On Monday, February 25, 2008, the Peru Tribune ran a front-page story about Nathan Pyeritz, a Navy petty officer second class on the USS Lake Erie. The Lake Erie is a high-tech defense ship that was given a one-of-a-kind mission. The crew and armaments of the USS Lake Erie were to shoot down a disabled satellite, destroying it and its fuel. The crew, the ship and its missile did a magnificent job and destroyed the satellite. Everyone in the U.S. should be proud of the men, women and technology that performed the mission. I am speaking for many when I describe my feelings of pride for Petty Officer Pyeritz and the entire crew of the USS Lake Erie. The mission was given to the crew, and they delivered a perfect outcome. This is a testament to the Navy, the scientists and to everyone involved in the project. Please join me in appreciation of this great success for the U.S. Navy and our Peru native, Nathan Pyeritz. This past week was difficult in the Indiana House. We dealt with many issues that seemed trivial and unimportant, but there were the all important issues of property tax reform and the immigration bill. Neither was presented in a form that I felt acceptable for my district and its constituents. SJR 1 is the bill that will place constitutional caps on all property taxes - 1 percent for homes, 2 percent for rentals and agricultural land and 3 percent on businesses. There was a Democrat amendment added that requires an income comparison to the assessed value of a home in order to calculate the property tax due on a house. This is a troublesome concept because of the lack of research on its effects. It appears that the end result is very negative for local government and schools. I cannot verify my doubts, but no one can present proof that this amendment is a good plan. The proposal came to the House very late in the process with no proof or research. On the surface, there is no real connection between the income of a household and the property tax owed. The major issue is that all property owners would have to make public, their income, in order to calculate the property tax on their home. That is a serious problem for many. The income of private citizens has never been public knowledge. I don't think it should be enacted because of this provision. I voted "No" on SJR 1. It was a good vote for this district, and I anticipate the resolution will be changed in conference committee. Senate Bill 345 was amended to include language from the Senate immigration bill. The final bill did not deal as much with immigration as it did with punishing employers. That concept is not the right approach. This district has many agricultural and small manufacturing businesses. They employ lots of legal aliens to do the tasks of animal care and processing. There are many employed in the RV industry as well. The bill we had to vote on was aimed at employers, not illegal immigrants. This issue is federal and demands attention from Congress. My goal is to assist with the problem of illegal immigration, but the issue is beyond state control. Our federal government must enact border controls and mandate procedures to gain advantage over this national problem. I voted "No" because I was not willing to punish the smaller employers of this district. The details of both bills may change in the next two weeks. That is my hope. The room for improvement is immense, and I am willing to reconsider both my votes if the changes are positive for my constituents and the state of Indiana. |
