Issues update

Reading proficiency, chaplains in schools, Medicaid benefits, wetlands and taxes are all topics on the minds of area residents.

State Sen. Travis Holdman and State Rep. J.D. Prescott responded to questions regarding legislation on those issues during a Third House Session on Saturday at John Jay Center for Learning in Portland and updated those in attendance on legislation that is moving through the Indiana Statehouse as the end of the 2024 session nears.

Matt Lehman (R-Berne), who represents the northern third of Jay County as well as Adams and Wells counties, could not attend the event as he was in Tennessee for a family visit following the birth of a grandchild.

Randy Geesaman, former Portland mayor and now a teacher at Jay County Christian Academy, expressed concern over Senate Bill 1, which cleared the General Assembly and is awaiting a signature from the Gov. Eric Holcomb. He questioned the wisdom of additional testing — the bill calls for the IREAD-3 test to be administered first in second grade — and retention of students who do not pass the test.

Holdman responded that more and earlier testing is intended to identify students who need the most help. He added that the bill includes various exceptions to the retention requirement and allows parents/guardians to appeal. (Prescott noted that he voted against Senate Bill 1.)

Portland resident Mike Keller asked about the possibility of adjusting tax policy to put more of the burden on farm owners and less on homeowners. Prescott disagreed with Keller’s assessment of the tax system, saying that farmers carry the bulk of the tax burden once various deductions are figured. Holdman noted that the farm rate is going up this year.

Other questions involved the status of a bill regarding Medicaid benefits, the wisdom of a measure that would allow chaplains' offices in public schools and a bill that adjusts wetlands definitions.

Prescott said legislation regarding Medicaid is likely to see continued revision, with Holdman pointing out that in its last session the legislature passed a measure that calls for reimbursement rate schedules to be reviewed every four years.

Holdman, addressing a question stemming from an opinion column that appeared in The Commercial Review, said the chaplain program is voluntary and provides a valuable asset in the wake of the mental health crisis. Prescott agreed with that assessment.

“We have found a lot of school corporations are looking for help with mental health crises that are going on in schools,” Holdman said. “We think this a helpful way to do that.”

Prescott and Holdman both pushed back on criticism of the wetlands legislation — John Bartlett of rural Blackford County, who is running for the Democratic nomination for state representative in District 33, raised several issues — saying environmental protection groups had the opportunity to testify. Prescott said the bill essentially redefines wetland classifications after one of them — Class 2 — had been going almost unused. 

Rural Jay County resident Barry Miller asked about the status of House Bill 1183, which limits foreign ownership of agricultural land. (The bill is currently awaiting second reading in the Senate.) Holdman said he feels the bill is too broad as it is currently written.

During their updates to start Saturday’s event, Holdman noted that this year’s legislative session is expected to be complete by Friday. (By law, it must be finished no later than March 14.)

He spent the bulk of the rest of his time discussing the State and Local Tax Review Task Force, of which he is the chair. He pointed out an effort to limit annual increases in property taxes.

“We do have sympathy for local government because their costs have gone up just like everybody else’s,” said Holdman. “So there’s concern that we’re putting the squeeze on local units …”

But, he said, the Department of Local Government Finance projects the maximum levy growth quotient to jump to 5.6%. (It is temporarily capped at 4% for two years, with Holdman hoping to be able to extend that for one more year.)

“We’ve got to do something to put a cap on that to hold it down,” he added.

He said the task force is taking an overall look at all taxes in the state. (The committee will continue to work through this year in preparation for the 2025 session, which will include writing the biennial budget.)

Prescott noted his House Bill 1338. It addresses rules of decorum for public meetings and clarifies trespassing laws. The bill received some amendments in the Senate Committee on Corrections and Law, and Prescott said it is currently “working through the process.”

He also mentioned House Concurrent Resolution 3, which urges Indiana the Indiana Department of Transportation to rename a section of Indiana 32 as Kyle Osgood Memorial Mile. Osgood, a Farmland firefighter, died in May when his firetruck went off the road and flipped while responding to a call regarding a barn fire.

“This year we’ve actually gotten back to what I think the short session is really intended to be,” Prescott said, “more of the technical changes, no major policy shifts. There are a few big bills out there, but mainly it’s been all non-controversial, technical-type issues.”

Lehman has three bills that are moving through the legislative process.

His House Bill 1158, which lays out a procedure for approval of county contracts, was approved 47-2 Thursday in the Senate. It has been returned to the House with amendments.

House Bill 1160, which would limit civil proceeding advance payment contracts, is scheduled for third reading in the Senate on Monday. And House Bill 1274, which would create a semiquincentennial license plate and trust fund, has cleared second reading in the Senate.