Jobs and Economic Growth

Major Moves (HB 1008) ? Provides $3.85 billion from the lease of the Indiana Toll Road to fund nearly 200 statewide transportation and economic growth projects throughout the state.

Telecom Reform (HB 1279) ? deregulates telephone services and creates statewide video franchising. Encourages new investment and competition in the provision of advanced telecommunications and video services, resulting in more choices and lower prices for Hoosier consumers.

Single Tax Factor (in HB 1001) ? Provides after a phase-in period that corporate business income is apportioned to Indiana for adjusted gross income tax purposes using a single sales factor. Makes Indiana more competitive with surrounding states and eliminates tax ?penalty? on companies with substantial Indiana employment and investment.

Reform workforce training system (SB 370) ? Authorizes IEDC to create no more than 11 Workforce Development regions (versus 17 today) with streamlined boards accountable for the regional training programs they must now award through competitive bidding. Also consolidates four existing training programs to improve efficiency and make more funds available for training vs. program administration.

HQ Relocation Tax Credit (HB 1380) ? Reduces from $500 million to $100 million the amount of annual worldwide revenue that a business must have in order to qualify for the headquarters relocation tax credit.

EDGE Tax Credit Extension (HB 1380) ? Provides that an applicant for an EDGE credit for the retention of jobs must employ at least 35 persons (instead of 75 as required by current law). Increases the $5,000,000 per year cap on the amount of EDGE credits that may be granted to retain existing jobs during each state fiscal year to $10,000,000 per year.

Common Sense Consumption (HB 1113) ? Grants immunity from civil liability for certain persons in the food and beverage industry, including advertisers, marketers, and advertising media, as to a claim concerning weight gain, obesity, a health condition associated with weight gain or obesity.

Professional Licensing Reform (SB 333) ? Makes numerous changes to the state?s licensing rules for various professions.

Hoosier Business Investment Tax Credit (HB 1380) ? Extends the deadline by which a qualified investment must be made in order to be eligible for the HBITC until January 1, 2012.

Education

Dollars to the Classroom (HB 1006) -- Allows school corporations to undertake certain actions to save money in nonacademic areas and reallocate the saved money to student instruction and learning. Requires the department of education and the state board of education to develop a plan to upgrade the financial management, analysis, and reporting system for school corporations and schools.

School Deregulation (SB 324) ? Requires the state board of education annually to: (1) analyze state statutes, rules, policies, and relationships to determine those that restrict school corporations and public schools from allocating resources to, and focusing efforts on, student instruction and learning; and (2) report the results of the analysis to the state superintendent of public instruction, the general assembly, and the governor. Allows school corporations to declare themselves deregulated and waive certain statutes and rules.

Local Government Modernization

Fiscal Flexibility (HB 1400) ? Would allow local governments to adopt local option taxes (sales, income, food & beverage or innkeepers) as a substitute for property taxes.

Structural Flexibility (HB 1362) ? Allows local government units to reorganize, consolidate or enter into cooperative agreements without needing ?permission? from the General Assembly.

Child Welfare Levy (HB 1400) ? State would assume future growth in the county child welfare levy.

Assessment Reform (HB 1400) ? Would consolidate all assessing duties currently performed by township officials with county assessors.

Enhanced Taxpayer Notification (HB 1001) ? Establishes a uniform property tax statement beginning in 2008 and provides increased pre-notification to taxpayers of proposed local budgets and tax rates beginning in 2009.

Other Bills of Interest

Employee Incentives to Reduce Smoking (HB 1420 as passed) ? Allows an employer to implement financial incentives related to employer provided health benefits to reduce employee tobacco use.

Cigarette Tax (HB 1420 ? original version) ? Impose at least a 25-cent per pack tax on cigarettes.

Administration of Sex Offender Registry (SB 12) ? Transfers oversight of the sex offender registry from the criminal justice institute to the Department of Correction (DOC). Eliminates the sex and violent offender directory, transfers its functions to the sex offender registry, and requires the criminal justice institute to seek grants to support the sex offender registry.

Relief Fund to Support Military Families (SB 75) ? Establishes the military relief fund which provides grants for the families of Hoosiers who are members of the Indiana National Guard or armed forces reserves who have been called to active duty since September 11, 2001. Creates a Hoosier veteran license plate, the sale of which will raise money for the military family relief fund ($15 per plate). Restores veterans disability benefit.

State Central Collection Unit, Child Support (SB 153) ? Centralizes the collection of child support payments through the creation of the state central collection unit within the child support bureau of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCS).

DOC Pension Benefits (SB 332) ? Provides a $150,000 death benefit for the survivors of DOC employees who die in the line of duty and a mechanism for implementing hazardous duty retirement for corrections officers in future legislative sessions.

Salary, PERF Protection for State Employees (SB 340) ? Allows agencies to protect the pay of state employees who are demoted due to the elimination of positions or the reorganization of agency functions. Establishes a process to withdraw state employees from the public employees' retirement fund and to allow certain state employees to retire when the employees are terminated from state employment as a result of: (1) a lease or other transfer of state property to a nongovernmental entity; or (2) a contractual arrangement with a nongovernmental entity to perform certain state functions.

Statewide Fire Training Academy(HB 1099) ? Fully funds both a statewide, regional fire training system and the state?s disaster relief fund, which has been unfunded since its creation in 2003, by assessing a fee on the sale of legal fireworks.

Transfer of housing from FSSA to Housing and Community Development Agency (HB 1261) ? Transfers responsibility for certain housing-related social service programs from FSSA to the Housing and Community Development Agency.

Quarantine by Public Health Authority (HB 1235) ? Establishes the procedure for a public health authority to obtain or issue an order to restrict the movement of an individual in the least restrictive manner when there is evidence that the individual has been exposed to a communicable disease, and requires a public health authority to distribute certain information about the disease and quarantine procedures to the public.

Create Division of Aging (SB 41) ? Establishes a separate Division of Aging within the Family and Social Services Agency.

2005 Legislative Initiatives Re-introduced

Regional Venture Capital Funds (1380) ? Authorizes counties, cities, and towns that receive county economic development income taxes (CEDIT) to: (1) establish local venture capital funds; and (2) establish regional venture capital funds by pooling CEDIT revenues and grant proceeds.

Appointed Superintendent of Public Instruction (HB 1355) ? Eliminates the elected position of State Superintendent of Public Instruction and allows the Governor to fill the position by appointment.

Campaign Finance Reform (SB 322) ? Provides that a group of individuals all of whom are related by blood, marriage, or adoption is not considered a political action committee. Requires ?secret corporations? to fully disclose the source of contributions used to pay for political communications by requiring an individual or organization that makes an expenditure of at least $10,000 for the purpose of financing communications that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate to file, not later than 48 hours after the expenditure, a report that provides details concerning the expenditure.

Pension Forfeiture for Felony Misconduct (SB 322) ? Would allow public employee pension boards to deny part or all public pension benefits to government employees convicted of a felony involving an act of fraud, deceit, or abuse of the public trust resulting in a financial loss to the public or an unlawful benefit to an individual in the conduct of state business, bribery, official misconduct, or certain other offenses.

Spring ISTEP (HB 1240) ? Required that the state ISTEP exam be administered at the end of the academic year.

Nonprofit liability protection (HB 1367) ? Provides limited liability protection for small non-profit organizations.

Total: 34 initiatives ? 24 approved, 10 not approved