Working For You At The Statehouse

There are many responsibilities of a State Senator, but I believe one of the most important is to be an advocate for the counties and communities in District 23. That’s why I added language to House Bill 1499, which passed out of the Senate Tuesday, that would allow Tippecanoe County to keep more of our tax dollars under the control of local elected officials rather than state bureaucrats. Specifically, the bill would change how revenue earned from the Tippecanoe County innkeeper’s tax is allocated. Currently, 20%, of the tax revenue goes to Prophetstown State Park with 10% of that amount controlled by the county and 10% controlled by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Tippecanoe County is the only county in Indiana which allocates a portion of its innkeeper’s tax money to DNR and the money is accumulating in a DNR account. The annual contribution is about $500,000 each year. HB 1499 would gradually reduce the amount the county gives to the DNR by 1% each year starting in 2024 until Tippecanoe County is distributing no money into DNR’s pocket in 2033. Frankly, I believe 10 years is too slow of a decrease and am still fighting to speed up the clock, but I’ll take the win for now.

Transparency for Taxpayers I also added language to HB 1499 that would require the Indiana Department of Revenue to provide taxpayers who paid adjusted gross income taxes with a receipt that explains how their taxes are used. This would give added transparency for taxpayers so they could see how their money is spent. This is legislation I worked on this session and I am happy to see it added to this bill so it could benefit Hoosier taxpayers. Both provisions still have to get approval from the House, but I’m pleased to see they are moving toward law.

Increasing Workforce Transportation Options

A bill I sponsored that would support workforce transportation opportunities passed the Senate this week with bipartisan support.

House Bill 1046 would allow a public transportation corporation in one county to cross into an adjacent county to transport individuals, as long as the county commissioners and county council agree.

This change could allow residents in rural counties to use public transportation to travel to a neighboring county for work.

Senate District 23 is home to both rural and urban communities that could benefit from the ability to extend public transportation across county lines.

With large employers like Caterpillar and Subaru in Tippecanoe County, the region has a lot to offer the surrounding area if we can remove the hurdles that keep more from joining the workforce and gaining access to high-paying jobs.

Because the bill was amended in the Senate, it will now return to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

Protecting the Public

The Indiana Constitution currently requires all criminal suspects to be offered bail unless they are charged with murder or treason. Unfortunately, our society is seeing more and more instances of dangerous suspects released on bail, only to commit more violent crimes.

That’s why I’m supporting Senate Joint Resolution 1, which would allow a court to deny bail for certain dangerous suspects.

It is common for federal courts to deny bail to dangerous individuals charged with federal crimes, and there are currently 22 states that allow courts to deny bail to arrestees in some circumstances, and nine states don’t guarantee bail to any arrestees.

In order to protect Hoosiers from violent crime, SJR 1 seeks to give Indiana’s criminal justice system the flexibility to use a policy that most of the country already uses.

If added to the Indiana Constitution, SJR 1 would make clear to Indiana judges that there are circumstances when it is acceptable to hold a suspect without bail because releasing them poses a substantial risk to the public.

Local Communities Awarded Infrastructure Grants

Communities in Senate District 23 will receive nearly $6 million to improve roads and bridges through the Community Crossings Matching Grant Program.

The CCMG, established by the Indiana General Assembly in 2016, aims to advance community infrastructure projects, strengthen local transportation networks and improve Indiana’s roads and bridges. Since its enactment, the program has awarded more than $1.27 billion in state matching funds for local construction projects.

In Senate District 23, the following communities received grants:

• Fountain County received $1 million;
• Hillsboro received $70,511.25;
• Kingman received $152,058.75;
• Otterbein received $322,500;
• Parke County received $803,326.79;
• Rockville received $596,505.10;
• Shadeland received $562,518.75;
• Tippecanoe County received $376,792;
• Universal received $74,987.69;
• Vermillion County received $993,455.90;
• Warren County received $885,119.04; and
• West Lebanon received $74,709.90.