Rep. Crouch bills update STATEHOUSE - State Representative Suzanne Crouch (R-Evansville) authored two bills that have been heard in committee and on the House floor this week. House Bill 1006 would help promote entrepreneurship and HB1083 would require the Criminal Code Evaluation Commission (CCEC) to study child solicitation in an effort to increase penalties for offenders. HB 1006 would require that the Secretary of State develop and maintain an Internet website that would allow a new or existing business to utilize a single Internet web site for the purpose of complying with the requirements of state law, including pre-establishment, establishment, registration, licenses, filing, reporting and transacting payments and refunds. The bill requires the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) to work with local economic development organizations within Indiana and with the various state economic development organizations within the states bordering Indiana. It requires the IEDC to include, in its annual report to the General Assembly, recommendations for strategies and plans on how to accomplish this. In addition, the bill requires the Department of Education, in cooperation with the Commission for Higher Education (CHE) and the IEDC, to develop curriculum guides based on best practices for entrepreneurship instruction in high schools. It also requires the CHE to survey entrepreneurship programs currently conducted in colleges and universities in Indiana and other states and to make recommendations concerning the establishment of entrepreneurship programs. "It can be very challenging and overwhelming to start a new business. With the numerous agencies you have to register with, and all the forms to fill out, it can be very confusing, especially for those that do not have the legal knowledge that large businesses have. This bill would make the process easier and help build that entrepreneurial inspiration and know-how in Hoosiers at an early age," said Rep. Crouch. Other states, like South Carolina, already have a one-stop-shop in place. The South Carolina Business One Stop (SCBOS) website has been used to create over 30,000 businesses and has saved users over $18.5 million. Furthermore, it cut the wait time for permits, licenses and other registrations in half, and 97% of users said that they would gladly use the website again. HB 1006 has been heard in the Commerce, Small Business, and Economic Development Committee and will be voted on by the committee next week. Another bill Rep. Crouch authored, HB1083, would require the Criminal Code Evaluation Commission (CCEC) to perform a study of child solicitation to determine if there should be an increase in penalty for a person 21 years of age or older who knowingly solicits a child under 14 years old. While being discussed on the House floor, an amendment was added to the bill that would also require the CCEC to perform a study on child trafficking to determine if the state should enact laws against promoting child trafficking and if the promotion of child trafficking should be added to the list of sex offenders. This week, USA Today published an article about human trafficking and child solicitation. You can follow this link if you'd like to read it: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-31-child-prostitution-super-bowl_N.htm?csp=34news "It is important to protect our children from sexual predators. And it is just as important to protect our children from human trafficking or child prostitution, an equally horrible offense," said Rep. Crouch. HB1325 amends current laws that deal with showing identification when purchasing alcohol. Under current legislation that was passed last year, all persons must show identification when purchasing alcohol regardless of age. Under HB1325, clerks would not be required to ask for identification if they deem that the customer appears to be 40 years of age or older. The bill passed the House by a vote of 90-7 and will now move to the Senate for further consideration. -30- |
