Deadline approaching

The next two weeks will tell the tale for the latest session of the Indiana General Assembly, lawmakers told local voters Saturday.
State Rep. Bill Davis (R-District 33) and State Sen. Travis Holdman (R-District 19) met with constituents during a “Third House Session” sponsored by the Jay County Chamber of Commerce.
Holdman said the deadlines for a bill to clear one house and go to the other for consideration are Feb. 25 and 26, so the week before that is the last week a bill can receive a hearing. Any bill that doesn’t receive a hearing by then is likely to die in committee.
Some 621 bills have been filed in the Senate and another 613 in the House. But most of those will never see the light of day.
Holdman noted that a record number of bills had been sent to the Rules Committee in the Senate, where they are expected to die. “It’s like the graveyard,” he said. “Some of us file bills just to keep constituent groups happy.”
“Bills are filed for all kinds of reasons,” said Davis, noting that one of his own bills is now stuck in the Rules Committee in the House.
“This session has pretty much been all about jobs and economic development, with education right behind,” Davis said. “We’re trying to get programs right in those three areas.” He pointed to House Bill 1002, which was sponsored both by the Speaker of the House and the House Minority Leader, which attempts to streamline and coordinate issues related to workforce education.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” said Davis. “Part of the problem is we’re not all working on (the issue) together.”
Davis said the jury is still out on House Bill 1146, which would expand the sale of alcoholic beverages to Sunday. The bill received its first-ever hearing this week before the House Public Policy Committee, which Davis chairs.
“I thought the hearing went well,” said Davis. But he declined to say whether as chairman he would call the bill for a vote. “The committee chairman hasn’t decided yet,” he deadpanned.
Holdman said he has always opposed expansion of alcohol or gambling in the state. “That’s an easy vote for me,” he said.
Davis and Holdman noted a number of bills are moving forward with their support including:
•House Bill 1003, which expands the state’s voucher program for charter and church-based schools.
•House Bill 1004, which focuses on pre-school education for 3- and 4-year-olds.
•House Bill 1005, which calls for improved remediation on the part of the public school system. “We’re asking schools to make another attempt, without a lot of funding,” said Davis.
Holdman noted that Ivy Tech is spending $22 million a year on student remediation. “Somewhere dollars are getting lost,” he said. “It isn’t working right now.”
•House Bill 1110, which would grant school corporations greater flexibility in managing their finances.
•House Bill 1357, which would allow school corporations to hire superintendents without requiring classroom experience or an administrator’s license.
•Senate Bill 319, which would establish a one-year moratorium on the use of soil productivity factors in assessing farmland values. That bill is being fast-tracked so that the moratorium will go into effect in 2013 for taxes payable in 2014.
The two lawmakers heard from a number of constituents on a broad variety of issues over the course of more than an hour and a half.
Among the concerns expressed:
•Patricia Armstrong urged the state to put prayer back in schools and asked about a bill introduced by Sen. Dennis Kruse to incorporate the Lord’s Prayer. Holdman said the Kruse bill was “unconstitutional on its face” and was sent to the Rules Committee.
•High school physics teacher Mindy Weaver expressed frustration with the constantly changing directives coming from the state in the field of education. “I could retire,” she said, “but I’m one of them you want to keep. … My life has been spent in Jay Schools. I can’t handle not being effective and not having the tools.” Teachers, she added later, “are feeling like failures.”
Holdman, whose wife is a teacher, was sympathetic but added, “It’s not going to get fixed quickly. … We have some systemic issues.”
•Retired vocational ag teacher Bob Lyons expressed strong opposition to Senate Bill 465, which would further regionalize vocational education.
•Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman urged the lawmakers to help find a funding mechanism for cities and towns to deal with federal requirements to address combined sewer overflows. Currently, the entire burden is placed on municipalities, which pushes sewage rates higher and higher. Davis said the issue ought to be addressed at the federal level. “Contact your Congress folks,” he said. “It’s a real issue, and it’s breaking a lot of our communities.”
•Portland resident Jim Sanders expressed opposition to Senate Bill 560, Senate Bill 510, and House Bill 1515, all of which involve shifting capital costs of energy and utility companies to their ratepayers.
•Retired police officer Bob Moore opposed Senate Bill 181, which would allow the possession of switchblade knives.
•Jay County Youth Service Bureau executive director Reda Theurer voiced support for Senate Bill 125, which calls for reforms to the Department of Children’s Services. Davis praised Holdman and State Rep. Kevin Mahan of Blackford County for their leadership in the area of improving DCS oversight. “We’re going to make it right,” said Davis. “We’re going to get it fixed.”

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