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Austin: General Assembly has a chance to do the right thing for Hoosier jobs
To the
Editor:
As we head into the final days of the 2010 session of the
Indiana General Assembly, lawmakers now have their chance to pass
legislation that can get Hoosiers back to work.
In recent days, House members have approved a series of initiatives
to create new jobs, help Indiana’s small businesses and raise the
bar on corporate accountability and responsibility.
Reaching a final decision on this legislation should be the primary
objective for the Legislature as we near the end of this session. We
now expect to be finished several days before our mandatory March 14
deadline.
Here are the provisions that make up the only jobs plan currently
before the Legislature. This bill passed the House on Thursday on a
unanimous vote.
Job Creation Tax Credit for Small Business – I have mentioned the
need to put a greater emphasis on assisting Indiana’s small
businesses, which employ 1.3 million Hoosiers. Through a job
creation tax credit, we hope to give businesses with fewer than 150
workers the chance to hire new employees, with an eye toward hiring
unemployed Hoosiers and veterans.
Other small business-friendly proposals create a state ombudsman to
help owners navigate their way through government regulations and
provide greater access to EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing
Economy) credits and low-interest loans.
New Employer Tax Credit – The plan provides a new employer tax
credit encouraging companies to come to Indiana. We are asking state
government to make sure that incentive packages place a priority on
getting new businesses to locate in counties where unemployment is
high. This proposal works in concert with our commitment to making
sure that all taxpayer-funded public works projects hire Hoosiers
first.
Incentives for Employers – The House plan also calls for Indiana to
join 21 other states in establishing a program – to be called
Helping Indiana Restart Employment (HIRE) – that will use $100
million in federal stimulus funding to provide incentives to private
and public employers to hire dislocated Hoosiers for good-paying
jobs. This funding is being left on the table in Washington. Why not
bring it back to Indiana and use it to fund job creation?
Finally, we want to make sure companies that rely upon tax breaks
financed by Indiana taxpayers live up to their end of the bargain.
If these companies do not fulfill promises to create jobs, then the
state gains the ability to “clawback” the incentives paid for by you
and me.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle realize that something has to
be done. All of these provisions passed with strong, bipartisan
margins. Even members who spoke against some of these proposals
turned around and voted for them when the roll was called.
Legislators understand the need to act now. There are 300,000
Hoosiers who are looking for work right now. There are thousands
more who aren’t even counted in that total because their
unemployment benefits have run out. Even more are uncounted because
they have given up hope of ever finding another job.
I feel all of these proposals have the potential to pay for
themselves, by creating thousands of jobs at a time when so many are
out of work.
This bipartisan job creation plan now will be studied in
House-Senate conference committees, where legislators from both
chambers will attempt to reach final agreements on all issues that
remain unresolved this session.
There will be talk about education and unemployment compensation and
many other subjects, but the one issue that will define the success
of the 2010 session of the Indiana General Assembly is getting
Hoosiers back to work.
Now that concrete proposals are on the table, there is no reason not
to act in the days we have left.
In these final days of the 2010 session, you can contact me in
several ways. Call the toll-free Statehouse telephone number of
1-800-382-9842, write to me in care of the Indiana House of
Representatives, 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204, or
send a message to my web site at www.in.gov/H36. While visiting my
web site, you also can sign up to receive regular e-mail updates
from the Legislature.
State Rep. Terri Austin
Lanane: harnessing state’s renewable energy will create new jobs
To the editor:
During this session of the General Assembly, my colleagues and I
have put forth a number of initiatives designed to grow our economy.
From education, to property taxes, to economic development, we are
singularly focused on moving our state forward in these tough times.
Harnessing our state’s abundance of renewable energy is one
significant way we are looking to create new jobs – and
strengthening a specific state policy this session will go a long
way toward jumpstarting that job creation. The policy is called “net
metering” and it allows businesses and homeowners to generate their
own electricity through clean energy sources, such as the sun and
wind, and get credit on their monthly bills when they return any
extra power to the electric grid. That’s good news for consumers and
for our environment.
Net metering also boosts job growth for the Hoosier state. Renewable
energy sources simply put people to work, touching nearly every
industry in our state. From manufacturing parts for wind turbines;
to installing solar panels on homes and businesses; to marketing
clean energy technologies; to farmers supplying the corn, wood or
switchgrass to power biomass energy systems, Indiana stands to
benefit.
Indiana already has a net metering policy in place; however, it is
one of the most restrictive policies in the Midwest, which prevents
most Hoosiers from participating. Both the Senate and the House have
passed bills that strengthen our net metering policy and expand it
to include consumers, schools, industrial operations, large farms
and municipalities. In the last days of session, we are making every
effort to work in a bipartisan way to move this legislation forward.
A robust net metering policy opens the door for future renewable
energy legislation. In fact, one study estimates that Indiana has
the second highest potential in the country for clean manufacturing
job creation – the potential for nearly 45,000 new jobs. Utilizing
renewable energy and our natural resources also has the potential to
decrease our reliance on foreign oil and put us on a path to greater
energy independence.
As the legislative session comes to a close, I remain committed to
working for you in the Statehouse to grow our economy and create new
jobs. Working together, I look forward to putting our district on
the path toward greater economic prosperity.
State Sen. Tim Lanane
Alex theater proposal carries over in Pepsi Refresh Project
To the Editor:
The Pepsi Refresh Project has been tremendous for Alexandria.
People nationwide are talking about our community.
Last night we had a huge surge in our votes – THANK YOU. We finished
17th and we carried over to March. We have a tremendous voting team
in place and it would be great to expand that and win this thing.
The entire city of Alexandria would appreciate if you would help us
again for the month of March. And this time any creative ideas
anyone might have about how to get more recognition and voters ...
we would love to have your input.
Again, thank you and please continue to vote.
John Dockrey
Alexandria
Economic Development
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