I have authored four bills that are currently in various stages of the legislative process in the Senate. House Bill 1055 Like many bills, this bill is intended to make Indiana safer. It requires railroad companies to erect a sign to notify train operators of approaching crossings. The signs must be one-quarter of a mile or closer to these crossings. They will inform a conductor to sound the train's whistle, alerting motorists and other conductors of the train's presence. After a 74-21 vote from the House, the bill was sent to the Senate. There it was assigned to the Senate's committee on Homeland Security and Transportation & Veteran Affairs. House Bill 1165 House Bill 1165 has already been heard by the full Senate, and was unanimously approved with a 49-0 vote. This bill provides eight semesters of college to children of firefighters and police officers who are killed in the line of duty. The state currently offers this scholarship, but only for children who are younger than 23. This bill removes the age provision for the students, so students who take a year or two off before starting their college studies aren't penalized after their twenty-third birthday. Also, an amendment offered in the House clarifies that, to be eligible, a child must be under 24 years old when a parent is killed. That eliminates a possible loophole of 40-year-olds returning to college long after they should be financially independent from their parents. House Bill 1490 Along with area Reps. Jackie Walorski (R-Jimtown), Craig Fry (D-Mishawaka) and Wes Culver (R-Goshen), I recognized the importance of the recreational vehicle industry for the Elkhart region. Our bill attempts to boost RV sales by eliminating Indiana sales tax on RV and cargo trailer sales to out-of-state purchasers. This bill received overwhelming bipartisan support with a 99-0 vote in the House. Currently, it awaits a hearing by the Senate Appropriation Committee. House Bill 1589 Another bill that received unanimous support from the House, House Bill 1589 encourages responsible recycling for electronic manufacturers. Manufacturers of certain household TVs and computer monitors are required to recycle electronic devices equal to at least 80 percent of the total weight of the devices sold the previous year, according to House Bill 1589. These manufacturers will register with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to partake in a recycling program. Small manufacturers who produce fewer than 100 monitors per year will be exempt. This bill has been assigned to the Senate Energy and Environmental Waste Committee. |
