Thursday Jan. 17, 2013
Indiana’s legislative session is in full-swing and Elkhart County’s delegation to Indianapolis has plenty of proposals up for consideration.
Among other things, Rep. Tim Neese proposes legislation forbidding certain policies inspired by the United Nations’ controversial Agenda 21 plan and another allowing power customers to refuse use of so-called smart meters at their homes. Rep. Tim Wesco proposes legislation prohibiting discrimination based on disability. Rep. Wes Culver proposes legislation allowing for partial unemployment benefits for those with part-time jobs and another limiting increases in the assessed valuation of property.
It remains to be seen what gains traction and what gets left behind (the session started just 10 days ago, on Jan. 7), but below is a quick glance at what the local delegation to the Indiana House has authored, pulling from the Indiana General Assembly website. Look for a future blog post showing what the local delegation to the Indiana Senate has proposed.
Representatives’ proposals:
Rep. Wes Culver, R-Goshen, District 49:
Culver (photo from state legislative website)
- HB 1023: Partial unemployment benefit. Establishes a partial unemployment benefit for an individual who accepts work that pays less than the individual’s unemployment benefit.
- HB 1026: Assessment of real property. Provides that after the assessed value of real property is determined in an appeal, the amount by which the assessed value of the real property can increase in the next three years is limited.
- HB 1248: Sewer liens for tenant occupied property. Provides that for purposes of the statutes governing municipal sewer utilities and storm water works, a lien does not attach for user fees assessed against real property occupied by someone other than the owner under certain circumstances.
Rep. Tim Neese, R-Elkhart, District 48:
Neese
- HB 1021: Prohibition against implementation of Agenda 21. Provides that an Indiana governmental entity may not adopt or implement: (1) certain policy recommendations relating to the United Nations’ 1992 “Agenda 21″ conference on the environment and development that deliberately or inadvertently infringe on or restricts private property rights without due process.
- HB 1022: Battery upon a law enforcement officer. Makes battery a Class D felony if the offense is committed against: (1) a law enforcement officer; or (2) a person summoned and directed by a law enforcement officer.
- HB 1028: State police death benefit. Increases the maximum amount of a deceased state police officer’s supplementary death benefit from $14,500 to $20,000 for state police officers who die after June 30, 2013.
- HB 1030: Veteran’s excise tax credit. Allows certain disabled veterans, surviving spouses of certain disabled veterans, and World War I veterans or their surviving spouses to claim a credit against the annual motor vehicle excise tax.
- HB 1031: Refusal of smart meter installation. Requires an energy utility, as a condition of installing a smart meter on a customer’s premises, to offer the customer an opportunity to refuse the installation.
- HB 1212: Sales tax. Provides that the purchase of a recreational vehicle or cargo trailer that is transported out of Indiana for registration and use in another state or country is exempt from the state gross retail tax regardless of whether the destination state or country provides a similar exemption for Indiana residents.
Rep. Tim Wesco, R-Lakeville, District 21:
Wesco (photo from state legislative website)
- HB 1229: Participation in school athletics. Requires a student who attends a nonpublic high school that is not a member of an interscholastic athletic association but who participates in high school athletics at a public high school that is a member of an athletic association to comply with certain conditions.
- HB 1230: Inheritance tax. Provides that the inheritance tax does not apply to property interests transferred by decedents whose deaths occur after December 31, 2012.
- HB 1231: Disability antidiscrimination. Extends antidiscrimination and civil rights statutes to include prohibiting discrimination based on disability.
These lawmakers’ districts are centered outside of Elkhart County, but they do represent smaller portions of the county:
Rep. Rebecca Kubacki, R-Syracuse, District 22:
Kubacki (photo from state legislative website)
- HB 1040: Child in need of services petitions. Allows a prosecuting attorney to request a juvenile court to authorize the filing of a petition alleging that a child is a child in need of services, and allows a prosecuting attorney to represent the interests of the state in the child in need of services proceeding.
- HB 1041: Petitions to modify custody and visitation. Provides that if a person files a petition to establish or modify a guardianship, visitation, or child custody, the person shall state in a verified petition whether the person has been the subject of a department of child services (DCS) investigation, among other things.
- HB 1042: Committee on child services oversight. Establishes the committee on child services oversight to oversee the delivery of child services in Indiana.
Rep. David Ober, R-Albion, District 82:
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Ober (photo from state legislative website)
HB 1074: Student instructional days. Provides that a school placed in the highest category or designation of academic performance is not required to conduct a school year that consists of at least 180 student instructional days if the school conducts at least an equivalent number of hours of student instructional time.
- HB 1075: Wild hogs. Voids a provision in the administrative code that defines a “wild hog” as having skeletal characteristics indicative of a hog of wild or Eurasian origin.
- HB 1076: State police and BMV funding. Removes references to funding from the motor vehicle highway account fund for the state police and the bureau of motor vehicles.
Tim Vandenack is a reporter at the Elkhart Truth newspaper in Elkhart, Ind., www.etruth.com. He can be reached at tvandenack@etruth.com or 574-296-5884. Visit him/subscribe to him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter at @timvandenack.
