GREENFIELD — The upcoming session of the Indiana General Assembly will likely be a busy one, and local representatives hope to bring a variety of issues to the fore, including concerns related to development that have become prominent in Hancock County.
The session will start in early January and is expected to conclude in mid-March.
Sen. Mike Crider and Rep. Bob Cherry, both R-Greenfield, said they are working on multiple pieces of legislation they hope to pass during the short session. Senators are limited to filing 10 bills, while House members can file only five.
Sen. Mike Crider
Rep. Bob Cherry
Despite being limited to five bills, Cherry said he’s juggling about eight he wants to ensure make it to the floor. He plans to decide which to submit based on whether other House members are filing similar ones, or possibly aim to attach some as amendments to other legislation.
The issue of economic development that has become so central for Hancock County is one that Cherry hopes to address. He plans to introduce a bill on tax-increment financing districts requiring that businesses that are getting a tax break by locating in the districts help fund schools and public safety departments. Law enforcement, fire departments, and school corporations in the county have complained that they lose out on revenue when companies are located in TIF districts.
Cherry said he’s been happy to see Hancock County address this on the local level, but thinks a statewide policy is needed.
“We’ve got to work with townships in fast-growing areas” to address the problem of underfunding, Cherry said.
Another development-related bill he’s considering would require that people living near the site of a development be informed of its impending construction, even if they are located on opposite sides of a county line. The arbitrary end of notification at a county’s borders has been unfair to homeowners in locations along the Marion-Hancock County line, he said.
“It’s looking like it’s going to be a really fast-paced session,” said Crider, who nonetheless plans to introduce the maximum number of bills.
Crider said he plans to carry four “agency bills” during the session. Such bills make changes to the code surrounding a state agency. Those will include tweaks to policies pertaining to the Secretary of State’s office, Indiana State Police, Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security.
Other signature issues Crider plans to keep working on during this session include domestic violence, human trafficking and mental health, all of which have been among his legislative priorities in previous years.
A domestic violence bill will seek to impose penalties for tampering with victims in a domestic abuse case, with the goal of preventing intimidation of people who press charges against an abuser. Crider said the idea for the bill came from prosecutors’ offices in his district.
Another bill will aim to increase penalties for certain human-trafficking offenses, currently considered only a Level 5 felony.
Crider said he plans to start filling bills in mid-December. Cherry also wants to introduce a tax exemption for veterans who are disabled or unemployable because of their service. Another bill he’s interested in would allow veterinary students to examine racehorses to make up for a shortage of vets at racetracks.
“It’s a simple fix, everybody wants it, but it can’t be done until we have legislation,” he said.
Another concern is campaign finance; Cherry hopes to file a bill requiring elected officials who retire with funds remaining in their campaign accounts to either return that money to their donors or turn it over to their political party. He said some legislators have retired with large amounts of money intended for a potential re-election campaign, and may have used it for personal expenses instead.
Getting involved in an issue likely to attract controversy, Cherry said he wants to introduce a bill on school activities specifying that students can participate in gender-specific sports only in accord with the sex they were assigned at birth. Similar bills in other states, targeted at transgender children, have been condemned as discriminatory by LGBT and civil rights groups.
Cherry said he’s concerned about the fairness of transgender students getting involved in girls’ sports.
“I’ve got eight granddaughters and I think if it’s a girl’s sport, only girls should participate,” he said.
The ACLU has challenged such laws in Idaho, Tennessee and other states, saying they constitute discrimination.
The legislators won’t have to consider a state budget this session and recently completed the once-per-decade process of redistricting, so the floor is more open to issues individual members want to address. Major items will likely include responses to President Joe Biden’s agenda, such as the mandate for businesses with greater than 100 employees to require vaccination for their employees.
Crider said he was opposed to that mandate and expected the legislature to discuss it, though he wasn’t sure if they could address it through legislation. Several states, including Indiana, are suing to stop enforcement of the new rule.
“Most of us are concerned about that level of reach down into individual businesses’ decisions,” he said.
Cherry said he expected a somewhat truncated session, with many bills likely dying because there won’t be time for committees to consider them. He said he, too, is concerned about the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but thinks it may be an issue that will need to be addressed through the courts.