The third week of the Indiana General Assembly came with a flurry of committee meetings and bills moving both in the committee and throughout the floors of the House and Senate. Some bills have already passed their third reading and are waiting to switch chambers.
The focus of our Call to Action in 2023 includes talent attraction and retention which has four main concerns: Quality of Place, Housing Growth, Availability of Childcare, and Enhance Healthy Lifestyles.
As 1si is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), we are following the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus (IBLC). IBLC announced their priorities for this session on January 23. For a full description of the IBLC’s 2023 legislative priorities, see the press release here.
Bills on which 1si is taking a position:
Supporting:
- HB 1005: Establishes the residential housing infrastructure assistance program (program) and residential housing infrastructure assistance revolving fund (fund).
- Passed first committee, heading to Ways and Means committee.
- HB 1160: Creates funding for workforce training program and fund.
- Passed first committee, heading to Ways and Means committee.
Opposing:
- HB 1278: Prohibits the Indiana economic development corporation, any other public authority, or any party negotiating on behalf of any of those entities (like 1si) from entering into a non-disclosure agreement designed to keep the details of the negotiation private until approval by a public body is warranted.
- No movement.
Monitoring:
- HB 1502: Establishes the workforce development board grant program and the workforce development board grant program fund.
- HB 1599: Provides for creation of a tourism improvement district within a county, city, or town to fund tourism-based amenities. Specifies the contents of the tourism improvement district plan that must be filed with a petition to establish a district.
- HB 1085: Provides that 20% of the incremental property taxes of any new tax increment financing area shall be allocated to school corporations that maintain an attendance area that includes all or part of the allocation area.
- HB 1439: Requires a city council to approve all expenditures of a city redevelopment commission.
- SB 37: Requires local units of government that imposes a food and beverage tax to annually report information concerning distributions and expenditures of amounts received from the food and beverage tax.
- Passed Senate third reading and has been referred to the House.
- SB 411: Authorizes local units of government to adopt a commercial property assessed clean energy program (PACE program) as a financing mechanism to allow commercial property owners to obtain financing for energy efficient improvements.
- SB 35: Requires students to take a financial literacy course.
As the session moves forward, the 1si Advocacy Leadership Team will review those bills that are being heard and weighing in with positions that are consistent with the 1si’s 2023 Advocacy Agenda.
We will keep you updated on our actions related to the 2023 Indiana Legislative Session, but for more information on our Advocacy Agenda, please visit www.1si.org/advocacy.