Freshmen lawmakers leave their mark
Hoosiers across Indiana should be pleased by the fact that this year’s freshmen class of state representatives came into the Statehouse with a bipartisan spirit and a true reformist attitude. On the national level, freshmen lawmakers are often shunted from the legislative process, unable to gain the support they need to see their ideas come to fruition. That was not the case this year at the Statehouse. Freshmen legislators in the Indiana House carried important reforms in the mortgage lending, economic development, agriculture, victims’ rights, local government and the enhancement of youth services. In fact, of the 184 bills passed this year, 22 were authored by freshmen representatives.
State lawmakers eye budget talks, contingency plan
The two words frame the biggest question of the special legislative session Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to call next month: What if lawmakers don’t pass a budget by June 30, when the current two-year spending plan expires? The Daniels administration is taking a “don’t even go there” approach. But Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville) has already begun checking out contingency plans, even though he says he’s “100 percent hopeful” that it won’t be necessary. “I’m just doing this as a kind of contingency type of thinking,” said Kenley, who asked for answers from the Legislative Services Agency, the General Assembly’s nonpartisan research arm. “I just want to know what’s at the end of the trail for me.”
Colleges answering a more urgent call for financial aid
The second floor of Franklin Hall on the campus of Indiana University has become ground zero for hard-luck stories. This is where students and parents come with heads hung low and hands held out, looking for answers after being rocked by layoffs, salary reductions, the loss of insurance and other economic blows. “They are sad stories and very stressful situations,” said Roger Thompson, the vice provost for enrollment management, who oversees 40 financial aid officers from his office in Franklin Hall. Across Indiana and the nation, more college-bound students than ever are reaching out for financial assistance to help pay for higher education. Hoosier students have filed about 260,000 applications this spring, up from 204,000 last year.
State treasurer says state pensioners being “ripped off” in Chrysler case
Indiana is the only creditor to file an objection with the bankruptcy court handling the Chrysler LLC proceedings. State Treasurer Richard Mourdock says the filing is on the behalf of the Indiana State Police Pension Trust, Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund and the Major Moves Construction Fund. He says the proposed restructuring seeks to pay billions of dollars to unsecured Chrysler creditors, while paying secured creditors only 29 cents on the dollar. Mourdock says the state can’t allow its “retired police officers and teachers to be ripped off by the federal government.”
