January 17th, 2019
It’s true, another “big snow storm” is brewing and headed our direction for the weekend. This means grocery store shelves will be void of milk and bread by about 7 p.m. tomorrow. Despite the impending forecast, we’ve got lots more to talk about than snow … so, put down the proactive salt pellets and take a read.
Don’t Be Fooled. There Is a Difference in Bias Crime Bill Legislation. The bias crimes bill was front and center in Governor Eric Holcomb’s State of the State  address and Indiana Competes  – the business coalition that stood strong for anti-discrimination protections in the past – has been reignited to call for comprehensively enumerated and fully inclusive bias crimes legislation in 2019. They believe – as do we – that HB1093, written without specified characteristics wouldn’t provide clarity to the justice system or confidence to the diverse workforce we need to grow. We support bills in the vein of legislators Cook, Boy, Moed, Porter, Glick, Taylor, Bohacek and Alting’s that are positive and comprehensive in an effort to truly address the issue. Most importantly, they make a statement that Indiana is welcoming to all and open for business. What can you do? Contact your Senator and Representatives to urge them to support a bias crimes bill that is comprehensively enumerated, fully inclusive, and gets Indiana off the list of only five states still without a strong bias crimes bill ( find your legislative representatives here ).
Other Bills of OneZone Interest. Among our Legislative Priorities is tobacco reform, including increasing the tobacco tax as a means of deterring smoking. (Why is this a business issue? Indiana’s tobacco use costs Hoosier businesses over $6 billion a year in health care costs, absenteeism, and productivity loss.) We believe Rep. Tony Cook’s HB1396 is a win-win, addressing both the deterrent of an increased tax (from $1 to $1.995 per pack) while helping teachers. The bill uses the proceeds from the tax to fund teacher pay increases. Likewise, SB179 is good news for the local restaurant scene, amending the definition of "entertainment" for purposes of alcohol regulation to include meals and entertainment that were deductible as business expenses before the enactment of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Meanwhile, 11 bills concerning school safety have been drafted and are at various stages of progress through the process. We will detail those next week.
Big Dreams Pay Off Big . Last summer, OneZone members were treated to the high-tech insight of John McDonald, CEO of Fishers-based ClearObject. Founded in 2010 as CloudOne, the company designs, develops and manages Internet of Things-driven products and platforms. This morning it was announced that two equity firms have acquired majority interest, allowing the firm to grow its global customer base. The company will remain in Fishers, and McDonald will continue to lead the management team – good news all around, we think!
Plus 1: Mia Culpa … We erroneously referred to former Indiana state legislator “Kathy Richardson” as “Kathy Richards,” and for that we sincerely apologize. What speaks volumes is that she’s not the one who called us out on this mistake … which is just another reason to admire her. The writer of this missive has written “Richardson” 1,000 times and continues to grovel.

Plus 2: Don’t Miss Taste of the Chamber! If sampling some terrific food and networking with 1,000+ of your closest friends sounds like a good time, you don’t want to miss Taste of the Chamber this afternoon. The event runs from 4:30 to 7:30 at the Ritz Charles and tickets are available at the door. Check out this video for a 60-second view of last year’s event. 
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