STATEHOUSE - Rep. Woody Burton (R-Greenwood) and the Indiana House of Representatives passed the Republican amendment today for House Bill 1656 by a 99-0 vote. The amendment would provide jobs for Hoosiers, allow local government to improve streets, roads and highways and protect important Major Moves projects that will be the basis for longer-range economic development and even more jobs for Hoosiers. "Our amendment changes HB 1656 from a job killer to a job creator" said Rep. Woody Burton (R-Greenwood). "It is bad policy to use money allocated for Major Moves projects for other purposes." "Major Moves already employs thousands of Hoosiers and stimulates local communities. Reallocating Major Moves funding will not only fail to create new jobs and better local economies, it will destroy the jobs and economic development we have already gained." "Indiana is doing better than most of our surrounding states because we have remained prudent in these tough times." The Republican plan retains all existing funding for Major Moves projects, preserving funding for U.S. 31, the Hoosier Heartland Highway, Interstate 69 South, the Fort to Port project and dozens of other scheduled projects. The plan provides money for local road projects:
The plan creates a Community Infrastructure Assistance Program: - As the federal stimulus road dollars contain aggressive timeline restrictions, and the Special Projects Fund also contains timeline restrictions placing difficult challenges before local communities, the state would establish a $20 million Community Infrastructure Assistance Fund from unallocated stabilization fund monies to assist local units with technical and engineering expertise to qualify and utilize the federal stimulus money and the Special Project Fund. The plan creates Adult Workforce Retraining Grants: -Indiana residents who have lost their jobs in the past year due to reductions in the workforce would be eligible for the Adult Workforce Retraining Grants administered by the Department of Workforce Development. -Out-of-work Hoosiers would be eligible to receive a $3,000-per-year grant for two years to be used at any two- or four-year year institution of higher learning. The plan provides for higher-education construction: -Under the federal stimulus bill, Indiana will receive money from the Higher Education Modernization, Renovation and Repair Fund. House Republicans believe this money should be utilized immediately to put Hoosier tradesmen to work on needed higher-education projects. Rep. Burton encourages his constituents to contact him with any questions or comments concerning this legislative session. Contact Rep. Burton by phone at 1-800-382-9841, email to h58@iga.in.gov or write to 200 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204.
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