Mike Wolanin | The Republic Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, and Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, address issues related to legislation during a Third House session with state legislators in the council chambers at Columbus City Hall in Columbus, Ind., Monday, March 25, 2019.
State legislators will be focusing on the biennial budget in the upcoming session of the Indiana General Assembly in Indianapolis.
A two-year spending plan is the only essential legislation that must be approved by the state Legislature. And this year’s budget is expected to be so complex that the legislative session, which begins Jan. 9, may be extended into May.
Nevertheless, most lawmakers will submit bills they’ve authored or formally support or disavow measures written by others. That includes the three state lawmakers most associated with Bartholomew County: Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus; Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbusand Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour.
Each legislator gave the Republic a preview of what’s coming up in the General Assembly this month.
- Sen. Greg Walker (represents Senate Dist. 41, which includes portions of Bartholomew and Johnson counties.)
After the Indiana Behavioral Health Commission proposed in September that the network of treatment opportunities be expanded across the state, Walker and several other state lawmakers anticipated related bills would be introduced. The proposal was followed by a commission analysis that show untreated psychological disorders are costing Indiana nearly $4.2 million annually.
Mental health problems have become “an epidemic of public health concerns,” said Walker, who anticipates several different approaches will be discussed to address those concerns.
One potential solution already being discussed would be issuing “ready grants” to Indiana counties.
This type of grant might mean a county health department tells the state what they want to accomplish, and lawmakers find some way of trying to help provide the funds, Walker said.
Another recommendation calls for formalizing a process regarding the 988 suicide prevention hotline, including providing safe places to go and get treatment after an operator responds to a caller.
A third proposal is expected that would make it easier for counselors professionally licensed in other states to practice in Indiana, Walker said.
However, there is a hesitancy among local units of government about accepting state funds for mental health purposes, Walker said.
“There is always a concern that strings will be attached if the state gets extensively involved in county-level public health,” Walker said. “So how deep do we want to be involved in knowing where the public money that the state controls is going? There will have to be some form of reporting and accountability.”
Walker says he has prepared an assessment bill for jail inmates in a pre-trial condition. It requires using resources to ensure a person is of sound mind to stand trial, and understand what the legal system will mean to them, the senator said.
In addition, Walker says he advocates exploring alternatives to mental health counseling of inmates in jail, calling systems in some of Indiana’s 92 counties “defective and inhumane.”
Lawmakers also are expected to focus on education, as well as ways to attract more high-quality industry to come to Indiana, he said.
”While I don’t know what it will look like, there has been talk of reinventing public education in Indiana,” Walker said. “But I am wary of reinvention because we keep moving the needle on what education is supposed to look like. We lose continuity and our track record, which makes it hard to contrast and compare what we’ve done in the past.”
Walker says he also plans to introduce a bill dealing with Community Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE). This is essentially a financing mechanism used by local governments that allows commercial, industrial, and multi-family property owners to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements through their property tax payments.
“It’s a way to lower the financing costs,” Walker said. “It’s a federal model that has been adopted by 41 states.”
But Walker agrees the biennial budget will be top of mind. When it comes to creating spending plans for the state for the next two years, he urged caution.
“It’s my opinion the U.S. and Indiana will be pulled into the recessionary pressures that are becoming more evident on a global scale,” Walker said. “What do we see throughout the world that will impact goods and services from Indiana? I think we are already see gasoline prices dropping. When the global demand for energy is in a declining mode, it’s a clear sign of an economic slowdown.”
Other signs that concern Walker include the rise of a new variant of COVID-19 in China that could disrupt supplies and supply chains, as well as a slowdown in the housing market.
All of those concerns should be considered with the biennial budget, Walker said.
- Rep. Ryan Lauer (represents House Dist. 59, which includes most of Bartholomew County, including Columbus.)
Last March, the Indiana General Assembly passed a tax cut that Republicans say will be the lowest flat income tax rate in the country after being phased in over seven years.
However, the majority of the tax cuts could take longer than seven years to go into effect, and there’s no guarantee a large chunk of the tax cut will even happen. Another concern is that after the first tax cut goes into effect in 2023, future tax cuts would only occur if state revenue growth reached 2% the prior year.
But Lauer says the tax cuts are just one of many positive developments throughout Indiana such as rising wages, lower business taxes and debt, and a sixth consecutive record-breaking year for economic development.
In 2022, 218 companies committed to locate or expand in Indiana, investing more than $22.2 billion (up 250% from 2021) in their operations and created 24,059 new jobs with an average wage of $34.71/hour, according to state statistics.
“We will continue to be fiscally responsible, and hold the line on unnecessary spending,” Lauer said. “I think we should also work towards stopping rising property taxes.”
Lawmakers have been expressing concern about growing health care costs, which Lauer describes as “unsustainable” in Indiana.
“When you look at the average price for a Hoosier to obtain health care, as well as related needs and services, we need to do better,” he said. “We must look at how we can increase competition, empower consumers and ensure providers are transparent on their pricing.”
In other matters, Lauer says he will also be voting to continue a balanced budget, as well as to help taxpayers with education, public safety and health.
A new committee assignment for Lauer will be vice-chairman of the House Roads and Transportation Committee, but he will also continue his earlier work on two House committees: Veterans Affairs and Family, Children and Human Affairs.
Lauer said he will follow his top priority by filing bills to protect children.
“One will be focused on reducing the time that abused or neglected children languish in our system,” he said. “It’s the time it takes before a child, who often is raised in abusive situations, is placed in a loving, stable and permanent home.”
Finally, Lauer says he wants to expand on the child fatality reporting bill he authored last winter.
“This year, I’ll be looking to really be transparent and public in releasing more detail about every child fatality or near fatality,” Lauer said. “People deserve to know circumstances that result in tragic deaths in children, any history of abuse and neglect suffered by the child, and the names of the perpetrators of the crimes.”
- Rep. Jim Lucas (represents House Dist. 69 – Sections of Bartholomew, Jackson, Scott and Washington counties.)
Besides the biennial budget, Lucas predicts health care costs and education will be top concerns of state legislators over the coming months.
“Indiana is lagging behind most of the country in keeping health care costs down,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the insurance industry, the hospitals or what. But we need to look deeply into the causes.”
But the Seymour Republican says he doesn’t plan to introduce bills regarding that particular topic. Instead, Lucas says he is currently “reaching out to fellow legislators to see what they have going on and what might benefit his district.”
“There may be a little horse-trading going on in terms of co-authoring or co-sponsoring,” the lawmaker said.
However, the Dist. 69 representative said he does plans to introduce either a stand-alone bill or an amendment that will essentially creates a new type of educational savings account for parents.
A program called CollegeChoice 529, which has served as Indiana’s tax-advantaged savings plan designed to help people easily and affordably save for college, has been around since 1997. Nevertheless, Lucas said his proposal will expand the current system and allow parents to be more in charge of their child’s education.
“We are also continuing to talk about cutting taxes,” Lucas said. “I know the Senate will do a deep dive on possibly eliminating state income taxes.”
But due to inflation and a shaky economy, Lucas said the General Assembly must remain cautious in developing a biennial budget. Legislators must also remain concerned about the high level of federal spending that, according to Lucas, “leaves us in a reactionary position.”
Lucas is predicting that Hoosiers will see progress made this year in the legalization of medical cannabis. He cited 38 states that allow marijuana use for medical purposes, adding all of Indiana’s neighbors have experienced evolving views on the controversial topic.
Illinois and Michigan now allow cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes, while Ohio now allows medical cannabis, Lucas said. He also said Kentucky has a new law that decriminalizes possession of eight ounces of cannabis or less.
“So Indiana will soon be an island of insanity on this issue if we don’t do anything about it,” Lucas said.
