Fwd: Statehouse eUpdate

Oh look, my State Rep. is back to work and blocking things that Hoosiers want. I received this update on Friday.

I'll see if I can take time to go into details on each of these bills that Mr. Battles talks about, but like most conservatives I have a job that I just can't abandon to make a point.

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Statehouse eUpdate from State Representative Kreg Battles 

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April 15, 2011 

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INDIANAPOLIS -- The 2011 session of the Indiana General Assembly will be over in  two weeks. 

The end cannot come soon enough for the people of Indiana. 

In recent days, we have seen progress on a series of bills that I suspect  will be hailed by 

those in charge of the Legislature as being among this  session's greatest accomplishments when 

we finish our business on April 29.      

As you shall see, I think it would be more accurate to say they are in the  public's worst 

interest.      

Senate Bill 589 is pitched as one of this session's best job creation  measures. 

Considering that we still have close to 290,000 Hoosiers out of  work--and that number itself is 

lauded by some as a positive sign--it is good to  see that those in charge of the Legislature 

finally show some interest in  creating jobs. But will it achieve that goal?      

SB 589 proposes to put Hoosiers to work by cutting the state's corporate tax  by nearly 25 

percent. Will that inspire big corporations to hire more people or  will it simply put more 

money in the pockets of the shareholders who run these  corporations? We shall see.      

We do know that SB 589 gives those corporations a tax cut of close to $80  million. We also know 

that Hoosier families are going to have to make up at  least half the revenue lost because of 

that tax cut. I leave it to you to decide  who truly benefits from this legislation.      

Senate Bill 575 is touted as a way to reform our schools. 

In truth, it  proposes to take the authority for critical decisions involving the salaries and  

benefits for our teachers away from our local schools and into the hands of  officials in 

Indianapolis. It also removes the ability of classroom instructors  to provide valuable input on 

decisions affecting school safety, class sizes and  other education reforms.      

Thanks to your help, we did succeed in making changes to legislation (Senate  Bill 473) that was 

originally designed to give the governor unlimited authority  to place tolls on new and existing 

roads in Indiana.      There was enough public outrage at this potential abuse of power that 

even  those in charge decided that changes had to be made. The governor will not be  able to 

convert an existing road into a toll road.      However, the bill still gives the governor the 

ability for the next 10 years  to put tolls on new roads, as well as any new lanes on existing 

roads. It also  enables the governor to continue giving foreign investors the best shot at  

taking control of any new toll roads.      In other words, a bill that was completely bad is 

only very bad. Any new  road built through a public-private partnership over the next decade 

still could  be tolled, and you still would not have much of a chance to stop it.      

Considering that these changes still must be approved in the Indiana  Senate--where the idea of 

giving the governor this absolute power over roads got  its start--I would say there is a very 

real risk that unlimited tolling still  might become reality before the end of this session.      

There was some positive news this week.      

We did move quickly to pass legislation (Senate Bill 86) that will keep  close to 12,000 

out-of-work Hoosiers from being at risk of losing their  unemployment insurance benefits. The 

action was required to allow displaced  workers to take advantage of a federal program that can 

provide up to 13 weeks  of benefits so these men and women can continue to support their 

families while  they look for work.      This measure passed by strong bipartisan margins in 

both the House and  Senate. It is a shame there wasn't the same unity shown to strike down the 

law  passed earlier this session that will cut the average weekly unemployment  benefits by 25 

percent next year.  

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If you want to talk to me about any of the issues being debated in this session,  you can call 

the toll-free Statehouse telephone number of 1-800-382-9842, write  to me in care of the Indiana 

House of Representatives, 200 W. Washington St.,  Indianapolis, IN 46204, or email me at h64@in.gov>.  

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Thank you for your interest in state legislative matters. If you would like to  be removed from 

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subject line.  

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Statehouse eUpdate from State Representative Kreg Battles 

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