22
BizVoice/Indiana Chamber – July/August 2017
Many Top Policy Goals Realized
2017 Legislative Session
All are tied to goals in the organization’s
Indiana Vision 2025
long-term
economic development plan for the state
(www.indianachamber.com/2025),
which has 36 goals under four drivers: Outstanding Talent, Attractive
Business Climate, Superior Infrastructure, and Dynamic and Creative
Culture.
Below are the 2017 bills that contain those priority goals, their
outcome and why they are good policies for the state.
You can see if your legislators supported a pro-jobs, pro-economy
agenda by checking out their scores on page 23.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT / INFRASTRUCTURE
Our Priority:
Support establishing a long-term sustainable funding
stream for the state’s roads, bridges and other
surface transportation infrastructure. The plan
must ensure enough revenue is raised to
completely fund both maintenance needs and
important new projects, and that every user
pays their fair share.
Legislation:
House Bill 1002 – Long-term
Road Funding; signed by the Governor.
By 2024, an additional $1.2 billion will be
generated annually – $896 million for state
roads, $340 million for local roads. All sales tax
on gas will be shifted to roads, over a five-year
period, beginning in 2020. HB 1002 increases
the gas, diesel and special fuels tax by 10 cents
(indexed annually) and implements added
annual registration fees of $15 per standard
vehicle, $150 for an electric car and $50 for
hybrid vehicles. A tolling study is also required.
The payoff for everyone will be huge: improved
travels with fewer delays and vehicle repairs
caused by crumbling roads.
EDUCATION
Our Priority:
Support suitable testing for students and accountability
measures for all involved in the education process.
Legislation:
House Bill 1003 – ISTEP Replacement; signed by the
Governor.
In 2018, Indiana will have a new statewide student assessment to replace
ISTEP called ILEARN, which is to be given during one testing window
at the end of the school year. ILEARN will be a shorter test for all
grades and based on Indiana standards as it should be. Much emphasis
will be placed on getting the results back to teachers and parents faster
so that information is factored into teaching and homework time. And
critically, teacher evaluations and school A-F grades remain tied to the
test scores – something on which the Indiana Chamber insisted.
Our Priority:
Support the fiscally-responsible expansion of publicly-funded
high-quality preschool initiatives for children from low-income families.
Legislation:
House Bill 1004 – Pre-K Pilot Expansion; signed by the
Governor.
Now, up to 15 additional counties can take part in the pilot program
(20 in total) to help the most at-risk young students in their
communities. The funding level approved in the budget bill (HB 1001)
is for $22 million annually, which includes $1 million for a new online
pilot. The Governor, legislative leaders and many legislators
recognized that the prospects for making significant improvements to
our state’s educational outcomes will remain challenging as long as
large numbers of children are entering kindergarten unprepared for
school. Continuing to substantially expand the
state’s preschool program is vital to addressing
this problem.
Our Priority:
Support making the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction an appointed
position; the Indiana Chamber has had this
objective for many years.
Legislation:
House Bill 1005 – State
Superintendent Position; signed by the Governor.
Effective January of 2025, the state
superintendent becomes a position appointed by
the Governor. This is a very positive step
toward making sustained education progress in
the state because our Governor – whatever
party he or she represents – is the true leader of
the state’s education policy and should be
allowed to have a state superintendent who
shares his or her education goals.
EMPLOYMENT LAW / HEALTH CARE
Our Priority:
Support comprehensive
approach to decreasing the state’s smoking rate, including removal of
smokers’ special protections in the hiring process.
Legislation:
House Bill 1578 – Anti-Smoking Reform for Prospective
Employees; passed by the House but died in the Senate.
Employers should have the option to screen potential hires for tobacco
use as they are the ones who pay most of the health care coverage cost.
Yet smoking remains as the only protected behavior under state law.
Unfortunately, this measure wasn’t even given a committee hearing by
the Senate Commerce and Technology Committee, chaired by Sen.
Mark Messmer (R-Jasper); Messmer had agreed to a hearing but
ultimately didn’t place it on the committee calendar and the bill died.
ENVIRONMENT / ENERGY
Our Priority:
Support the development and implementation of an
energy policy that ensures the state’s continued access to adequate,
Before the start of each legislative session, the Indiana Chamber announces its priority policies and areas
of focus. These are matters that would have wide impact on businesses and citizens throughout the state.
The
Legislative Vote Analysis
tracks lawmakers’
voting records on pro-jobs, pro-economy
legislation; 2017 scores range from 29% to 100%.
Indiana General Assembly analysis