|
Key Legislation Approved by the
General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly
adjourned for the year on April 29, 2011. Legislators
successfully completed their work on time, including passing a $28
billion budget, despite this year's five-week walkout by House
Democrats over a variety of labor and education bills. Due to
the unprecedented stream of events, the budget became a home for many
issues.
Only two bills were
vetoed: 1) Senate Enrolled Act 215 - Forfeiture and 2) House
Enrolled Act 1177 - Board of Trustees for Universities.
Strengthening Indiana
During
the 2011 session the Indiana General Assembly's top priorities were
to protect Hoosier taxpayers, promote Hoosier job creation and expand
education opportunities. By adopting a balanced budget (HEA 1001) with no tax increases, the General
Assembly achieved its first priority.
Legislators
promoted Hoosier job creation by revitalizing communities that were
hit hard by economic adversities. Legislation focusing on
entrepreneurship and small businesses were also a major focal point
this session. HEA1006 (Entrepreneurial Know-how) creates a
one-stop-shop for businesses. It promotes economic development
locally and regionally and encourages coordination between
universities and high schools and state agencies.
Another
key objective of this session was education reform. SEA 1
(Teacher Evaluations and Licensing) provides a merit pay and
multi-faceted evaluation system for teachers. Additionally making
changes to the school funding formula enabled legislators to direct
more dollars to the classroom. The formula allows the dollars
to follow the student. Included in the 2011 educational reform
was the expansion of options for Hoosier families: HEA 1001 allowed funding for higher education
scholarships and full day kindergarten. HEA
1002 promotes public charter schools and HEA
1003 provides choice scholarships for low income families.
Although
this session was unlike any other previous session, legislators did a
remarkable job of coming together and finishing on time.
Lawmakers Pass Balanced Budget
House
Enrolled Act 1001 (Rep. Jeffery Espich
R-Uniondale, Sen. Luke Kenley
R-Noblesville) appropriates $28 billion that included an additional
$150 million for K-12 education and leaves a $1.1 billion
surplus at the end of fiscal year 2013. Lawmakers proclaim that
the bill does not include any tax increase and is structurally
balanced in both years of the biennium. Also included is a
provision that directs 50 percent of state reserve balances
above 10 percent of appropriations to an automatic taxpayer refund
and the other 50 percent to the Pension Stabilization Fund to
reduce the unfunded liability of the pre-1996 Teachers Retirement
Fund account. Additionally, the bill creates an Interim Study
Committee to study laws concerning mandatory union membership and
project labor agreements.
State and Local Administration
House
Enrolled Act 1007 (Rep. Mark Messmer
R-Jasper, Sen. Brandt Hershman
R-Wheatfield) extends the period in which a county, city, or town may
provide a tax exemption for enterprise information technology
equipment until January 1, 2017. The bill permits a city, town,
or county to enhance property tax abatement schedules to allow up to
three years of 100 percent abatement if the business meets one
of the following criteria: locates in a large vacant building, agrees
to invest at least $10 million in the community, rehabilitates and
occupies property in designated downtown areas or locates in a county
with high unemployment. HEA 1007
authorizes cities and counties to pay hiring incentives for new
employment in their jurisdictions. It requires hiring incentives
to be paid from local option income taxes received by the city or
county and it provides that the hiring incentives may not exceed the
local option income taxes paid by the new employees. This bill
removes the requirement that any annual operating savings realized by
Purdue University and Indiana University, with respect to qualified
energy savings projects, in excess of the annual debt service
requirements on bonds issued for the projects be used to fund basic
research for the Indiana Innovation Alliance.
Unemployment Insurance Tax Relief
House
Enrolled Act 1450 (Rep. Leonard R-Huntington, Sen. Brandt Hershman R-Wheatfield) was signed by the Governor
earlier this session and lowers the tax rate schedule for employers
through 2020. Among other provisions, it establishes the weekly
unemployment insurance benefit amount as 47 percent of an
individual's prior average weekly wage, and establishes the maximum
weekly benefit amount at $390.
Legislative and Congressional
Redistricting
Legislative Redistricting
House Enrolled Act 1601
(Rep. Eric Koch R-Bedford, Sen. Sue Landske
R-Cedar Lake) establishes the 2011 Indiana House of Representatives
and Senate district plan and repeals the 2001 House and Senate
district plans.
Congressional Redistricting
House Enrolled Act 1602 (Rep.
Eric Koch R-Bedford, Sen. Sue Landske
R-Cedar Lake) establishes the 2011 Indiana Congressional district
plan. The bill voids the 2001 Congressional district plan
adopted by the redistricting commission. The bill repeals the
1991 Congressional district plan.
Streamlined Sales and Use Tax
Conformity
Senate
Enrolled Act 459 (Senator Luke Kenley
R-Noblesville, Rep. Jeffery Espich
R-Uniondale) makes changes concerning calling services, durable
medical equipment, and reliance on the Department of State Revenue's
taxability matrix under the State Gross Retail and Use Taxes to bring
the state into compliance with the Streamlined Sale and Use Tax
Agreement.
Industrial Recovery Tax Credit
House
Enrolled Act 1005 (Rep. Edward Clere R-New
Albany, Sen. Ed Charbonneau R-Valparaiso) makes certain changes to
the Industrial Recovery Income Tax Credit (IRITC).
It reduces, for purposes of qualifying for the credit the number of
years, from 20 to 15, in which a vacant industrial facility must have
been in service, and from two years to one year the time that a
facility must be vacant. The bill also reduces the minimum
amount of floor space that a vacant industrial facility may have to
qualify for the credit from 250,000 square feet to 50,000 square
feet, for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2010, and beginning
before Jan. 1, 2015; or to 100,000 square feet, for taxable years beginning
after Dec. 31, 2014.
Renewable Energy Resources
House Enrolled Act 1128
(Rep. Eric Koch R-Bedford, Sen. Beverly Gard
R-Greenfield) provides that the following qualify as a renewable
energy resource for purposes of the statute that provides financial
incentives for clean coal and energy projects: (1) certain resources
that qualify as clean energy resources for purposes of the statute
governing the voluntary clean energy portfolio standard program; (2)
low temperature, oxygen starved gasification of municipal solid
waste; and (3) methane recovered from landfills for the production of
electricity.
Energy
Clean Energy
Senate
Enrolled Act 251 (Sen. Beverly Gard
R-Greenfield, Rep. Jack Lutz R-Anderson) defines a "compliance
project" as a project undertaken by an energy utility to comply
with certain specified federally mandated requirements. SEA 251 also
requires an energy utility that seeks to recover federally mandated
costs incurred in connection with a compliance project to apply to
the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC)
for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the
compliance project. The bill sets forth certain factors that the IURC must consider in determining whether to
grant a certificate. This bill requires the IURC
to adopt rules to establish the voluntary clean energy portfolio
standard program to provide incentives to participating electricity
suppliers to obtain specified percentages of electricity from clean
energy sources in accordance with two clean portfolio standard goals
(CPS goals).
Utility Matters
Senate
Enrolled Act 66 (Sen. Beverly Gard
R-Greenfield, Rep. David Wolkins R-Winona
Lake) provides that the following qualify as a renewable energy
resources for purposes of the statute that provides financial
incentives for clean coal and energy projects: (1) low temperature,
oxygen starved gasification of municipal solid waste; (2) methane
recovered from landfills for the production of electricity;
and (3) coal bed methane derived from a naturally occurring
biogenic process.
Coal Bed Methane and Other Oil and
Gas Issues
Senate
Enrolled Act 71 (Sen. Beverly Gard
R-Greenfield, Rep. Sean Eberhart
R-Shelbyville) allows the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to adopt emergency rules for most aspects of
oil and gas and other petroleum regulation. The bill provides that
oil and gas statutes do not apply to methane ventilation governed
under an approved federal Mine Safety and Health Administration coal
mine ventilation plan. The bill terminates the restriction on the
extraction of coal bed methane from a well for oil and gas purposes.
The bill modifies the definition of "waste" to include a
manner that unreasonably reduces the quantity of commercially minable
resources. It allows the DNR Director to
review certain activities that may result in waste or endangerment of
the health and safety of miners.
Federal Health Care Reform Matters
Senate Enrolled Act 461
(Senator Patricia Miller R-Indianapolis, Rep. Timothy Brown
R-Crawfordsville) provides that a resident may not be required to
purchase a health plan. The bill requires the Office of the
Secretary of Family and Social Services (FSSA)
and the Department of Insurance (DOI) to
investigate, and allows submission of a waiver for a specified
provision of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The bill requires the Office of
Medicaid Policy and Planning (OMPP) to
prepare a Medicaid state plan amendment to extend Medicaid coverage
of certain family planning services for women and men with incomes
below 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL).
The bill requires the Indiana Check-up Plan to include any federally
required bench mark services.
State Immigration Bill Passes
Senate Enrolled Act 590
(Senator Mike Delph R-Carmel, Rep. Eric
Koch R-Bedford) passed the Indiana Senate and House on the last day
of session. The bill was substantially amended throughout
session from the initial "Arizona-style" legislation that
was introduced. The bill, among other provisions, requires all
state agencies and local units of government to use the federal
E-Verify system to confirm the citizenship or legal employability of
all new hires after June 30, 2011. The legislation also bans
state and local government from entering into or renewing contracts
unless the contractor verifies it does not employ illegal immigrants
through the E-Verify system. SEA 590 establishes penalties for
someone who knowingly or intentionally transports, conceals, harbors
or shields from detection an illegal immigrant for commercial or
private financial gain and includes penalties for business owners in
Indiana who knowingly hire illegal immigrants by no longer allowing
them to deduct expenses associated with that employee in the
calculation of the state employees income taxes.
Multitude of Education Reforms
Enacted
Teacher Evaluations and Licensing
Senate
Enrolled Act 1 (Sen. Dennis Kruse R-Auburn, Rep. Robert Behning R-Indianapolis) eliminates the advisory
board of the Division of Professional Standards of the Department of
Education (DOE). It repeals references to the advisory board
and the existing staff performance evaluation provisions, and makes
corresponding changes to related sections. SEA 1 requires the
DOE to revoke the license of a licensed school employee if the
employee is convicted in another state or under federal statutes of
an offense that is comparable to the felonies for which the
employee's license would be revoked if committed in Indiana.
The bill establishes an annual staff performance evaluation that
categorizes teachers as highly effective, effective, improvement
necessary, or ineffective. The bill also changes the process
concerning how teacher contracts are canceled. It specifies
that current teacher salaries cannot be reduced due to a new salary
scale adopted to meet the requirements of this act.
Teacher Collective Bargaining
Senate
Enrolled Act 575 (Sen. Phil Boots R-Crawfordsville, Rep. Robert Behning R-Indianapolis) extends the use of
temporary teacher contracts to hiring for positions funded by grants
outside the school funding formula. SEA 575 provides that wage
payment arrangements may not contain terms beyond those permitted to
be bargained. The bill limits the number of teachers
the labor representative may appoint to serve on statutory
or locally created district-wide and school-wide committees of a
school corporation. An agreement may not include provisions
that limit a school employer's ability to restructure schools that do
not meet federal or state accountability standards, or that limit a
school employer's ability to enter into programs that offer
postsecondary credit or dual credits to students. The bill
prohibits certain subjects from being bargained collectively, and
provides that prohibited subjects and items that lead to deficit
financing may not be included in an agreement. It also removes
certain items from the list of discussion subjects between a school
employer and an exclusive representative.
Charter Schools
House
Enrolled Act 1002 (Rep. Brian Bosma
R-Indianapolis, Sen. Dennis Kruse R-Bedford) allows charter schools
to opt in to the state health insurance plans. HEA 1002 establishes the Charter School Board as
a statewide sponsor of charter schools. It provides that
the DOE shall provide staff to the Charter School Board until
the Board begins receiving administrative fees from schools chartered
by the Board. The bill adds certain nonprofit private colleges
and universities as eligible charter school sponsors. The bill
establishes certain accountability criteria for charter school
sponsors, and places charter schools under accountability standards
for public schools. It adds student academic growth, financial
performance and stability, and board performance and stewardship, to
the list of items to be included in a charter school's charter, and
ends the virtual charter school pilot program and allows existing virtual
charter schools to seek sponsors. The bill changes the
procedure for converting a public school into a charter school.
The bill establishes a process by which charter schools may lease or
purchase unused, closed, or unoccupied school buildings that are maintained
by school corporations and are not being used for classroom
instruction.
School Scholarships
House
Enrolled Act 1003 (Rep. Robert Behning
R-Indianapolis, Sen. Dennis Kruse R-Auburn) provides a tax deduction
for a parent who sends a child to a private school or home schools
the child. HEA 1003 increases the
school scholarship tax credits that may be awarded for donations to a
scholarship granting organization. It prohibits a scholarship
granting organization from limiting the availability of scholarships
to students of only one participating school. The bill provides
choice scholarships to students in families with income that is not
more than 150 percent of the amount required for the individual to
qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program to pay the
costs of tuition and fees at a public or private elementary school or
high school that charges tuition.
Corporate Income Tax
House
Enrolled Act 1004 (Rep. Eric Turner R-Marion, Sen. Brandt Hershman R-Wheatfield) decreases the Corporate
Adjusted Gross Income Tax rate from 8.5 percent to 6.5
percent over four years. The bill increases the maximum
amount of income tax credits available under the Venture Capital
Investment (VCI) tax credit from
$500,000 to $1 million. It extends from 2013 to 2015 the end
date for investments eligible for the VCI
tax credit. It also suspends, for two years, the application
fee for applicants seeking certification for the venture capital
investment tax credit.
Agritourism Liability
House
Enrolled Act 1133 (Rep. Randy Frye R-Greensburg, Sen. Brent Steele
R-Bedford) provides that an agritourism
provider is not liable for the injury or death of an agritourism participant if the cause of the
injury or death is an inherent risk of the agritourism
activity. The bill establishes exceptions. It requires
the agritourism professional to post a
warning sign and place the warning notice in any contracts signed by
the participant.
Indiana Business Price
Preference
House
Enrolled Act 1183 (Rep. Tom Dermody R-LaPorte, Sen. Ed Charbonneau R-Valparaiso)
provides an additional preference for purchases made by a state
agency for supplies manufactured, assembled, or produced by an
Indiana business in Indiana. It deletes a provision specifying
that the Indiana price preferences are ignored in certain
circumstances if an offer is from a state bordering Indiana.
Stormwater Management Bill
House Enrolled Act 1291 (Rep. M. Smith R-Columbus, Sen. Gard R-Greenfield) provides that a municipality
is not liable for the investigation, assessment, or opinion offered
by the city board of works, town council, or designee in connection
to stormwater nuisances. HEA 1291 establishes an alterative
dispute process for dealing with stormwater
nuisance complaints. The bill provides that the person seeking the
removal of a stormwater nuisance may file a
request with a designated unit of government to investigate and make
an assessment of the alleged problem. This bill will allow a local
unit to adopt an ordinance to charge a fee to recover the costs
associated with the process. HEA 1291 also
requires the unit of government designee to provide an oral or
written report pertaining to the assessment and alternative dispute
resolution information. It establishes certain limitations in the
applicability of the stormwater nuisance
investigation or assessment. The bill provides that an artificial
conveyance or runoff operating in compliance with a permit issued by
a political subdivision is not subject to the provisions related to
the alternative dispute process dealing with stormwater
nuisance complaints. HEA 1291 requires a
person who lays out commercial, industrial, or other land
developments outside the corporate boundaries of a municipality to
submit plans and specifications to a county drainage board.
Various Transportation Issues
Senate
Enrolled Act 473 (Sen. Tom Wyss R-Fort Wayne, Rep. Ed Soliday R-Valparaiso) requires the General
Assembly to enact a statute to authorize imposing tolls as part of a
public-private agreement, on an existing highway, or on I-69, or
constructing part of I-69. It also provides that a
public-private agreement entered into after June 30, 2011, must
contain certain provisions concerning methodologies used to fix user
fees or tolls. The bill requires the Budget Committee to meet
within 90 days and conduct a review of any project that includes
tolls. The bill provides that the owner of a motor vehicle that
passes through a toll collection facility without paying the proper
toll commits a moving violation, a Class C infraction. It
establishes procedures for the collections of unpaid fines for these
moving violations.
Technical Corrections Bill
Senate
Enrolled Act 259 (Sen. Travis Holdman
R-Markle, Rep. Ralph Foley R-Martinsville) resolves technical
conflicts between differing 2010 amendments to Indiana Code sections,
and other technical problems in the Indiana Code, including incorrect
statutory references, nonstandard tabulation, grammatical problems,
and misspellings. SEA 259 repeals an obsolete chapter and a
section defining a term only for purposes of a chapter that has
expired.
What's Next?
As
of May 19, Governor Daniels has signed all of the above noted
legislation. In total, the Governor signed 230 bills and vetoed
two. Several bills requested topics for study committees; legislators
have discretion on which issues they want to discuss during the
interim. The Legislative Council will meet at 11:00 a.m. on
June 7 to create interim study committees for the summer.
Six-term
Indiana Rep. Mike Pence formally launched his campaign for governor
on May 5 during a conference call with supporters and friends.
Calling it the "worst kept secret in Indiana politics," the
Republican said he filed the formal paperwork with the Indiana
Secretary of State's office Thursday morning. A formal campaign
kick-off is set for June 11 in his hometown of Columbus, Indiana.
On
the Democrat side, former Indiana House Speaker John Gregg filed
paperwork on May 16 to create an exploratory committee for the 2012
governor's race. A member of Gregg's public relations team said Gregg
plans to have an official campaign kickoff later.
A
Fishers businessman also has filed to run in the 2012 governor's
race. Jim Wallace (R) held a campaign kickoff event recently to
announce his intention to run. Wallace will be going up against
Congressman Mike Pence in the Republican primary.
|
