Indiana News Update

Gambling ruled out of special session
The leader of the Indiana Senate says he’s taking gambling issues off the table during the upcoming special session so that lawmakers can focus on putting together a new state budget.  Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said Thursday the Senate will consider only one bill — the budget. Gambling issues would be a distraction in the special legislative session, he said, and should be sent instead to a study commission for review later. Long said he would relegate any gaming bills proposed in the June special session to a committee where they would die without getting a hearing.  “We should not hold the budget hostage over gambling,” Long said.

Daniels selected to give national GOP address
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has been picked to give the weekly Republican national address this weekend. Republican leaders say Daniels will talk Saturday about alternatives to the climate bill backed by congressional Democrats that would impose the first nationwide limits on the pollution blamed for global warming.  House GOP Leader John Boehner said Daniels was a leading voice against what he called “misguided legislation that imposes a new national tax on energy.” Daniels criticized the plan this week during an Indianapolis event with three Indiana Republican congressmen.

State may bring in $1.1 billion less than expected
A new state revenue forecast predicts that Indiana will take in about $1.1 billion less in taxes through June 2011 than predicted in a more-optimistic estimate made just last month.  The estimates released Wednesday show the state collecting less revenue in 2009 than 2008. But the May forecast predicts slight growth in fiscal year 2010 and growth of nearly 4 percent from 2010 to 2011.  The new outlook — much gloomier than April’s predictions — could make it more difficult for lawmakers to hammer out an agreement on a new state budget before the current spending plan expires June 30.

Governor outlines budget priorities
Governor Mitch Daniels was at Fort Wayne’s Chamber of Commerce Thursday, talking about the state’s budget.  Though he wouldn’t get into specifics, he says, “Our top priorities will be public education and public safety.” “We’ll simply have to tighten the belt and postpone some good ideas or things we’d like to build for instance that will have to wait for awhile,” Gov. Daniels told NewsChannel 15. Daniels is optimistic that a new budget will be hammered out during a special session of the Indiana General Assembly.  Details will be released next week.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Freshmen lawmakers leave their mark
Hoosiers across Indiana should be pleased by the fact that this year’s freshmen class of state representatives came into the Statehouse with a bipartisan spirit and a true reformist attitude. On the national level, freshmen lawmakers are often shunted from the legislative process, unable to gain the support they need to see their ideas come to fruition.  That was not the case this year at the Statehouse. Freshmen legislators in the Indiana House carried important reforms in the mortgage lending, economic development, agriculture, victims’ rights, local government and the enhancement of youth services. In fact, of the 184 bills passed this year, 22 were authored by freshmen representatives.

State lawmakers eye budget talks, contingency plan
The two words frame the biggest question of the special legislative session Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to call next month: What if lawmakers don’t pass a budget by June 30, when the current two-year spending plan expires?  The Daniels administration is taking a “don’t even go there” approach. But Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville) has already begun checking out contingency plans, even though he says he’s “100 percent hopeful” that it won’t be necessary.  “I’m just doing this as a kind of contingency type of thinking,” said Kenley, who asked for answers from the Legislative Services Agency, the General Assembly’s nonpartisan research arm. “I just want to know what’s at the end of the trail for me.”

Colleges answering a more urgent call for financial aid
The second floor of Franklin Hall on the campus of Indiana University has become ground zero for hard-luck stories.  This is where students and parents come with heads hung low and hands held out, looking for answers after being rocked by layoffs, salary reductions, the loss of insurance and other economic blows.  “They are sad stories and very stressful situations,” said Roger Thompson, the vice provost for enrollment management, who oversees 40 financial aid officers from his office in Franklin Hall.  Across Indiana and the nation, more college-bound students than ever are reaching out for financial assistance to help pay for higher education. Hoosier students have filed about 260,000 applications this spring, up from 204,000 last year.

State treasurer says state pensioners being “ripped off” in Chrysler case
Indiana is the only creditor to file an objection with the bankruptcy court handling the Chrysler LLC proceedings. State Treasurer Richard Mourdock says the filing is on the behalf of the Indiana State Police Pension Trust, Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund and the Major Moves Construction Fund. He says the proposed restructuring seeks to pay billions of dollars to unsecured Chrysler creditors, while paying secured creditors only 29 cents on the dollar. Mourdock says the state can’t allow its “retired police officers and teachers to be ripped off by the federal government.”

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Lawmaker adding ‘doomsday’ to budget planning
A top Senate Republican budget negotiator says he is investigating a doomsday scenario in case lawmakers and Gov. Mitch Daniels don’t agree on a new budget in time.  If the General Assembly doesn’t pass — and Daniels doesn’t sign — a new budget before the current one expires at the end of June, most of state government would shut down. 

School workers will be screened
A new law signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels last week closes major loopholes in the way school workers are screened, bringing Indiana closer to the safeguards used in other states.  Beginning this summer, school districts will be required to run nationwide criminal background checks before hiring any school employee, in addition to already mandated statewide checks.

Indianapolis could get taxes for CIB
State legislators seem willing to give Indianapolis officials the power to raise several local taxes to help fund the city’s troubled stadiums agency.  That plan, though, would force Mayor Greg Ballard to take some of the heat for increasing any of those taxes – and the task of persuading the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers to perhaps kick in millions of dollars a year.

Indiana announces summer jobs for low-income youth
The federal stimulus appears to be paying off for thousands of Hoosiers. The state announced 2,000 new jobs designed to improve life in Indiana.  Getting outdoors during the summer months for many is a goal. For at least 2,000 young adults, it can be better than that. It can be a job.  “You can think of this as healthy outdoor work,” said Gov. Daniels.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Governor vetoes bill to expand Indiana vote centers
Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed a bill that will allow online voter registration but vetoed another that would expand the use of centralized vote centers.  The election bill Daniels signed will let people with valid driver’s licenses or state identification file voter registration forms over the Internet. Currently, citizens can download registration applications online, but they must print and mail the forms.  Daniels also approved a bill that will require schools to teach students in grades 6 through 12 about personal financial responsibility.

Indiana budget group orders new revenue forecast
Indiana’s State Budget Committee has ordered a new revenue forecast it hopes will paint a more accurate picture of state finances before lawmakers meet for a special budget-writing legislative session.  Republican Sen. Luke Kenley of Noblesville said a committee will examine recent revenue projections and actual tax collections to see where the forecast missed the mark. The state took in $255 million less in taxes in April than was predicted in a forecast released earlier that same month.

New law lets you register to vote online
Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed a bill that will allow online voter registration but vetoed another that would have expanded the use of centralized vote centers. The election bill will let people with valid driver’s licenses or state identification cards file voter registration forms over the Internet. Currently, people can download registration applications online, but they must print out and mail in the forms.  Daniels also approved a bill that will require schools to teach students in Grades 6-12 about personal financial responsibility.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

New Indiana law gives teachers more legal protections
When a student once put teacher Angie Morgan in a choke hold, she said she waited for another adult to remove the student instead of acting on her own because she was afraid of hurting the child and being sued.  She was among those in the governor’s office Monday when Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a bill that proponents say will give teachers more legal protections for trying to maintain discipline in schools.  “I think this is going to give the support we need without having that fear in the background,” said Morgan, who teaches third grade for Hamilton Southeastern Schools.
 

HB 1379 concerns local officials
House Bill 1379, which relates to unemployment benefits and the state’s compensation program, passed on the last night of the session in April. Now the bill is sitting on Governor Mitch Daniels’ desk, waiting to be signed. After many lobbied for the bill, state and local Chamber of Commerce officials are hoping it doesn’t become law.  “It’s a terribly unfriendly bill,” said Huntington County Chamber President Robert Brown. “We’re taking one of the best unemployment rates to, at best, a neutral state and, at worst, a hostile state. Certainly one of the worst second to Michigan and they have one of the worst unemployment rates in the nation.”

Gambling lobby rolls dice on special session
When lawmakers return to the Statehouse in June for a second shot at hammering out a new state budget, it also will mark a second chance for Indiana’s powerful gambling interests. Topping the list is a push by Lake County lawmakers to reincarnate one of two Gary casinos as a land-based operation at the intersection of I-65 and the Borman Expressway.  There also are calls by Central Indiana’s two horse-track casinos, or racinos, to add table games such as blackjack to their 2,000 slot machines.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Teens face July 1 ban on cell phones while driving
State officials and advocates for a newly signed law that bans motorists younger than 18 from using cell phones are drafting plans to make sure teenagers — and their parents — know about the looming ban.  The bill signed last week by Gov. Mitch Daniels bans people younger than 18 from using cell phones and other telecommunications devices while driving.  When the law’s provisions take effect July 1, it will be illegal for motorists under age 18 to chat, text, or use a phone to make videos of friends in a car

Several bills were passed in regular session
Rather than talking about what didn’t pass in the 2009 regular session of the Indiana General Assembly, let’s talk about some of the bills that did pass. As we wait for the governor to call legislators in for a special session to pass a new state budget, there were 184 bills approved this year (120 from the Indiana House and 64 from the Indiana House and 53 from the state Senate) that are in the final stages of becoming law. Of that number, most attention has been on the bipartisan plan to begin fixing Indiana’s bankrupt unemployment insurance trust fund. House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1379 provides the means to reform a system that presently relies upon federal loans to provide benefits for Hoosiers who are temporarily out of work and looking for a job.

Daniels, lawmakers seek budget accord ahead of session
A meeting Tuesday will set in motion a process Gov. Mitch Daniels and state lawmakers hope will lead to an agreement on Indiana’s next budget before an overtime session begins in mid-June.  The State Budget Committee will meet to start work ahead of a special session in which the General Assembly must pass the state’s next two-year spending plan, or else most of the state government will shut down when the current budget expires on June 30.

Special session presents big, big challenge
Legislative leaders have a debate blueprint they hope will prevent a long, costly special session for a new state spending plan.  They’ve formed a special committee that will ask for a revised revenue forecast, even though lawmakers just received one last month. They want a full budget proposal from Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, complete with a detailed formula for how hundreds of millions of dollars will be doled out to public schools.  They plan to meet in the first two weeks of June to discuss Daniels’ proposal and seek ways of reaching a compromise quickly during a special session that they hope will be called around mid June.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Benefits of new state ID fraud law touted
State officials can do more to punish identity theft and more to help victims thanks to changes in state laws adopted this spring, Attorney General Greg Zoeller said Monday. Legislation authored by state Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, formally created a state Identity Theft Unit in Zoeller’s office, closes a loophole on criminals who use different information to create a composite bogus identity and requires businesses to destroy records that contain personal information.  “Identity theft is the No. 1 growing crime in the United States,” said Zoeller, reporting identity theft complaints sent to his office have doubled in the last year.

Youth home’s advocates worried
The fate of Indiana’s Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s Home remains uncertain along with the state budget that would have funded it for at least another year.  But lawmakers and groups that are fighting to keep the residential school for troubled children at Knightstown open, including the Indiana American Legion, fear the state might proceed with the closing before the legislature can act.  The state says that despite rumors to the contrary, no new termination letters have been sent to the home’s employees. But Indiana State Department of Health officials and Jane Jankowski, spokeswoman for Gov. Mitch Daniels, said options are being evaluated.

Legislator shocked, plans bill on nude spray-on tans
A legislator says he plans to sponsor a bill next session that would bar adult males from applying spray-on tans to female juveniles at tanning salons.  Rep. Bruce Borders, R-Jasonville, said he was shocked by a recent case in which a man who works at a tanning salon applied a spray-on tan to a nude 15-year-old girl.  Borders said he can’t believe there’s not a law prohibiting that type of activity.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist

Indiana News Update

Governor would not accept flawed budget proposal
Three days before the legislative session was to end, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said one way to avoid an overtime was for a governor to be clear about what he could and could not accept in a new state budget.  He said budget plans passed by House Democrats and Senate Republicans were not acceptable because they spent too much and were built on revenue assumptions that were turning out to be wrong.
 

Daniels: Time for ‘new look’ at budget forecast
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels wants a new state revenue forecast before he calls lawmakers back for a special session to write a budget, saying that a revised forecast issued last month was so far off in April that a new starting point is in order.  That and other comments he made yesterday drew mixed reactions from leading lawmakers, suggesting that a quick resolution to a budget is unlikely. The General Assembly did not pass a budget plan by last Wednesday’s regular session deadline, which will force Daniels to call lawmakers back for a special session.  State tax collections were $255 million below the revised forecast for April and Daniels said there are no signs revenues will meet the projections for May and June.

A case for veto of court-expansion bill
Imagine a company does its job more efficiently than any similar company anywhere in the country. Its workload has remained steady over the last couple of years but has declined thus far in 2009. Employees might worry about downsizing in light of the tough economic times. Not in the world of government, though. It’s time for a 20 percent expansion.  House Bill 1491 is government waste at its counterintuitive worst. At a price tag of more than $2 million each year, it adds three new judges and 16 new staff positions to the 15-judge Indiana Court of Appeals. This is the same court that is rightfully proud of being the most efficient appellate court in the country. The average age of pending cases fell from 1.6 months in 2007 to 1.1 months in 2008. The number of new cases filed increased by 0.2 percent (2,756 in 2008 compared to 2,748 in 2007). The legislature added five new staff attorney positions in 2007 to help with the caseload.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Lobbyist