled her first policy proposal Tuesday – a promise to crack down on child abuse. Linda Pence detailed a four-point plan to do so at a sparsely attended Indianapolis news conference. She is running against Republican Greg Zoeller to replace outgoing Attorney General Steve Carter.

 New center could target youth vote
The Delaware County election board failed to make a decision Tuesday on if Ball State should have an early voting center on campus. Citing the need for more information on the subject, the board scheduled to meet again on the matter Wednesday, Sept. 17. According to Indiana state law, county election boards are responsible to determine if residents may vote early — up to 30 days prior to election day — within each particular county. Early voting centers have been popular among counties with high college populations. Purdue, Indiana and Indiana State Universities ran successful early voting in 2004, and with high numbers of youth voters registered this year an early voting center on campus could alleviate lines at polling places on election day, President of College Democrats Mike Uehlein said.

Sam Turpin Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Indiana panel’s proposal: 2 free years at Ivy Tech, more scholarships
The state’s top higher education panel unveiled a plan Monday that could either make attending Ivy Tech Community College free or put more Hoosiers in line for scholarships. The proposal, which has echoes of a similar plan announced by Gov. Mitch Daniels last month, is part of the goals set by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to make college more affordable and push more students to complete degrees. The six-point plan also aims to make colleges more accountable for the millions in state tax dollars they receive each year — tying future increases not to higher enrollments, but to success in handing out degrees.

State candidates partially embrace school choice
After 16 years under Suellen Reed, Hoosiers will get a new school superintendent next year. While neither the Republican nor Democratic candidate appears ready to suggest radical change, both say Indiana schools should be better. Republican Tony Bennett, superintendent of Greater Clark County Schools, considers Indiana in the middle nationally and “I am never good with being in the middle of the pack.” His goal is “making Indiana the best education state in the nation.” Democrat Richard Wood, newly retired superintendent of the Tippecanoe School Corp., said, “Education is a chase; it’s not a station. You’re always going to be on a quest to improve your performance.”

State urges Hoosiers to be prepared
Gov. Mitch Daniels has proclaimed this week as Indiana Preparedness Week. To mark the occasion, state officials are urging residents to take four steps to be prepared in case of an emergency: make a plan, get a kit, be informed, and get involved. “Every family needs to know what to do in an emergency, whether it is a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, or even a house fire,” Joe Wainscott, executive director, Indiana Department of Homeland Security, said. “Sit down with your family today and make a plan. Be sure to include the needs of all family members, including pets.”
Challenger Long Thompson seeks release of Daniels’ travel records
Gov. Mitch Daniels has until 10 a.m. Wednesday to publicly release his travel records before Jill Long Thompson asks the state inspector general to launch an investigation, the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful said here Monday. Long Thompson issued the ultimatum about a week after her campaign called for the records to be open in reaction to a Fort Wayne Journal Gazette story on the governor’s travel. That story reported that Daniels used state aircraft 61 times in 2007, sometimes for obvious state business – such as surveying disaster damage – and other times for things that seemed more political, such as flying from his West Virginia vacation home to present a trophy at an Indiana regatta, and to festivals and parades.

Sam Turpin- Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Property tax repeal not likely
When Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a property tax restructuring bill into law last March, he and some lawmakers who supported it said they were delivering significant and lasting reform and relief. But several citizen groups say it didn’t go far enough. They want property taxes repealed completely through a state constitutional amendment, or at least repeal for homeowners. An interim study committee will explore the latter possibility during a Statehouse hearing Sept. 10, and the room is sure to be packed. But will the hearing lead to repeal legislation that could pass during the next session in 2009?

Hoosier GOP celebrate VP candidate
With name tags on their shirts, cocktails in their hands and a cause on their minds, a boisterous group of women gathered at a Downtown design firm Wednesday to toast Sarah Palin. As Palin accepted the Republican nomination for vice president, a group of about 100 women — and a few men — cheered loudly as they gathered around two large televisions. The gathering was organized by a half-dozen women, including Indiana first lady Cheri Daniels, who proclaimed to the group beforehand, “What a great time we can spend together tonight, watching the Republican Party make history!”

Sam Turpin -  Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Coalition formed to push local government overhaul
Efforts to streamline local government, largely tabled this year as lawmakers grappled with the state’s property tax crisis, could gain momentum under a new coalition that has pledged to promote changes in a system described as cumbersome and redundant. The group, which includes the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Association of Realtors and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, expects to spend $300,000 to $500,000 on its effort to get more of a state panel’s recommendations passed in the next legislative session.

Rural utilities push for new power sources
A gathering in Indianapolis this week of rural electric companies will raise the issue of a looming power shortage and higher costs for consumers. To sidestep the problem, the rural utilities are calling for government to help clear the way for new power plant construction, alternative energy facilities like wind farms and new transmission lines to feed energy to cities where most of it is used. The U.S. electric industry needs to create four times the current generating capacity found in California to meet the annual demand for power in the next 20 years, said Glenn English, chief executive of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Governor Daniels speaking at Green Energy Summit
Indianapolis- Governor Mitch Daniels was set to deliver opening remarks Wednesday at a first-of-its-kind summit for Indiana on green energy. The state is partnering with energy, business, environmental, industrial and academic communities to host a summit to discuss and develop the policy and regulatory components needed to facilitate use of the advanced technology known as carbon capture and sequestration.

Jill Long Thompson in Indianapolis today
Democratic candidate for Governor Jill Long Thompson will be in Indianapolis today to introduce her plans to reform education in Indiana.  She will hold a news conference Wednesday at the Indiana Statehouse at 10:00 a.m.  The announcement is another in a series of policy proposals that Long Thompson is unveiling as a part of her “One Indiana Plan” to rebuild Indiana’s economy.

 

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist