1SI's Public Policy Council partners with Amatrol to bring Second Annual Third House Event

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On January 29th, One Southern Indiana’s Public Policy Council partnered with Amatrol to bring our member clients the Second Annual Third House Event. Representative Steve Stemler (D), Representative Ed Clere (R), and Senator Connie Sipes (D) were all present and answered several questions from the local business community about existing, pending, and proposed legislation. The four main areas discussed were commerce, Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZ’s), education, and taxes.

Steve Stemler (left) proposed legislation that would designate the River Ridge stretch along Highway 62 as the River Ridge Commerce Corridor. The passage of this bill would designate the area as a heavy truckload corridor, and that would allow for further marketing and planning efforts in economic development for the area. At this time, the bill has expired, but it is expected to make a comeback in the next session.

Another hot topic locally was the proposed legislation that would eliminate the UEZ tax credits for companies that locate within these areas. All of the legislators agreed that this bill was directly related to the cutbacks the state has had to make in order to balance the budget; however, everyone agreed many of their fellow legislators weren’t in an area like Southern Indiana that had repeatedly seen the success of these programs.

Education was also a much discussed topic both at the state level and with the attendees of the Third House Event. First, there is proposed legislation that would mandate a certain standard of reading enforced by third grade. Currently, the Department of Education is analyzing the potential costs should the program be put into place. The passage of such legislation remains up in the air, as the state is still facing massive budget cuts. Second, there has been much discussion about moving the school year’s start date to after Labor Day. While this may be a boon to the economies of areas that get positive economic impact from the lengthening of the school year, questions remain as to whether it’s a truly feasible option for the students.

Lastly, the legislators talked in depth about taxes- specifically, the delayed billing of property taxes and its effect on county budgets. Many of Indiana’s counties have had to borrow money in order to pay their operating expenses until their tax revenue comes in from the state- and by doing so, are having to repay these loans with a significant amount of interest. Rep. Clere introduced a bill that would require counties to publish the amount of this interest; however, the bill was killed. In addition to this, Rep. Stemler felt that if property tax cap legislation passes, counties are going to have to find other ways to increase their tax revenue.

One Southern Indiana would like to thank all of the elected officials and local business representatives that came out for this extremely informative session.

All photos courtesy of Morris Images.