Legislation to help Hoosiers
With the end of session just weeks away, legislation is being debated and voted on. As your state representative, it is my duty to listen to your thoughts and opinions and vote in our district’s best interest. I greatly appreciate your continued input this session, as it helps me represent your voice at the Statehouse.
Looking out for the best interest of our district, I support the House Republican plan for Indiana’s road funding. This legislation looks at a variety of ways to address our needs now and going forward to fix and maintain our roads. This bill will focus on three major principles: fiscal responsibility, data-driven metrics and sustainability. The House Republican’s proposal provides a long-term solution to sustain both Indiana’s state and local transportation infrastructure. Due to improved fuel efficiency and inflation, the state’s stationary per gallon excise gas tax is not only generating less revenue but losing buying power. By utilizing existing state resources, establishing new state resources, and creating matching grants for local governments, Indiana will be able to maintain its fiscal integrity while addressing the future of our roads. We paired this with a phased-in personal income tax cut. The end result is a thoughtful, sustainable and far-reaching plan that does not borrow against the future. We will not leave our children and grandchildren with the debt of dilapidated roads and bridges.
In addition to addressing transportation infrastructure, House Republicans have been focused on Hoosier education. As of July 2017, the ISTEP test as we know it may no longer exist. Proposed legislation would create a commission to examine and propose Indiana’s next generation assessment for K-12 students and phase out the test by 2017.
The well-being of Hoosier veterans in our community and across the state is an extremely important issue for me. Indiana is home to approximately 550,000 veterans. At this time, the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs is not accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, forcing it to forego approximately $853 million in federal veteran benefits. This leaves many counties underserved and veterans’ needs unmet. House Republicans support a plan to help better address the needs of these brave men and women and add additional support for county veteran’s service officers (CVSO). This proposal would create six newly designated districts for CVSO’s that currently lack resources to properly serve the local community. By requiring the commission to create these new districts across the state, each with an appointed district service officer, veteran issues can be addressed more quickly and efficiently at the local level.
Many pieces of legislation directly impact small communities like ours. This past December, I gave a speech to the annual meeting of the Fourth District of the Indiana Farm Bureau. The banquet meeting was held at Taylor University with a crowd of approximately 200 guests. Among other things, I told the group that it has been great living in a small, rural community. I focused on this subject because of the tragedy my family experienced this fall. Living in a small community almost demands that you know everyone, and they know you. Victories are celebrated by the entire area, and tragedies involve the support of everyone: family, friends, the school, emergency personnel and the list goes on. The close relationships in a rural area compel everyone to be engaged. To all of you who value quality of life in rural Indiana, I salute you and agree with you. Let us continue to lift up our small-town communities.
This past week was the funeral for David Snyder, a friend and farmer from the Mexico area. We attended the Mexico Baptist Church with David for many years. He and his family are stalwart supporters, and he served as a moderator at the Mexico Baptist Church for a long time. He will be missed by our church and the community.
My main priority is to focus on doing what is best for our community. As we move toward the end of session, I hope you continue to stay in touch. Feel free to contact me at h23@iga.in.gov or 317-232-9981.
More later,
WCF
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Rep. Bill Friend represents portions of Cass, Fulton and Miami counties.
He also serves as Speaker Pro Tempore.
