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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