2019 Legislative Priorities

2019 Priority Issues

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Ensure children entering primary (K-12) education are academically, socially and emotionally prepared for success through high-quality, publicly-funded Pre-K programs; increased public investments should focus on those in financial need and support statewide access, while protecting funding and service levels in high-demand, high-capacity ‘pilot’ counties. Further, enact mandatory, fully-funded, full-day kindergarten by age 5 to create a consistent, quality early education pathway

DIVERSITY

Reinforce and enhance Indiana’s brand as a welcoming and diverse state by:

• Enacting “bias crime” penalties for criminal offenses where it can be proven that the victim or target is intentionally selected because of personal characteristics enumerated by law
• Updating the state’s current anti-discrimination law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations
• Restoring the eligibility for in-state tuition and financial aid to state colleges and universities for foreign born students who have matriculated through the Indiana K-12 system

INTERLOCAL/REGIONAL INVESTMENTS

Support a statewide approach that encourages interlocal collaboration, allows catalytic investments in regional priorities, and creates a fiscal framework to fund essential services such as public safety and infrastructure

HEALTHY WORKFORCE

Support a comprehensive approach to increase the health, wellbeing and productivity of Indiana’s current and future workforce through supporting policies such as:

• Increasing Indiana’s current cigarette tax by two dollars per pack:
  • Revenue resulting from the cigarette tax increase should be used to address Indiana’s public health challenges including physical, mental health and addiction
• Raising the statewide legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21:
  • At a minimum, the state should remove restrictions on local governments from enacting ordinances to raise the age to 21
• Repealing preferential treatment for smokers in the workplace (“Smokers’ Bill of Rights”)

BROWNFIELDS

Accelerate community reinvestment and accessible employment opportunities in and around brownfield sites, driving economic development and maximizing property values by:

• Restoring funding to Indiana Finance Authority’s Brownfield Grant Program, adding IFA staff capacity to administer the program, reduce wait times and extend technical assistance efforts;
• Expanding grant and loan resources for “Phase I” and “Phase II” environmental site assessments for former brownfields;
• Creating tax incentives based on employment on former brownfield sites
• Expanding flexibility of a redevelopment commission to sell or transfer a title to real property which is undeveloped, underdeveloped, or considered blighted due to the real or perceived threat of environmental contamination for private development

Economic Growth

STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Convention, Sports and Tourism: Continue the momentum of Indianapolis’ convention and sporting industries by expanding current funding mechanisms. Leverage these resources to support expansion of the convention hotel footprint and prioritize existing facility investments. Provide for the sustainable operations of the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board and support existing franchises, including the development of professional soccer

Tax Increment Financing: Maximize the ability of local government units to respond to redevelopment and economic development opportunities through utilization of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts

• Transparency: Establish a schedule of performance reports to local governing bodies and encourage the establishment of public online resources for tracking TIF performance metrics, funded by TIF revenue

Local Incentives: Secure and maintain flexibility of local incentives for economic and community development efforts to encourage new growth and redevelopment of existing resources

• Certified Tech Parks: Increase the Certified Technology Park (CTP) tax capture allowance from the current $5 million cap to allow high performing CTPs to increase public-private investment in the CTP and surrounding areas

State Incentives: Maintain Indiana’s economic competitiveness through the preservation and responsible use of existing state tax incentives, placing emphasis on skills enhancement and workforce training to attract investment from diverse industry sectors

• Increase funding the state Skills Enhancement Fund to assist companies in addressing 21^st Century skills gap.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Investments:  Support policies that can improve the State’s capital environment and nurture innovative activity through:

• Maintain permanence of the state’s Research and Development, Hoosier Business Investment, and Venture Capital Investment tax credit programs.
• Increase funding for the 21^st Century Research and Technology Fund to support industry driven initiatives.
• Maximize immediate value of state EDGE and VCI tax credit by allowing recipients to transfer credits for cash value
• Enhancing flexibility for public investment in venture capital funds that invest in Indiana companies
• Enhancing funding to support more university-sponsored grant programs and seed funding for applied research and commercialization

Advanced Telecommunications: Support efforts by telecommunications providers to transition their networks from old legacy technology to an advanced all-IP, all-mobile and all-cloud infrastructure

COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT

Regional Cities Initiative: Promote regional cooperation and strategic quality of life investments through the IEDC’s Regional Cities Initiative (RCI):

• Support the development of clear metrics to measure success or return on investment of the Regional Cities Initiative from application to project implementation and beyond
• Increase funding for technical assistance and planning grants for regional development authorities
• Encourage the creation of federally recognized Economic Development Districts
• Support the creation of a Regional Development Tax Credit to expand investment in quality of life projects and the productive reuse of brownfield sites

Stellar Communities: Support continued investment and rural communities and small towns across Indiana by strengthening and expanding the Indiana Stellar Communities program, emphasizing increased technical assistance and capacity-building towards brownfield remediation and redevelopment

Historic Rehabilitation: Increase state funding and incentives to encourage redevelopment and investment in aging commercial, industrial and residential properties

Shovel Ready Redevelopment: Support shovel ready community redevelopment efforts through the creation of a statewide grant program to fund the demolition of blighted commercial properties

Revitalization Grants and Revolving Loan Fund: Allow local governments the ability to make grants and loans to private enterprise for the creation of jobs or otherwise stimulate economic activity

Food Deserts: Support innovative efforts to increase access to healthy food options to improve the health of Indiana resident and workforce

TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENT

Local Roads and Streets: Ensure adequate funding for local roads and streets, while maintaining equitable funding for urban and suburban areas by accurately accounting for lane miles in the infrastructure funding formula; and further:

• Financing and Delivery: Provide maximum flexibility to local governments in the financing, design and construction of local transportation infrastructure, including the use of Public-Private Partnerships and Design-Build

Hoosier State Line: Maintain state support to continue operations and enhance service of the Hoosier State Line to better facilitate connectivity and economic opportunity between Indianapolis and Chicago

Complete Streets: Pursue state transportation policies that encourage transportation planners and engineers to plan, design, operate and maintain the state’s road and street infrastructure with all users in mind

Greenways: Support the creation of a statewide loan or grant fund to build out of greenways and bike lanes for local communities

Mass Transit: Restore a dedicated funding stream for the Public Mass Transportation Fund (PMTF) to account for increased participation and demand of transit agencies throughout the state

• Incentives: Create state employer incentives for employee benefits for alternative modes of transportation, transit packages, workplace bike infrastructure or other modes of transportation that encourage healthier workforce

Shared & Personal Mobility:  Capitalize on rapid advances in personal mobility and transportation by making new mobility options safe and accessible for Hoosiers, and positioning Indiana as a center of innovation for mobility solutions:

• Autonomous Vehicles: Advocate for regulatory changes to promote the development, testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles in Indiana;
• Transparent Regulatory Framework: Beyond autonomous vehicles, develop a clear that predictable regulatory framework that applies to other mobility options, to avoid confusion and delays in integrating new products and services into our transportation system;
• Emphasize equitable access to new mobility options: Work to eliminate barriers to individuals and communities taking advantage of mobility options, so personal mobility can also be a catalyst for upward mobility;
• Create a truly comprehensive transportation strategy: Acknowledging that no single agency or organization can oversee the complex transportation system, bring together partners (state and local, public and private) to develop long-term, data-driven strategies that incorporate new and innovative mobility options and focus on critical transportation challenges;
• Safety first: Evaluate traffic rules, street construction/configuration, and other modal regulations to ensure mobility options work together safely for pedestrians, riders, drivers, and other users

Water: Support the creation of a statewide coordinating body to ensure sustained economic opportunity through responsible management of water resources

Energy Efficiency: Secure state incentives for business and local government investments in energy-efficient commercial and industrial rehabilitation and fleet management

Local Government and Fiscal Policy

LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE

Short-term Rental: Require short-term rental platforms to collect and remit local innkeepers’ tax; dedicate these dollars to accelerating, expanding and sustaining community strategies to combat homelessness and panhandling

Home Rule: Allow local government greater flexibility over their own structural and fiscal matters to address the needs of their individual communities

Township Finances: Require township funds that exceed 150% of operating expenses to be spent on infrastructure projects within the township or credited to the taxpayer

GOVERNMENT MODERNIZATION

Redistricting Reform:  Support non-partisan redistricting reform that increases and encourages competition of ideas, decreases polarization in legislative and congressional districts, accurately reflects historic trends in statewide elections and maintains communities of interest and adheres to local political boundaries

UniGov: Seek greater efficiencies in municipal service delivery and finance in Marion County by building on the principles of unified government, including county-wide consolidation of fire departments

Statewide: Continue efforts to streamline overlapping government functions through statewide implementation of recommendations made by the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform to increase accountability, transparency and effectiveness of local governments

Government Innovation: Continue support of the state’s Management & Performance Hub to foster a more transparent, innovative state government, and encourage local governments to create Offices of Innovation to drive policies that similarly inspire open data, transparency, and efficiencies that can result in greater economic activity and workforce development