This week marked the midway point of the legislative session. Although we reached the deadline for final passage of bills, our work is far from over. Soon, all of the bills that were passed by the Senate will move over to our chamber for continued discussion and debate; but before we dive into a whole new set of issues, I would like to take a moment to reflect on some of the major pieces of legislation that we have been working on.
Over the past eight weeks, the budget has been a large point of discussion. Even before session began, we made public our goal to stay firm in our commitment to fiscal integrity. One of the ways that we have achieved this is through passing an honestly balanced budget that does not increase taxes on hardworking Hoosiers. This not only protects Hoosiers today, but also ensures financial stability for future generations who would ultimately be responsible for any exorbitant debts that we incur.
Our budget also maintains healthy reserves that protect taxpayers, students and the elderly in the case of another economic downturn. These reserves are critical to maintaining our AAA credit rating while other states continue to lose this designation.
While the biennial budget is the single most important piece of legislation we will pass all session, there are many other significant bills that impact cities and towns across Indiana. One example is House Bill (HB) 1540, which was authored to increase competition and offset a decline in gaming revenue generated by Indiana’s casinos.
With Rising Star Casino part of our community for nearly 20 years, we are all too familiar with gaming related issues. Despite the fact that casino revenues continue to decline, Rising Star not only provides invaluable jobs for Hoosiers locally but also provides an essential revenue stream for Ohio County.
Under an amendment that was added to HB 1540, our communities and others stood to lose quite a bit of revenue. Essentially, what the amendment did was shift more casino tax revenue to the state government and away from local communities by eliminating the Admissions Tax as well as making adjustments to Wagering Tax rates. In particular, under these changes, Rising Star could have lost millions of dollars in revenue – revenue that our local cities and towns depend on.
After hearing from many concerned constituents, I coordinated with other area legislators to come up with a solution to these concerns. There is no doubt that the gaming industry is changing and that our laws must adapt with it, but this was an issue I did not feel had the opportunity to be properly vetted.
Thankfully, my efforts and those of my colleagues and constituents have paid off. Ultimately, we voted to send those potentially harmful provisions of the bill to an interim study committee which will be able to evaluate their likely impact and ensure that we are working in the best interest of Hoosiers.
I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to continue to bring me your comments and concerns. This is a prime example of constituents making a difference in the course of the Legislature. I am so proud of the work that we were able to do together, and you should be too!
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