State Chamber Representative Looks Ahead To 1999 Legislature
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Indiana businesses have a lot riding on the upcoming session of the Indiana legislature - and the state Chamber of Commerce isn't optimistic the results will be favorable.
That was the message Warsaw business leaders were given Thursday by three representatives of the state chamber.
"The elections didn't turn out quite as we would have hoped. We hoped for a more pro-business legislature than what we ended up with," said Brian Burton, the chamber's vice president of legislative affairs.
He said with the Indiana House of Representatives being controlled by Democrats (53-47) and the Senate under the control of the Republicans (31-19), this long-session General Assembly promises to be highly partisan and acrimonious.
"This will probably be one of the longest and harshest sessions we've seen," Burton added.
With Democrats controlling the House and the governor's office, union influence on pending legislation will be felt more than in recent history, according to Burton.
"You're definitely going to see more influence by the labor unions this session," he said. "If they are able to push through public employee unionization, it will cost state taxpayers an additional $700 million a year."
Other effects of union influence will be union control of the prevailing wage, which Burton said carries an additional cost of $150 million per year on public works projects; and inclusion of an "employers' negligence" clause in the workmen's compensation law, carrying a $65 million cost.
"This (employer negligence) is a trial lawyer's dream bill," Burton said.
On the environmental front, some other key issues the chamber's lobbying efforts will seek to influence include tax restructuring, repeal of the inventory tax, reducing the negative effects on business of the Kyoto (Japan) Global Warming protocol and the Environmental Protection Agency mandates on the state's electric utilities to reduce nitrous oxide emissions 85 percent by 2003.
Jesse Moore, of the chambers' economic development office, said the Kyoto agreement places a disproportionate burden on the United States in reducing carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse" gases. The chamber will work to get the General Assembly and the O'Bannon administration to ease the negative effects of that burden.
"The Kyoto protocol will cost 100,000 Hoosier jobs, increase the price of gasoline by 65 cents per gallon and double the electric rates Indiana citizens pay," Moore said.
The chamber also will push for a clear, concise economic development plan for the Democrats in the legislature and from the O'Bannon administration.
Health care and human resources issues the chamber will be watching closely include expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act, state mandates to expand employer provided medical coverage and the full deductibility of employer-paid medical insurance premiums.
According to Jerry Malooley, there is pressure on the legislature to expand the FMLA to require firms with 25 to 50 employees to offer their employees up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for various family needs. There is a push to allow parental attendance at their children's extracurricular activities and nursing home or group home visits to be covered under the FMLA.
"We will be vigorously opposing any attempt to mandate coverage for fertility treatments, contraceptives, autism, breast and prostate cancer screening, physical therapy and acupuncture services," Malooley said.
Finally, Burton said, perhaps the biggest push the chamber will make in the legislative session is in the area of tax reform and restructuring.
"In Indiana, the business community has paid a disproportionate share for the property taxes since the 1973 restructuring of the Bowen administration," he said. "It's hard to love jobs and hate business, but that's what's happening under the current tax system."
Any change in the tax system will be significantly impacted by the current case from St. John, claiming Indiana's system of determining property taxes on assessed value and not market value. If the Indiana Supreme Court upholds a lower court ruling that the current system is unconstitutional, it could result in a property tax system that places an even higher burden on businesses, he said.
"If that turns out to be the case, we'd like to see the legislature make the necessary changes in the tax system to compensate for that, and to look at repealing the inventory tax, which makes it very hard for the state to be competitive in attracting new businesses," he said. [[In-content Ad]]
Indiana businesses have a lot riding on the upcoming session of the Indiana legislature - and the state Chamber of Commerce isn't optimistic the results will be favorable.
That was the message Warsaw business leaders were given Thursday by three representatives of the state chamber.
"The elections didn't turn out quite as we would have hoped. We hoped for a more pro-business legislature than what we ended up with," said Brian Burton, the chamber's vice president of legislative affairs.
He said with the Indiana House of Representatives being controlled by Democrats (53-47) and the Senate under the control of the Republicans (31-19), this long-session General Assembly promises to be highly partisan and acrimonious.
"This will probably be one of the longest and harshest sessions we've seen," Burton added.
With Democrats controlling the House and the governor's office, union influence on pending legislation will be felt more than in recent history, according to Burton.
"You're definitely going to see more influence by the labor unions this session," he said. "If they are able to push through public employee unionization, it will cost state taxpayers an additional $700 million a year."
Other effects of union influence will be union control of the prevailing wage, which Burton said carries an additional cost of $150 million per year on public works projects; and inclusion of an "employers' negligence" clause in the workmen's compensation law, carrying a $65 million cost.
"This (employer negligence) is a trial lawyer's dream bill," Burton said.
On the environmental front, some other key issues the chamber's lobbying efforts will seek to influence include tax restructuring, repeal of the inventory tax, reducing the negative effects on business of the Kyoto (Japan) Global Warming protocol and the Environmental Protection Agency mandates on the state's electric utilities to reduce nitrous oxide emissions 85 percent by 2003.
Jesse Moore, of the chambers' economic development office, said the Kyoto agreement places a disproportionate burden on the United States in reducing carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse" gases. The chamber will work to get the General Assembly and the O'Bannon administration to ease the negative effects of that burden.
"The Kyoto protocol will cost 100,000 Hoosier jobs, increase the price of gasoline by 65 cents per gallon and double the electric rates Indiana citizens pay," Moore said.
The chamber also will push for a clear, concise economic development plan for the Democrats in the legislature and from the O'Bannon administration.
Health care and human resources issues the chamber will be watching closely include expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act, state mandates to expand employer provided medical coverage and the full deductibility of employer-paid medical insurance premiums.
According to Jerry Malooley, there is pressure on the legislature to expand the FMLA to require firms with 25 to 50 employees to offer their employees up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for various family needs. There is a push to allow parental attendance at their children's extracurricular activities and nursing home or group home visits to be covered under the FMLA.
"We will be vigorously opposing any attempt to mandate coverage for fertility treatments, contraceptives, autism, breast and prostate cancer screening, physical therapy and acupuncture services," Malooley said.
Finally, Burton said, perhaps the biggest push the chamber will make in the legislative session is in the area of tax reform and restructuring.
"In Indiana, the business community has paid a disproportionate share for the property taxes since the 1973 restructuring of the Bowen administration," he said. "It's hard to love jobs and hate business, but that's what's happening under the current tax system."
Any change in the tax system will be significantly impacted by the current case from St. John, claiming Indiana's system of determining property taxes on assessed value and not market value. If the Indiana Supreme Court upholds a lower court ruling that the current system is unconstitutional, it could result in a property tax system that places an even higher burden on businesses, he said.
"If that turns out to be the case, we'd like to see the legislature make the necessary changes in the tax system to compensate for that, and to look at repealing the inventory tax, which makes it very hard for the state to be competitive in attracting new businesses," he said. [[In-content Ad]]