Northern IN Lawmakers Reveal Priorities

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette is quoting several northeast Indiana legislators on their priorities for the 2008 session of the General Assembly.  All say property taxes will dominate, but other issues will be addressed as well.  Here they are:

Gay Marriage Amendment

[Rep. Bill] Ruppel [R-North Manchester] and other area lawmakers continue to support a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

Indiana already has a state law on the matter, but Republicans have pushed for the constitutional amendment for years.

The amendment already passed once, in 2005, but it failed last year. If it doesn’t pass in 2008, legislators will have to start the process over again because it requires two separately elected General Assemblies to approve the language before a final public referendum.

“That’s what makes it important,” Ruppel said. “I think the people should get to decide.”

In the past, the Indiana Senate has debated and passed the amendment first, sending it to the Indiana House. When the GOP controlled the chamber in 2005 it passed. But it didn’t get out of committee in 2007 under Democratic leadership.

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said he doesn’t want his chamber spending time on a matter first unless it will go somewhere in the House.

“It’s important for the House to step up this time,” he said. “We need to know there’s a meaningful opportunity to pass. We are ready and willing to handle the issue if it gets to us.”

House Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, has been non-committal on the subject, except to say property taxes will be the priority for the House.

“I actually think we have far more important things to do than deal with that issue,” said Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne.

Many area Republicans support the amendment but also say they are focusing on property taxes.

“I’d like to see it dealt with, but at the end of the day it’s not one of the first three or four issues that comes up in discussions with constituents,” said Rep. Matt Bell, R-Avilla.

Gambling

 …such as an attempt to move a Gary casino to Steuben County and a bill to allow bars and taverns to use paper pull-tab and punchboard games.

Cell Phone Usage

 [Sen. Dennis] Kruse [R-Auburn] hopes this is the year for a bill curtailing cell phone use while driving. He has filed it several times in the past with no success.

Instead of including all drivers, this year’s version limits cell phone use to just drivers ages 16 to 18. It would prohibit hand-held phones, requiring hands-free devices instead.

“One of the big areas this addresses is text messaging,” he said. “Younger people tend to be doing that a lot, and it is even more dangerous. I tried the whole thing last year, so this time I’m trying to narrow it to beginning drivers who tend to have more accidents.”

Schools

Another proposed bill from Kruse would require schools to start their school year after Labor Day.

He said August used to be the biggest vacation month in the year, but now many Indiana schools start in early August. This also robs Indiana’s tourism industry of teen employees, he said.

One of the reasons that schools start so early has been preparation for the fall ISTEP+ test. But the state’s annual proficiency exam is moving to the spring.

Rep. Bill Ruppel, R-North Manchester, has a variation on this bill based on a recommendation from an advisory board for the state fair. He said many kids have to skip the state fair because schools start so early.

“We need to let the kids have time to be at the fair,” Ruppel said.

Bell also plans to file a bill requiring schools to provide education on financial literacy, largely in response to continued foreclosure and bankruptcy problems in Indiana.

“Any solution to the problem has to begin with a better educated populace,” he said. “We need to understand how to balance a checkbook, what is good credit and what is bad? It has to be part of the educational experience.”

The South Bend Tribune has this story that outlines a bunch of other bills.

Senate Bill 34 asks Gov. Mitch Daniels to petition the U.S. Department of Transportation to move the entire state into the Central Time Zone. Meanwhile, House Bill 1038 would make the time-zone issue into two referendum questions during the 2008 elections. The referenda would ask whether the entire state should be in one time zone, and if so, which one.

Another House Bill, 1047, would allow county residents on the boundaries adjacent to the Central and Eastern time zones to petition for a time-zone ballot question. If county voters approve the question, the county executive would petition the U.S. Department of Transportation to hold hearings and ask for the governor’s support.

-Traffic stops — Police officers currently have to be in uniform or in a marked car before arresting or issuing traffic violations related to the operation or a motor vehicle. Senate Bill 11 would eliminate these requirements.

-Smoking — House Bill 1056 would prohibit people from smoking in passenger vehicles while a child younger than age 13 is in the vehicle. The person cannot be stopped or detained solely to check for compliance, but those who are caught could be subject to a $25 penalty for a first offense and $100 for second and subsequent violations. House Bill 1057 would ban smoking in certain public places and includes several exceptions for different types of facilities.

-Firearms — Senate Bill 65 provides that those with valid state licenses to carry a handgun may not be prohibited from possessing a handgun in buildings or property owned by state or local governments and private schools. The bill has exceptions for correctional facilities and airports.

Senate Bill 66 prohibits individuals or other entities from regulating the possession of a legal firearm that is in a locked car on its premises. Exceptions are made for emergency shelter care facilities, school property and corrections facilities.

House Bill 1043 prohibits regulations on lawful possession or sale of guns during disaster or energy emergencies.

-Sexual predators and networking sites — Senate Bill 79 makes it a Class A misdemeanor for child sexual offenders to use social networking programs, chat rooms or instant messaging programs frequented by children. It can become a Class D felony if the offender contacts a child or person believed to be a child through one of those programs.

-Domestic battery cooling off — Senate Bill 27 would require law enforcement agencies to hold a person arrested for domestic or family violence for at least eight hours from the time of arrest. The bill also would prevent the person from being released on bail during those eight hours.

-Voluntary death penalty — Senate Bill 47 would allow incarcerated persons who have been sentenced to 200 years, life imprisonment without parole or life imprisonment to petition a court and voluntarily ask for the death penalty. The incarcerated person can only file one petition in his or her lifetime, and must be examined by a psychiatrist or psychologist before court proceedings can begin. If a prisoner is granted the death sentence, he or she has the option of halting it at any time and requesting the original sentence.

-Property tax freezes for senior citizens — House Bill 1018 would freeze property tax liability on the homesteads of those at least 65 years old and whose adjusted gross annual income doesn’t exceed $30,000.

-Written informed consent in English and Spanish to abortion — House Bill 1027 would require that both written and oral information be provided to a pregnant woman in English and Spanish before a woman can consent to a voluntary abortion. The state health department would be required to develop a form in English and Spanish to be used by the pregnant woman to verify that she received the information.

-Sex offenders — The House and Senate have a few different bills concerning sex offenders. Senate Bill 4 establishes a three-tiered system that determines the number of years a sex offender has to register. Sex offenders must register the license plate numbers and vehicle descriptions of any vehicle they own and have a new photo taken every time they register. Local law enforcement must notify every school and public housing agency in each county every time an offender registers or updates registration.

Under Senate Bill 84, sex offenders can be charged with a Class C infraction for not notifying law enforcement in their previous county of residence if they move to a new county. The previous county would also be required to forward all information on the offender to the new county.

-Animal fighting contests — Senate Bill 23 adds more specific language to deal with animal fighting cases. Charges related to animal fighting contests would range from Class A to Class D felonies in the state and prohibit anyone convicted of these from owning an animal or living with an animal owner for 10 years after the conviction.

-Smoke detectors in rental properties — Senate Bill 26 would require landlords to install smoke detectors in rental units. The bill includes penalties for landlords who fail to do this and some penalties for tenants who knowingly or intentionally don’t report faulty smoke detectors to landlords.

-Presidential electors – Senate Bill 60 would require the state’s presidential electors to vote for the candidates of the political party, group of petitioners, or write-in candidate that nominated the elector. Under this bill, the elector would lose his or her seat for failure or refusal to vote for such a candidate, and the vote may not be counted.

Remember, just because something is filed, doesn’t mean it will pass.  If you feel strongly about an issue, contact your legislator and express your support/concern.