48 Hours
Although I spent the weekend being a stand-up comic, I made an effort to keep an eye on what was going on here in Indiana. Here’s my analysis of the three big issues I’ve been following…
Major Moves — The current belief among pundits and politicians is that Major Moves will pass, but no one is quite sure how it will happen. On the House side, State Rep. Dave Wolkins says while he likes the plan, his constituents are opposed to it so he may vote against it. On the Senate side, State Senator Earlene Rogers has said she will vote for the plan after getting assurances for funding of the Northeast Regional Development Authority. The sticking point is still I-69, specifically whether the section between Indianapolis and Bloomington will be a toll road and whether I-69 will go through Perry Township in Marion County. The Governor said on Friday that Indiana needs to tell the world it will compete, not retreat, in the global market place. He made those comments after announcing a new trade mission to Asia and the expected creation of 1000 jobs in Lafayette thanks to Toyota.
Indy Works — There are two competing plans before the Conference Committee; the House/Mayor Peterson version and the Senator Mike Young/Township Trustee version. The House/Mayor version consolidates the Township fire departments with IFD while the Young/Township version has a more collaborative set-up and it also allows the trustees to opt out of any cooperative agreement. Since one version consolidates the fire departments and the other doesn’t, I don’t see a compromise here. What I do see happening is Mike Young being removed from the conference committee (either by choice or by necessity) and something going forward. I am told there are at least 45 votes in the House Republican Caucus for consolidation; the issue is the other seven from Marion County.
Property Tax Relief — All I can say is that there are still 48 hours for something (very small) to happen here.
