March 14th, 2019
It is mid-March, and we are deep in the weeds of the 2019 Legislative session. A little over a month remains before the deadline for last reading, and there’s a lot of work left to be done. Read on for a rundown on the bills that impact your business.
Field Trip to the State House . We took part in Chamber Day earlier in the week and were pleased to see an unusually large turn out of our peers from across the state as well as a number of our own Board members. Moderating a panel comprised of Speaker Brian Bosma, Rep. Todd Huston and Sen. Rod Bray and Sen. Ron Micheler, OneZone President Mo Merhoff queried, “If you had a magic wand, what bill would you most want to wave it at to ensure passage?” While the Speaker replied the bias crimes legislation, he described it as a “very fine needle,” but he’d like to see it pass. OneZone does too … Not the watered-down version that passed out of the Senate and currently rests with the House. Your voice is needed. Click here to find your Indiana State Legislator to push for meaningful legislation.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly . That was the assessment of Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar as he reviewed the 2019 session of the Indiana General assembly to date. Leading the “good list,” has been the positive movement of the Governor’s Workforce Bill (HB1002) that provides much-needed guidelines for career/technical education. Also making the good list was SB233 that doubles the business personal property exemption and SB 563, the Governor’s Economic Development package. Brinegar believes the denial of HB 1565, SB 425, HB 1444 – all dealing with tobacco sales reforms – falls under the “bad” category as does passing over the HB 1194 Regional Economic Development bill. And The Ugly? The hijacking of the aforementioned Bias Crimes Bill.
Meanwhile, Back in Hamilton County . Nearly two years ago, Fisher’s Mayor Scott Fadness announced the idea of creating a lab at the center of Fishers’ Certified Tech Park as a hub of innovation for the Internet of Things in Indiana … and thus the IoT lab began. Its purpose? To get ahead of technology disruptions in the state’s core industries: manufacturing, agriculture and distribution. This week, the organization released its inaugural “ State of IoT .” Organizations like this one are essential for the future growth and success of our communities as well as the State of Indiana. Ofcourse also essential is attracting and retaining the best and brightest minds in these fields … which means encouraging state legislators to recognize the importance of passing that bias crimes bill. It all works together! Don’t forget to contact your legislator this week and voice your support for a meaningful hate crimes bill. 
‌