"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It's the Golden Rule and applies everywhere, all the time. Most of us can agree that we want to be treated fairly and well by other people so that we can return the favor. On the evening of Feb. 21, the Golden Rule was broken; the minority party (Republicans) felt offended and slowed the legislative process. At this time of the session, disagreements are frequent and reactions can become severe. All members must call upon their self-restraint and act in a professional manner. Enough said about that. Constituents always tell me to quit the bickering and just do what is right! I couldn't agree more. Let's do the people's business. Senate Joint Resolution 1 is the measure that starts the constitutional amendment process to put caps on property taxes - 1 percent on homes, 2 percent on rentals and ag land and 3 percent on businesses. It is the only vehicle available to move this concept. During the Ways and Means committee hearing, Democrats proposed an amendment to have an income comparison that determines how much is paid in property taxes on a residence. Two major issues: there is no real connection between a household income and the assessed value of a residence, and in order to do this practice, everyone's income would become public knowledge. Both of these fly in the face of common sense and past practice. Salaries of public and elected officials are public information, but private enterprise and individuals have never had to disclose their income. This creates a serious flaw in SJR 1. As this issue progresses, I hope the conference committee will clean up the bill and eliminate the income comparison. SJR 1 needs to progress through the process and receive needed amendments. Including an income comparison to determine property tax is not relevant and should be rejected. The immigration bill is also being hotly considered. This federal issue is being discussed by the General Assembly, and has been the cause of several intense conversations among members and constituents. Surveys tell us that the public has very strong feelings about the immigration issue. The bill dealing with illegal immigration, Senate Bill 335, was not handed down by the speaker. Instead, he chose to allow immigration amendments to Senate Bill 345 dealing with unemployment, only from the Democrat majority. There is no specific report on the bill because everything is in flux. There was no reason to manipulate the parliamentary process because Democrats have a 51-49 advantage and are able to defeat or pass any measure they support. So, back to the Golden Rule. We can all step back and ask ourselves if we are following that rule. Probably, we can do better! That is especially true of behavior in the Indiana House. Consideration of the immigration issue must include the minority amendments. To exclude them denies the minority the ability to represent their constituents. It is a tough issue to solve, and Congress should take the lead. Actions by the General Assembly only seem to confuse the national position and will be overturned by congressional action. We need to be strong in our reaction to illegal immigration but reality must prevail. This is a federal issue. I want to help control illegal immigration, but our state is one of 50. The answer is to encourage Congress to have the backbone to develop a solution. |
