Local state legislators talked about their views about possible legislation involving increasing teachers’ pay, dealing with rising health care costs and whether recreational and medical marijuana should be legalized in a preview Third House session.
About 90 constituents gathered at Donner Center, 739 22nd St., on Tuesday for the special Third House session designed to give area residents a glimpse into legislators’ agendas as they head into the short session this week.
Participating were Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus; Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour; Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus; and Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, who headed to Indianapolis after Third House for the second day of the legislative session which began at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Many of the questions the legislators answered were submitted to The Republic in advance of the session.
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Teacher salaries
The first question posed to the legislators was whether they would support legislation increasing teacher salaries, even though this legislative session is a short session in which budget items are not scheduled to be considered.
However, on Monday, Gov. Eric Holcomb opened the door to potentially boosting school funding and teacher pay after weeks of refuting any plans on such action until next year, the The Associated Press reported.
Holcomb, however, didn’t give any details about what he may propose, if anything, during his annual State of the State speech next week.
The new legislative session also comes seven weeks after several thousand teachers — including some 200 from Bartholomew County — attended the Indiana State Teachers Association Red for Ed Action Day, calling for investing the state’s budget surplus for teacher pay increases, holding students, teachers and communities harmless from I-LEARN scores and repealing professional growth and externship requirements.
The legislators said they believe teacher salaries should continue to be determined by local school corporation, not at the state level.
“I think it’s very important that we keep things at a local level,” Lauer said. “Local control is very important to me and I think to the caucus as well. It’s not a one-size-fits-all (issue). I don’t think you want the state mandating teacher salaries.”
Lucas said K-12 education takes up more than half of the state budget and 40% of property tax dollars.
“Right now, teacher pay is still decided at the local level, as it should be,” Lucas said. “The only other option for that is the state coming in and taking over teacher pay. …We keep giving money to the local school corporations — again, over half of our state budget — and let them decide how they want to spend it best.”
Koch said he would not want the legislature to set teacher salaries and is “anxious” to see what proposal, if any, Holcomb has.
“We don’t set teacher salaries, nor do we want a statewide salary schedule,” Koch said. “I’m anxious to hear what the governor says during the State of the State (address). …I think it’s probably going to be, if anything, a one-time pay or stipend, a one-time thing. We’ll see what that means.”
Health care costs
Another question the legislators answered involved what could be done to lower health care costs in Indiana.
Walker said he expects health care costs to be “one of the real big items” of this legislative session, adding that legislators “have a lot to unpack.”
“We can’t mandate a reduction in health care costs. We’ve had a problem that has been growing for decades,” Walker said. “I think Indiana has some particular components to health care cost increases that are maybe not unique to the country, but maybe we’re leading the country in some of the growth of health care expenses. That is not a category you want to be in.”
Koch said state legislators should do what they can to help empower health care consumers and drive down costs and said health care cost transparency is a “very good start.”
“I can say that much of the solution involves empowering consumers and the way that other industries have empowered the consumer, and that empowerment can only come through choice and can only come through competition and can only come through information,” Koch said. “I strongly support (healthcare) transparency bills, but it needs to be more than that.”
Lauer pointed to two bills that have been introduced in the House — HB 1004, which he said would stop “surprise, out-of-network billing,” HB 1005, which he said would provide Indiana residents with health care pricing information.
“Transparency in health care costs, I think, is one of the things that empowers consumers to not only make the right choices, but also to be able to plan ahead,” Lauer said. “…If you’re having a procedure and you’re in-network but the anesthesiologist was sick and somebody else comes in and does that and you get a surprise bill. Those kinds of situations we’re looking at to protect consumers.”
Medical marijuana
A question submitted by a local employer in the construction industry expressed concern about the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana and wanted to know each legislators’ view.
Lucas announced plans last month to introduce two bills that would legalize medical marijuana across Indiana and reduce penalties for possessing less than one ounce of the drug to the level of a “seat belt violation.”
Recently, two of Indiana’s neighboring states — Illinois and Michigan — began sales of recreational marijuana. Illinois marijuana dispensaries pulled in $3.2 million in revenue on the first day sales, the The Associated Press reported.
Lucas repeated his support for medical marijuana and relaxing some of the state’s marijuana laws.
“I’m a firm believer in (medical marijuana),” Lucas said. “I’ve educated myself on it and the benefits it offers to people, the significant less side effects it has compared to other prescription medications. When used responsibly, I think it’s better than a lot of other drugs out there that we’re currently using.”
Lucas emphasized the “responsible use” of medical marijuana and said his legislation incorporated “best practices” from other states that have legalized medical marijuana.
“Anybody can abuse anything,” Lucas said. “For those who are going to continue to abuse it, I do not want to let them be the dictator of this issue. …I think we have more important things to do than waste time and resources going after responsible adults that aren’t doing anything else other than enjoying something that is recreational and not being abused.”
Lauer, Walker and Koch, however, said they do not support medical marijuana legislation.
Koch also said he expects that a similar medical marijuana bill introduced in the Senate will not be passed.
Walker said the state should not move forward with such legislation as long as the federal government continues to classify marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug.
“The federal government could make some changes to the law with it being a Schedule 1 narcotic,” Walker said. “Until that happens, I don’t think Indiana can prudently move forward.”
Lauer said Lucas made some good points but emphasized that Indiana legislators should look at how youth, schools and impaired driving have been impacted by medical and recreational marijuana in states that have already passed such legislation.
“I’m very reserved on this, and I would agree with our senators here,” Lauer said. “But I think it’s something we need to pay close attention to. The states around us are doing it, and it is something we need to make sure that we’re listening (to) and looking at the data and seeing what the right thing is for Hoosiers. For me, it’s to keep things how they are today and see how things unfold.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Upcoming Third House sessions” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Third House sessions
Where: Donner Center, 739 22nd St.
When: Feb. 10 and March 9, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
For more information, visit business.columbusareachamber.com/events.
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