Recently, several different people have told me about bald eagle sightings in our community. The bird soars around frequently, so locals have begun to watch it as a hobby. Most of the activity is near the Wabash River, but there are other locations as well. It's an extraordinary opportunity for us to observe the bird that is our national symbol. If you are a "birder," you must be excited by the chance to observe these intriguing animals. I'm sure the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) considers the growing bald eagle population a great success for conservation practices and programs. I agree it is also a great success. In addition to the DNR's success, I believe this year's session was a success as well for Hoosiers. The 2010 session ended shortly after 1:00 a.m. Saturday, March 13. The legislature passed several bills impacting Indiana's economy and education. Those two issues alone were why we were discussing and debating bills past 1:00 a.m. One of the first orders of business for this General Assembly was passing the property tax cap legislation (the infamous HJR 1). Most of my constituent surveys indicated that Hoosiers in District 23 wanted to vote on the 1-2-3 property tax caps on the November ballot. That opportunity will present itself on the upcoming ballot, and Hoosiers will be allowed to vote on the caps this year. I am proud to say in the 2010 session we have had no new tax increases, and state government continues to manage this difficult economy by living within our means. I am fighting to not spend more than what we have. Another bill passed by this session will delay the unemployment insurance tax increase implemented during the 2009 session. Last year's unemployment insurance bill would have increased the unemployment insurance tax on businesses by $350 million to $400 million per year. This alone could potentially cripple small businesses and deter employers from hiring new employees or keeping employees on staff. I can't imagine much economic growth occurring, in this recession, with those tax increases. The logic involved to delay the increase was simple: a large tax increase on business during an economic downturn is wrong. The bill includes some concessions to labor. Overall, it is good for the Hoosier economy. This legislation also includes some job creation language that can prove to be helpful to employment. House Bill 1367 was another controversial bill this session. This legislation would allow for more flexibility of public school funding. Schools can transfer up to 5 percent from miscellaneous funds into the school corporations' general fund. A school can transfer up to 10 percent into the school corporations' general fund if any school employees do not receive a general wage or salary increase in the 2010-2011. Understandably, that provision causes some angst among educators, but it does provide flexibility for administrators to provide a quality education with the funds provided. The agriculture community should be pleased that the formula for calculating assessment value of farmland was adjusted with Senate Bill 396. The bill adopts the modified olympic average for the assessment value formula. That means that the last six years of farm income are used, and the highest year's income is deleted. The spikes in farm income are reduced by eliminating the extremes. It should be a fairer system for the agriculture community. This was a very ambitious and intense session. Making tough management decisions when there is limited money and when revenues are declining is no picnic. I want the public to understand that we are in a period of economic contraction and that affects all services. Every program, project or fund is subjected to economic review. If we can all sacrifice some of the sacrifice, our community and our state can manage our way through this difficult time. I will report more as the situation develops. Thank you for allowing me to serve you in the House of Representatives. Enjoy the bald eagles!
More later,
Bill Friend
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