Advocacy Updates from Indiana Library Federation
February 8, 2018
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Register for
Library Day at the Statehouse
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Plan to attend the
Library Day at the Statehouse on Tuesday, February 20.
ILF works to arrange individual appointments for registered attendees. Participants may also observe committee hearings and floor session. We aim to have an interactive table for legislators and legislative assistants to learn about try e-books, devices and materials from the library.
Participants should expect to arrive around 10:30 and stay through the early afternoon, though appointments may vary. After you register, the ILF Office will
ask you about your home and office address and prior relationship
, if any, with your legislators. Group photo above includes about one-third of the participants from 2017.
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Half-time Report from the Statehouse
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We have crossed the half-way point in the
Indiana General Assembly
.
Only 302 of nearly approximately 1,000 filed bills are still alive. Here are some quick links:
Update from Bose Public Affairs, February 8
,
which includes a list of legislators who will not run for re-election. Note that you have to be signed in as an ILF member for access to these important updates. Contact the office if you forgot your login or password.
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The ILF Advocacy/Legislative Committee meets monthly to review bill language, possible impacts on libraries and patrons and then makes recommendations about actions. The four bills below have taken priority, though the committee is also closely monitoring bills related to tax policy, school issues and intellectual freedom.
State Library - Historical Bureau Merger
HB1412
officially merges the
Indiana State Library (ISL)
with the
Indiana Historical Bureau (IHB)
and makes technical changes to clean up the petition process. The bill also removes a limitation on the location on a future Archives building. The bill passed out of the House 90-0.
ILF testified in support of the ISL-IHB merger at the
Jan. 30 hearing and will support through the Senate. The bill was assigned to the
Senate Public Policy Committee
.
Workforce Development Reorganization
HB1002
reorganizes the programs within the
Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD)
. Through a floor amendment,
Adult Education
(section 16) and other programs were restored. Thank you to those who talked with their legislators about the value of adult education.
SB50
focuses on certain changes to workforce development, primarily through programs currently overseen by the
Commission on Higher Education.
SB50 would create a commission on career and technical education, make changes to financial aid programs and establish certain tax credits. We will need to continue elevating the importance of literacy, adult education and the value or libraries. See updated
HB1002 and SB50 explained with talking points
.
Township mergers
HB1005,
Township Consolidations, outlined a process for the smallest townships to merge with larger townships or with each other over five years. This bill DIED for lack of a final vote in the first chamber. The House GOP leadership recognized they did not have the votes to pass and committed to bringing something back in 2019. See
ILF explanation of the bill
and the
Bose Report
for more.
ILF understands that efforts to streamline government will continue; ILF seeks to facilitate conversations that help create our own solution.
ILF has discussed issue with Public Library Directors who are members of ILF. ILF plans additional "director-only" conversations at Regional Conferences in April and May. Directors suggested learning more about Township Consolidation through the presentation offered by
Larry DeBoer and Tammy Ogle of Purdue
. See
slides
and link to
recording
.
ILF institutional and personal members may see
the Bose Report
for more details and links to up-to-date bill tracking lists. If you forgot your login or password, contact us to reset.
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Attend Third House sessions
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Legislators meet with constituents in "
Third House
" or "
Meet your Legislator
" events within districts. Most legislators will offer a preview or update of the types of legislation being considered during the short session of the
Indiana General Assembly
.
Let us know if you plan to attend one of the upcoming sessions, as we can provide talking points and updates specific to your legislators.
- Bartholomew County - every Monday 7:30am
- Berne - February 10
- Elkhart - February 9 at Noon
- Evansville - February 10
- Goshen - February 9 at 8am
- Greater Lafayette - February 17
- Hendricks County - February 26
- Henry County - February 23
- Huntington County - February 10 at 10:00am
- Kokomo - February 23
- Madison County - February 26
- Muncie - February 23
- Orange County - February 17
- Shelby County - February 16
- St. Joseph County - February 16
- Tipton County - February 10 at 10:00am
- Vigo County - February 16 at 10:00am
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Many districts yet to go in
ILF School Library Census
Districts
without a red "v"
on the map at left still need to be surveyed.
We especially need help in the following 32 counties
: Carroll, Cass, Clark, Clinton, Daviess, Floyd, Greene, Henry, Knox, Lake, Marshall, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Newton, Ohio, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, St. Joseph, Starke, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Wabash, Warrick, Washington and White.
Submit the volunteer form (include the school district you will survey) or
contact the office
.
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Indiana Library Federation
2018 Policy Priorities
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The
ILF 2018 Policy Priorities
include a continued focus on
broadband expansion
initiatives,
lifelong learning
initiatives and support for
effective school libraries and certified librarians in K12 education.
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Legislative Updates from Bose Public Affairs
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Matt Long
serves as our primary account manager with
Bose Public Affairs
, our contracted firm for government affairs and lobbying. Through our contract, we have access to the entire team of government affairs experts.
See the
latest report from Bose Public Affairs
for a summary of news from the Statehouse. (Remember that Bose Reports require your ILF Member Login. Contact us if you forgot your login or password.)
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Register for End-of-Session Wrap Up on March 16
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ILF has hosted special virtual updates with public library directors. We want to invite
all ILF members to a special end of session virtual update
. The virtual meeting will be held Friday,
March 16, at 11amET
.
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