Indiana House Democrats will continue to focus on issues that REALLY matter to Hoosiers

INDIANAPOLIS – This week saw the governor give the State of the State address, the annual speech that provides his vision for the upcoming year.

One of our top priorities this year should be doing everything we can to get Hoosiers back to work as quickly as possible.

So how do the governor and his majorities in the Indiana House and Senate plan to put Hoosiers back to work? Either get rid of the business property tax…or scale it back.

What would be the impact of such a move?

It won’t improve household incomes, which have declined by greater percentages than 47 other states.

It won’t increase average incomes for Hoosiers, which are 10 percent below our fellow Americans.

It won’t reduce the wage disparity facing Hoosier women, who make 73 cents for every dollar earned by Hoosier men.

It will benefit one group of people: the executives in the boardrooms of our largest companies.

In short: it is a JOBLESS CREATION PLAN.

In his speech, the governor also talked about the need for Hoosiers to unite and set aside their differences.

How will the governor accomplish this? By demanding that the Indiana General Assembly take action on House Joint Resolution 3—which seeks to tell us who can marry whom in Indiana—and House Bill 1153, which was filed by supporters of HJR 3 in an attempt to explain their intentions behind the resolution.

The difficulty of that task was made clear earlier this week, when the House Judiciary Committee was unable to take a vote on both measures after taking more than three hours of testimony.

It is rapidly becoming apparent that NO ONE understands the impact of this legislation…except perhaps for the attorneys who will profit from the court cases that will challenge its constitutionality.

How will this help bring Hoosiers together?

I want you to know that House Democrats will be persistent in their efforts this session to focus on the issues that matter to Hoosiers. These goals include strengthening the middle class, reinforcing traditional public schools and restating the need to avoid divisive social issues.

This week, we attempted to toughen state laws to provide greater accountability in investigations of abuse in state government by requiring our state’s Inspector General to provide more timely updates on those investigations.

Unfortunately, the House majority rejected our plan to restore some trust in state government.

But we also saw some successes.

The full Indiana House of Representatives is nearing final consideration of legislation authored by a House Democrat that would help Hoosier women who have served their country in the military. House Bill 1117 creates the Hoosier Women Veterans Program, which will help them find information regarding housing, medical needs, and the benefits and services that are available upon their return. It is the least we can do to help those who have done so much for us.