Maintaining A Talented Workforce

Like many other states in the country, Indiana has seen a worker shortage in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help combat this, I am supporting legislation that would give our local communities more ways to attract and retain skilled workers.

Senate Bill 4 would allow local government units to create a Workforce Retention and Recruitment program. These programs could then allocate funds, in the form of loans or grants, to incentivize recent Indiana college graduates to stay in our state. They could also be used to attract valued workers from other states.

This bill comes on the heels of the creation of the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI). This program aims to make communities across the state places where people are excited to live and work.

Through these pieces of legislation, it is my hope that we can continue to grow our local economies, keep generations of talented workers in our state and improve the quality of life and business across Indiana.

SB 4 passed the Senate unanimously and will now be considered by the House of Representatives.

Sen. Phil Boots represents Montgomery, Fountain, Parke, Vermillion and Warren counties and a portion of Boone County. He is one of the shareholders of The Paper of Montgomery County.