Week of Feb. 18, 2008

General Assembly Enters Critical Period Of Legislative Session

In a balancing act that would impress a tightrope walker, legislators of both political stripes readied themselves for the final stretch of this legislative session. Both sides agree it will include tough, behind-the-scenes wrangling for a property tax solution that is tolerable for all concerns.

Given the recent information about declining revenue from the state sales tax, legislators heard from local government officials from around the state, including Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. Ballard and others testified on likely effects that the proposed 1-2-3 property tax circuit breakers would have on their ability to provide services such as public safety and public transportation.

In a disappointing move, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Crawford (D-Indianapolis) cancelled a scheduled hearing on SB280 that would have allowed for a full, county-wide fire consolidation. Citing a “politicizing of the issue,” Rep. Crawford indicated a preference to address Marion County consolidation next year as a part of the larger Kernan-Shepard Commission Report.

Although the end of session is less than a month away, there is still plenty of time to revive stalled legislation. The Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce will continue to advocate for government modernization efforts to solve the property tax issues before the legislature.

Expect little activity to take place until Tuesday, Feb. 19, when the Senate is expected to consider HB1001, which includes many elements of the Gov. Daniels’ property tax reform proposal.

The legislature is expected to act upon several proposals next week, including efforts to move school board elections to the general elections and SB335, dealing with immigration reform.

 

EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Issue: Moving School Board Elections From The Primary To The General Election (SB2)
What it means to you: Greater transparency and accountability with school boards and therefore potentially greater voter turnout. The bill requires that elected school board members must stand for election at general elections.
What happened last week: Authored by Sen. Teresa Lubbers (R-Indianapolis), Sen. Jim Merritt (R-Indianapolis) and Sen. Vaneta Becker (R-Evansville), the bill passed on third reading 34-13. It was then referred to the House, where it is sponsored by Rep. Peggy Welch (D-Bloomington) and co-sponsored by Rep. Kathy Richardson (R-Noblesville).
What’s next? The bill has been referred to House Elections and Apportionment Committee, however, Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) does not plan to hear the bill. As a compromise, an amendment will be offered on HB1196—a bipartisan election bill—to insert language from SB2. HB1196 will be heard on Wednesday, Feb. 20 in Senate Local Government and Elections Committee, chaired by Sen. Connie Lawson (R-Danville).

Issue: Graduation Rate (SB111)
What it means to you: Amends the current graduation rate formula to ensure that a student is counted in only one cohort in the graduation rate. This primarily affects students who graduate in less than four years. The bill specifies that students graduating as members of a cohort include students from the cohort who graduate during the expected graduation year or during a previous reporting year. The bill also provides that students may count as graduating members of only one cohort and corrects an incorrect cross-reference.
What happened last week: Authored by Sen. Teresa Lubbers, the bill passed 43-5 on third reading and was referred to the House where Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) and Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) are the bill’s sponsor and co-sponsor, respectively.
What’s next? SB111 has been assigned to the House Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee but has not yet been scheduled for a committee hearing. The deadline for committee reports is Thursday, Feb. 21.

Issue: Scholarship Granting Organization Tax Credit (SB248)
What it means to you: Promotes school choice and provides an incentive for individuals and businesses to donate to approved, non-profit scholarship granting organizations that serve Hoosier students. These programs would provide scholarships to qualifying low-income families and donors would receive a partial credit against their state tax liabilities based on their donations.
What happened last week: Authored by Sen. Jeff Drozda (R-Sheridan), the bill passed on third reading 27-21 and was referred to the House. Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) is the sponsor and Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) is the co-sponsor.
What’s next? SB248 has been assigned to the House Education Committee but has yet to be scheduled for a committee hearing. Committee Chairman Porter has not scheduled a hearing for the committee this week. The deadline for committee reports is Thursday, Feb. 21.