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January 25, 2013
Volume 13
Issue 8
The following Statehouse visits are scheduled for next week.
Tuesday, January 29 – Perry, Howard, Fayette Counties, and Districts 7 and 9 Woman Leaders
FARM BUREAU-BACKED SOIL PRODUCTIVITY BILL CLEARS SENATE PANEL On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee heard, amended and approved SB 319, the bill that requires that the soil productivity factors used for the March 2011 assessment of agricultural land continued to be used. The bill also requires the department of local government finance (DLGF) to submit a report explaining any changes it recommends to the General Assembly for approval before they can they be implemented. The bill was presented by its author, Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg). Katrina Hall testified in support of the bill on behalf of Farm Bureau. The amendment added to the bill by the committee requires Purdue to be involved in any studies undertaken by DLGF.
Later in the day, the House Ways & Means Committee heard HB 1114, an identical bill introduced by Rep. Bob Cherry (R-Greenfield). Rep. Cherry was joined in presenting the bill by Rep. Don Lehe (R-Brookston), who also introduced an identical bill in the House. Katrina Hall again testified in support of the bill. In keeping with its established procedures, the House Committee did not vote on the bill the day it was presented.
PENCE DELIVERS HIS FIRST ‘STATE OF THE STATE’ ADDRESS Governor Mike Pence delivered his first State of the State address Tuesday evening. He used the opportunity to explain to a joint session of the House and Senate and a statewide television audience his budget priorities for the 2013-2015 biennium. Among the provisions of his budget that he used the speech to justify were:
• A 10 percent cut in Indiana’s personal income tax. This would cost about $790 million and would be funded by limiting spending growth well below projected revenue growth.
• Diverting scheduled pension fund payments to provide $64 million in performance grants to schools.
• Redirecting half of the expected excess reserve to transportation needs because the Major Moves money from the lease of the Indiana toll road will no longer be available. It is unclear how much, if any, of this money would be dedicated to local road and street maintenance. (The other half of any excess would be returned to taxpayers.)
• Funding Medicaid by reaching into the tobacco lawsuit settlement fund and ending the $40 million state subsidy for horse racing development.
A number of legislators, including Republican leaders in both houses, have expressed concern about some of these proposals. The final budget will not be agreed upon until late April, so there is still plenty of time for negotiation among all involved parties.
RITZ SWORN IN SATURDAY: Newly-elected State Superintendent Glenda Ritz took the oath of office before a crowd of hundreds of supporters and statewide dignitaries in the atrium of the Indiana Statehouse Saturday afternoon. Ritz is the first Democrat to hold the office of superintendent of public instruction since the early 1970s. In her remarks, Ritz said, “I’m an educator with a passion for children among the tens of thousands of educators across our great state.”
HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES ONLINE SALES TAX ADJUSTMENTS On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved HB 1007 (Rep. Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte) that would require online vendors with a physical presence in Indiana to begin collecting state sales tax from Indiana residents on July 1, 2013, rather than January 1, 2014. It is estimated that this six-month acceleration would raise anywhere from $75 million to $150 million per year for state coffers by collecting a tax already owed by those buying from online retailers such as Amazon.com.
HOUSE LEADERS JOINTLY ANNOUNCE SUPPORT FOR JOBS PROPOSAL House Speaker Brian C. Bosma (R-Indianapolis) and Minority Leader Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City) voiced their mutual support for HB 1002, which is designed to improve coordination, communication and vision for Indiana’s workforce training and career preparation systems They were joined by the bill’s co-authors, Reps. Steve Braun (R-Zionsville) and Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn). The bill would establish a 15- member Indiana Career Council, chaired by the governor, to coordinate workforce development efforts in Indiana.
SENATE APPROVES SCHOOL BACKGROUND CHECK: By a vote of 47-0 on Thursday, the Senate approved SB 160 (Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne). This bill would require applicants for jobs at Indiana schools to undergo a national background check at their own expense. The bill replaces a current requirement for a $25 Indiana-only background check with a $40 national check of criminal and sex offender records.
JAPAN LIFTS RESTICTIONS ON IMPORTED BEEF Japan’s Ministry of Health preliminary announcement this week that import rules will be relaxed to allow beef from cattle 30 months and less. The final announcement is expected within a week. USDA has been working with Japan on a new protocol to lift the age limit for U.S. beef imports and define the “specified risk materials” that must be removed before beef can be imported by Japan. Japan instituted BS-related trade restrictions on the imports of U.S. beef in December 2003. Until then, Japan had been the largest export market for U.S. beef with over $1.3 billion in sales and 37 percent of total U.S. beef exports.
IRS WAIVES PENALTY FOR LATE FILING OF FARM TAX RETURNS The Internal Revenue Service announced last Friday that it will not penalize farmers unable to file and pay their 2012 taxes by the March 1 deadline due to the IRS delayed start for filing tax returns. Farm Bureau had alerted the IRS of this issue on January 10 of this year. Normally, farmers who choose not to make quarterly estimated tax payments are not subject to a penalty if they file their returns and pay the full amount of tax due by March 1. Under the IRS guidance to be issued, farmers or fishermen who miss the March 1 deadline will not be subject to the penalty if they file and pay by April 15, 2013. Farmers requesting this penalty waiver must attach Form 2210-F to their tax return. Forms, instructions and other tax assistance are available on IRS.gov.
NINE COUNTIES WILL SHARE TIMBER REVENUE: Nine southern Indiana counties will share nearly $270,000 in federal funding to support local schools and roads under a one-year reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act . USDA announced last week the funds will go to Brown, Crawford, Dubois, Jackson, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange and Perry counties.
NEW AREA CODE FOR SOUTHERN INDIANA: With the 812 telephone area code predicted to run out of numbers by 2015, Indiana regulators are planning public hearings on a new local telephone area code. The hearings will be held across the area now served by the 812 area code beginning on March 19. The basic question to be addressed is whether to split the territory now served by the 812 area code or create an additional area code that covers the same territory. More information and the location and dates of the hearings can be found at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission website at www.in.gov/iurc/.
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