Indiana News Update

Daniels To Lead Trade Mission To China, Japan
Gov. Mitch Daniels will lead a delegation of Indiana business leaders and elected officials on the first economic development mission to China by an Indiana governor in more than a decade.  Daniels will also make economic development stops in Japan and attend the Japan-U.S. Midwest Conference during his fourth visit to the country since 2005.  Daniels will meet with government and business leaders in both countries and will host three business receptions for potential investors.

Schools chief wants tighter teacher licensing
Indiana’s state schools chief plans to announce proposed teacher licensing changes he says would improve the quality of teachers at public schools.  Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett wants to require elementary education majors to minor in core subjects such as math or English while limiting undergraduate coursework in education.

Ind. ordered to pay $42 million in back pay to state workers
A $42 million judgment against the state over back pay to state workers won’t quite break Indiana’s bank, but it’s hardly welcome news in a tight budget year.  The ruling Tuesday by a Marion County judge — one of the largest ever against the state — resolved a 16-year-old class-action lawsuit by current and former state workers who said they were underpaid going back to 1973.  A plaintiffs’ attorney said as many as 15,000 people potentially affected by the ruling won’t see a penny while the state pursues appeals — a route Gov. Mitch Daniels supports.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Governmental Affairs

Indiana News Update

Toll road operators say finances are in order
The owners of the Indiana Toll Road apparently are not on the verge of bankruptcy, but even if they were in financial trouble, there are safeguards in the lease contract with the state that would protect the highway for Hoosiers.  State Rep. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, speaker of the Indiana House, told WNDU-TV, The Elkhart Truth’s newsgathering partner, on Monday that the foreign consortium that operates the roll road is “on the verge of bankruptcy.”  His source for the information is a July 8 story in The Australian that quotes financial analysts as saying that the debt taken on by Macquarie Infrastructure Group to buy the toll road and the Chicago Skyway is too high, given their performance and that the roads could be sold “for a nominal amount …” — $1 — to allay investor fears that more money will have to be pumped into all Macquarie’s U.S. assets. The assets also include the Dulles Greenway in northern Virginia and the South Bay Expressway in San Diego.

Minimum wage hike coming Friday
The minimum wage for Indiana workers is going up.  The state’s minimum wage will increase from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour on Friday. It coincides with a 10.7-percent increase in the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour.  The Indiana Minimum Wage Law applies to the minority of Hoosier employers and employees not covered by the federal minimum wage.  Employers of workers who receive tips must still pay them at least $2.13 per hour on top of their tips. If their tips combined with the employer’s wage of $2.13 per hour fall short of the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.

Lobbying has a near-record year at the Statehouse
From lawyer salaries to pricey dinners and prime seats at Colts and Pacers games, lobbyists spent more than $24 million trying to influence this year’s legislative session.  Late and amended lobbying reports still are coming in. Sarah Nagy, executive director of the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission, said she expected the final amount will grow by as much as $5 million, which she expected will be a new record, easily topping last year’s total of $25.4 million.

IPS educators say they’d welcome changes
Indianapolis Public Schools teachers and principals say burdensome personnel policies and an inefficient human resources department are having a negative impact in the classroom, according to a survey to be released today.  Teachers and principals faulted both the central office and policies cemented in the district’s contract with the teachers union, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Indianapolis Star.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Governmental Affairs

Indiana News Update

Conference to focus on Indiana wind energy growth
The Indiana Office of Energy Development will host a statewide conference on wind farming July 21-22 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.  Windiana 2009 focuses on utility scale and small wind systems for use at homes, businesses and farms.


Child advocate too weak?
Although state lawmakers included funding for an ombudsman’s bureau within Indiana’s Department of Child Services, family rights advocates worry that whoever is chosen for the post won’t have the power to make a difference.  Proponents say child services need added oversight after 11 children in state care died in less than two years.  But even though lawmakers included funding for the ombudsman in the recently passed budget, those who sought a watchdog now say the legislation was watered down.  “It was just an appeasement,” said Carole Davis, who runs Kiddos First, a child advocacy organization based in Evansville. “It’s just a joke as far as I’m concerned.” 

State has no alternative to current welfare system
Indiana welfare officials considering canceling the state’s privately run welfare system have no backup plan in place, and critics say it will be hard to undo the privatization of 1,500 state case workers more than two years ago.  Anne Murphy, secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration, confirmed recently that the system led by IBM Corp. and Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services Inc. has so many problems that Indiana could cancel the 10-year, $1.16 billion contract. She asked IBM to submit a “corrective action plan” as part of a process that could result in cancellation of the contract if changes aren’t made by the end of September.

Indiana sizes up its gambling competition
Concerned in part about potential competition from Kentucky and Ohio, Indiana lawmakers will study the state’s gambling industry to see how best to position the casinos and protect state revenue.  Although the Kentucky General Assembly failed to pass a bill last month to allow slot-like video terminals at racetracks, Hoosier officials think the commonwealth will eventually act to stop Indiana riverboats from siphoning dollars from Kentuckians’ pocketbooks.  And Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland announced Friday that he will sign an executive order authorizing video lottery terminals at the state’s racetracks. He said he will direct the Ohio Lottery to move quickly to have the terminals installed as a way to shore up state revenues.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Governmental Affairs

Indiana News Update

State Chamber president to speak
Kevin Brinegar, president and chief executive officer of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, will discuss major issues that are expected to affect the economy and economic development in the region, during a “Lunch With Brinegar” at 11:30 a.m., Aug. 19, at the University of Evansville.  The program for business and economic development leaders will mark Brinegar’s fifth stop on a seven-city statewide tour as part of the lunch series.  Brinegar is expected to update attendees on how actions, taken by the 2009 Indiana General Assembly, will impact Hoosier businesses.

Plan would cut number of poll sites
If Allen County’s director of elections has anything to say about it, the number of polling places will be cut by nearly two-thirds – a cut Beth Dlug insists would benefit political parties, voters and taxpayers alike.  Dlug is expected to present today to members of the County Election Board a plan that would replace 146 precinct-specific polling locations with 40 larger “vote centers” open to all registered county voters regardless of address. Although the change would require approval by the state General Assembly – meaning it could not be implemented until next year at the earliest – Dlug said it’s not too early to start planning for the day Allen County residents can vote wherever is most convenient for them.

Press continues for tweaks in Sunday liquor sale laws
State laws that prevent Hoosiers from buying alcohol on Sundays have baffled many drinkers for years. “Why shouldn’t they? We can drink it on Sundays,” said Edward Johnson, a Chalmers resident.  Hoosiers for Beverage Choices, a group pushing for changes in the laws, visited West Lafayette Wednesday to tout its current membership drive and its efforts to sway lawmakers. More than 25,000 people have signed up to support the cause, said Matt Norris, the group’s director.

More time, more proof and more security for state IDs
Motorists who renew their Indiana driver’s licenses or obtain new ones will have to present documents to prove their identities beginning next year.  Bureau of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Andy Miller said Wednesday the one-time requirement is part of an effort to stem identity theft by complying with the 9/11 commission’s recommendations and federal law.  Anyone who gets a new license or state ID or renews one after Jan. 1 will have to prove his or her identity, Social Security number, citizenship or immigration status and state residency. Documents that can be used include birth certificates or passports, Social Security cards or W2 forms, and bank statements or utility bills issued within 60 days.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Governmental Affairs

Indiana News Update

Arrest warrant issued for former candidate
An arrest warrant has been issued for Indiana’s 2008 Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, who is charged with misrepresenting himself as a state legislator to avoid arrest for public intoxication.  A spokesman for the Marion County prosecutor’s office said former state Rep. Dennie Oxley II was to have surrendered by 1 p.m. Wednesday but had not turned himself in by mid-evening.  Earlier Wednesday, prosecutors filed misdemeanor charges of public intoxication and impersonating a public servant against Oxley, who was found drunk with a 21-year-old legislative intern at a downtown gas station last week.

Governor: No more laws to help Indy sports board
State lawmakers from Indianapolis say a plan to help the city’s struggling sports agency is a temporary fix, but Gov. Mitch Daniels says he doesn’t want any future legislation to deal with the Capital Improvement Board. The Republican governor said Wednesday that city officials changed their minds more than once about what they wanted to help overcome a projected $47 million deficit for next year.

Gov: Session was worth it
Indiana taxpayers came out ahead in the special legislative session because it resulted in a two-year budget that increases overall funding for public schools while preserving much of the state’s reserves, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said Wednesday.  Daniels said the $27.8 billion budget passed by the General Assembly on Tuesday spends a little more than he would have liked. But he said enough lawmakers made tough choices and compromised on a responsible bill that he quickly signed into law.  “It was a good process of give-and-take,” he said. “There are things in there for everybody to feel pleased about and everybody to disagree with.”

Use caution when setting off fireworks
With the fireworks season in full swing and many temporary stores popping up, state officials want to remind Indiana citizens of the state laws governing fireworks. In addition, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) Fire & Building Safety division has issued some tips for Hoosiers hoping to play it safe when using fireworks this summer.

Daniels is poised to resume fight for local government reform
A day after Indiana’s lawmakers passed a new two-year state budget, Gov. Mitch Daniels was already looking ahead to his next legislative goal: reforming local government, including a push to merge the state’s smallest school districts.  Daniels had sought a slew of reforms — including eliminating township government and creating a single county chief executive to replace commissioners — earlier this year.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Governmental Affairs