BY PATRICK GUINANE
pguinane@nwitimes.com
INDIANAPOLIS | Two of the six children saved by Indiana’s Safe Haven law shared birthday cake in the Statehouse rotunda Wednesday to commemorate the law’s eighth anniversary.

State legislators approved the 2000 law shortly after an abandoned infant froze to death just yards away from the emergency room entrance of an Indianapolis hospital. The Safe Haven Infant Protection Act allows a distressed parent to give up an unwanted child fewer than 45 days old without prosecution by bringing it to a hospital emergency room, fire house or police station.

“Passing this legislation eight years ago was the right action to take,” said Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman. “I think that’s evidenced by these precious children around us here today.”

On hand to mark the anniversary and enjoy some angel food cake with blue and white frosting were Austin, a red-haired 3-year-old boy adopted by an Elkhart couple, and Natalie, a 4-year-old girl taken in by a Fort Wayne couple. Natalie was given up in 2004 by a Fort Wayne college student who, while pregnant, attended a seminar on Indiana’s Save Haven law, said Bob Floyd, director of the National Safe Haven Alliance in Indiana.

While official figures or regional statistics are not available, the alliance has documented six children saved by Indiana’s Safe Haven law. Meanwhile, 20 infants have been abandoned illegally in Indiana since 2000, with seven of those cases resulting in death, according to the alliance.

Without following Indiana’s Safe Haven law, abandoning an infant can result in a neglect of dependant charge, a felony punishable by up to three years in prison. If the child is injured or killed as result of the abandonment, the punishment could exceed 20 years in prison.

In 2001, Illinois legislators passed a law allowing distressed parents to bring an unwanted newborn up to seven days old to a hospital, fire house, police station or emergency care facility with no questions asked. The Illinois Abandoned Newborn Protection Act has saved the lives of 41 newborns, state officials said earlier this year.

All 50 states have some form of the Safe Haven law, the first of which was adopted by Texas in 1999. The laws are believed to have saved more than 1,000 infants nationwide

On Wednesday, state Sen. Jim Merritt, an Indianapolis Republican who authored Indiana’s law, debuted a public service announcement promoting the program. Television stations across the state are being asked to air the ad.

“The last thing we want to do is encourage parents to give up their children,” Merritt said. “However, for the few who have exhausted all their options and don’t know where else to turn, the Safe Haven law provides a back-up plan to keep their child safe.”

June 25, 2008

By Erika D. Smith
erika.smith@indystar.com

From 2001 to 2006, Central Indiana added high-tech jobs faster than any other metro area in the Midwest, according to a new study from the national tech trade group AeA.

That doesn’t mean Indianapolis is a tech mecca. It’s no San Jose, Boston or even Chicago.

But it does mean local tech companies are making strides like never before, said Jim Jay, president and CEO of the statewide tech advocacy group Techpoint.

“The data is proving what we’re seeing in the sector,” he said.

In its annual “Cybercities” study released Tuesday, AeA said Central Indiana added 2,200 jobs over the five-year period for a sector total of 28,500 jobs. That’s a growth rate of 8.6 percent — the fourth fastest in the nation.

The only other Midwestern city to report such job growth in the time period was St. Louis, which added 900 tech jobs.

In Central Indiana, the hottest jobs were in computer systems design, which had 7,200 employees in 2006, and telecommunications services, which had 6,200 employees that year.

Hot or not, though, tech jobs paid — and still pay — well.

The average local techie earned $63,900 in 2006, or 54 percent more than the average private sector employee, according to AeA.

“That’s really encouraging,” Jay said. “This is a trend that we’re continuing to see today in 2008.”

He pointed to recent hiring announcements by e-mail marketing companies ExactTarget and Aprimo, and software developers ANGEL Learning and Vontoo.

“We’ve had some pretty steady hiring over the last 12 months or so,” Jay said. “I think there are certainly pockets throughout the state where this is very true.”

In April, AeA released its annual Cyberstates study, which found that Indiana’s tech sector has fared better than many other states’ when it comes to jobs, wages and venture-capital investment.

Companies across the state added 1,700 net jobs in 2006, maintaining Indiana’s ranking as the 23rd-largest “cyberstate,” with 70,200 high-tech employees and a payroll of $4 billion.

The hottest jobs were in engineering services and computer systems design.

Again, Indiana — like Indianapolis — is no tech mecca, though.

In the Cyberstates study, California led the nation, followed by Texas and Virginia.

And in Tuesday’s Cybercities study, New York; Washington, D.C.; San Jose/Silicon Valley, Calif.; Boston; and Dallas-Fort Worth led the nation in terms of tech employment.

The highest concentration of tech businesses was in San Jose, where more than one in four private sector employees were techies in 2006. Seattle, AeA said, had the nation’s largest jump in employment, adding 7,800 jobs in 2006.

Nine other Midwestern cities also beat Indianapolis on wages and number of tech employees.

Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul topped the AeA rankings. Indianapolis came in 10th.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080625/LOCAL/806250425

By Russ Pulliam, Indianapolis Star

Reduced to a bumper sticker, the message might read: “End poverty now. Stay married.”

That’s a little too simple for state Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville. But he has signed up with the Indiana Family Institute to draft state policies that are friendlier to families.

A recent study puts the nation’s cost of family fragmentation at $112 billion, including $839 million in Indiana. Fragmentation is defined as divorce, resulting in single-parent households, and children born outside of marriage.

Kenley is not the most predictable member of the General Assembly to lead this charge. The senator, a prime mover in property tax reform this past session, is known more as an economic than a social conservative.

Perhaps because he pays close attention to the increased costs of social services, Kenley wants a study committee to figure out steps the state can take to promote stronger families. “Regardless of your political stripes, we have some hard numbers here,” Kenley said.

Family breakdown is a cultural problem that government won’t be able to resolve with a magic program or two. Yet Kenley thinks the issue cries out to be addressed.

“The family is a remarkable wealth generator,” adds Curt Smith, the Indiana Family Institute president who joined Kenley in releasing the study last week. “Modest gains produce huge returns.” A 1 percent reduction in fragmented families nationally could yield more than $1 billion in savings.

What is harder to quantify is the even more valuable multigenerational blessing of a solid, two-parent family for the children.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080426/OPINION07/804260401/1043/OPINION07

GREENFIELD, IN - Senator Beverly Gard released a list of endorsements today, strengthening her leadership credentials less than two weeks before the May 6 Primary Election.

These endorsements include: 

• Indiana Chamber of Commerce
• Indiana Farm Bureau
• Indiana Right to Life PAC
• Indiana Family Action PAC
• Indiana Manufacturer’s Association
• Professional Firefighters of Indiana

Senator Gard, who represents Hancock, Henry and portions of Hamilton Counties, said she was delighted to receive such widespread support.

“Beverly Gard is a proven leader who has continually supported pro-business policies that promote job growth, economic development and education - all of which are critical for Indiana’s future,” said Michael Davis, Vice President of Political Affairs for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.  “The residents of Senate District 28 are very fortunate to have a leader like Beverly Gard representing them in the Indiana Senate.”

Senator Gard is the current chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Environmental Affairs.  She has been one of the state’s leading environmental advocates in the statehouse.

DANVILLE, IN - State Senator Connie Lawson released a list of endorsements today, bolstering her credentials less than two weeks before the May 6 Primary Election.

The endorsements include: 

• Indiana Chamber of Commerce
• Indiana Manufacturer’s Association
• Indiana Family Action PAC
• Indiana Right to Life PAC
• Hendricks County Farm Bureau
• Professional Firefighters of Indiana

Senator Lawson, who has represented Hendricks and Putnam Counties since her election to the Senate in 1996, said she was pleased to receive such widespread support.

 ”Connie Lawson has the proven history of supporting pro-business measures focusing on job-growth, economic development and education which are critical for Indiana’s future,” said Michael Davis, Vice President of Political Affairs for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.  “The residents of Hendricks and Putnam Counties are lucky to have a leader like Senator Lawson.”

Senator Lawson, the Senate Majority Floor Leader, is the first woman to hold this position and is one of the highest ranking women in Indiana state government.  She also chairs the Local Government and Elections Committee as well as the Joint Rules Commitee.  She lives in Danville with her husband, Jack, and is a mother of two and grandmother of seven.

By Senator David Long

Last week’s editorial series in The Journal Gazette raises several interesting points and questions about property tax reform – many of which are being considered by Senate and House negotiators finalizing House Bill 1001. Unfortunately, the ultimate conclusion of The Journal Gazette appears to be that property tax reform is not needed. I completely disagree.

The tax relief and reform package that Republicans have proposed will cut and permanently cap local property taxes and place spending controls on government spending. Without these changes, property taxes will continue their dramatic growth, which will hurt the Hoosier economy and negatively impact one of Indiana’s greatest assets: affordable home ownership.

As we enter what could be a historic week for Indiana taxpayers, I would like to update fellow Journal Gazette readers.

How did we get here?  Why a sudden crisis? 

First, it is important to remember that all taxes are a result of government spending. Second, property taxes are determined, collected and spent at the local level mostly by schools, towns, cities, counties and libraries. Indiana’s property tax “crisis” results in large part from sticker shock of a six-year implementation of a new court-ordered assessment system based on market values. And not just any court: the Indiana Supreme Court, which ruled Indiana’s property tax system unconstitutional, because it found like properties under like conditions were taxed very differently.

As local spending continued, it was bound to catch up with taxpayers. Statewide, local tax levies have outpaced inflation two-to-one during the past 10 years. Here in Allen County, local levies have increased 63.1 percent since 1998 while inflation has increased just 24.7 percent. Taxpayers rightly demand government must learn to live within its means.

Is this more of a problem in Marion County, or do we honestly have a statewide concern? 

Clearly other parts of the state are impacted, but local and state figures confirm taxpayers in Allen, Adams, Wells, Huntington, Whitley and Steuben counties faced 2007 homestead tax bill increases as high as 13 percent. DeKalb County homeowners were hit with increases from 13 percent to 23 percent; Noble and LaGrange counties were hardest hit with increases from 23 percent to 42 percent. Remember, property taxes reflect spending by our schools and local governments. The current state budget subsidizes their spending with a record $2.1 billion in property tax replacement and an additional $550 million in direct relief over two years. The Republican tax plan will include another $700 million in new relief for homeowners and will remove $1 billion in spending from backs of property taxpayers.

Why protect homeowners over other property owners? Isn’t that unconstitutional? 

Historically, our federal and state governments were founded on the concept of private property, giving preferences in law and policy to home ownership. Our antiquated property tax system stems from the agrarian 1800s when land ownership translated into income. Today, most parcels are residential and not income-producing. Rental properties, farms and business properties are somewhat different. Senate Republicans recognize these distinctions and advocate phased-in caps on Indiana’s local property taxes – 1 percent on owner-occupied homes; 2 percent on other residential and agricultural; and 3 percent on outright business parcels. Adding these caps to Indiana’s Constitution gives them permanence for taxpayers, and such amendments will eliminate any question about their constitutionality.

Won’t this put a squeeze on schools? 

Indiana’s Constitution guarantees the availability of a free education for every student and identifies state government as the entity to provide public K-12 schools. Traditionally, Indiana has funded public K-12 schools very well. Most recent figures show spending per Hoosier student was $10,672 on average in 2005-06, while the nationwide average was $8,973. State government already pays on average about 85 percent of school general fund expenses. Our Senate plan removes the balance of school operating expenses from property taxes while maintaining their management at the local level through administrators and school boards.

To further help reduce other local fiscal obligations, Senate Republicans propose removing school pension bonds and special-education pre-school from property taxes. We advocate using $100 million in state funds to protect schools from the strain of phasing-in circuit-breaker caps on property taxes and creating a $400 million Tuition Reserve Fund to safeguard schools in times of economic downturn.

What about local government? 

Under current law, local governments have flexibility to move from antiquated property taxes to more modern Local Option Income Taxes, which are based on ability-to-pay and pay-as-you-go principles. LOITs may be used to fund additional property tax relief, government operations and public safety. Additionally, the phase-in of property tax caps gives local units time to identify and implement new cost-savings efforts. While many local officials prefer property taxes because they see them as stable and predictable, those who pay them see them as unpredictable, unfair and unaffordable – especially seniors on fixed incomes taxed on unrealized appreciation and young homeowners with moderate incomes taxed on mortgaged assets.

Will this plan hurt low-income Hoosiers? 

No. A report prepared by respected Purdue tax economist Larry DeBoer found more than 75 percent of Hoosier taxpayers would benefit from this plan. And even those who might see an overall rise in their tax liability would be minimally impacted. In addition, the Senate plan proposes increasing the Earned Income Tax Credits, renters’ and low-income senior deductions to make the plan more helpful to moderate- and low-income Hoosiers.

Won’t property taxes just continue to rise? 

Not necessarily. An increase in assessed value does not automatically mean an increase in tax bills. If tax rates decline, then an increase in assessed value should not mean an increase in your taxes. If local governments control their spending and limit increases to the rate of inflation, any increases in homeowners’ property tax bills will be negligible. But in any case, if the caps are placed into the Indiana Constitution, every Hoosier homeowner’s property tax bill will be permanently capped at 1 percent – unless taxpayers themselves locally choose to exceed the cap. Politicians would no longer have that right – only local taxpayers themselves through referenda on major government construction projects. Additional spending controls under the Republican proposal include closing loopholes, strengthening budget reviews and restricting government debt.

Gov. Mitch Daniels strongly endorses this plan. I invite our Senate and House Democratic colleagues to join us in embracing a plan that is good for Hoosier homeowners and addresses the needs of schools, local governments and low-income Hoosiers.

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080309/EDIT05/803090309/-1/EDIT01

Indianapolis - State Sen. David Ford died Wednesday at age 59 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The governor has ordered that flags fly at half-staff through the day of funeral services. Flags in Senate District 19 are to be flown at half-staff on the day of the funeral. 
     
Ford, a Republican from Hartford City, died at his home, Senate officials said. Ford had  been absent from the Senate since January, when his family confirmed he was critically ill with cancer. Senators planned a moment of silence for Ford Wednesday afternoon.
     
“Words cannot take away the sense of loss his family and friends are feeling at this hour, but it is important that they know he and they are in our hearts and minds,” said Senate
President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne.Ford was the Blackford County prosecutor before being elected to the Senate in 1994. He represented District 19, which includes all or parts of Adams, Allen, Blackford, Grant and Wells counties in northeastern Indiana.

http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=7969063&ClientType=Printable

I would first like to thank Rep. Tim Harris for hosting our town meetings while I have been ill. He has been a really great partner, as we have represented Blackford and Grant counties over the last four years.

Second, I profoundly want to thank everyone in the Senate district for their support, prayers, cards, e-mails and wishes that have been sent.

I have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and I am now home and feeling very well. I am under the care of my nurse-wife Joyce, sister-in-law Kelly Ford and Family Hospice of Northeast Indiana. They are a troop of angels who make it possible for me live in my own home and still get a very high level of medical care and attention. I have begun a course of chemotherapy with Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne. So far my body is tolerating the treatment quite well.

I have not been able to get back to the Statehouse since falling ill on Jan. 15, but I am able to participate in several ways. I attend caucuses through teleconferencing. I talk to various Senate colleagues on the phone daily. I get all of the bills and documents electronically. I can watch the Senate sessions and committee hearings live via the Internet. With the help of Senate co-authors, I have two bills (SB 190 and SB 197) that have already passed the Senate and House of Representatives and will shortly be on their way to the governor for his signature.

Obviously, this is not the way I would prefer to be representing my district, but it is the best I can do for now. I am able to deal with all of my mail, calls and e-mail, so if you contact me with your thoughts on legislation or your needs with regard to state government, I and my wonderful legislative assistant will give the same service that we have tried to provide in the past.

Briefly, on the issues: Rep. Harris has a handout covering major points of the Senate Republicans’ property tax relief package. I am firmly convinced that the General Assembly will take major steps toward property tax reform by the end of the session.

Thank you for your understanding and for all of your kindnesses. It is this “heart of gold” spirit within Hoosiers that constantly reminds me of why I do this job and how important it really is.

SEN. DAVID FORD  Hartford City

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080224/EDIT09/802240449/-1/EDIT01

Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette

By John E. Koppin

As Gov. Mitch Daniels highlighted in his State of the State address, Indiana is fast becoming a leader in broadband deployment because of the telecom reform bill that passed in 2006. By removing old regulatory barriers and allowing the state to franchise video services, telecom investment has been pouring into communities in northeast Indiana and across the state.

Since 2006, the telecom industry has invested nearly $500 million to bring next-generation Internet and video services to Hoosiers. Of this total investment, an estimated $112 million has been spent by smaller firms in more rural locations.

One investor, AdamsWells Internet Telecom TV, has spent more than $1.2 million to bring broadband services to its customers in Craigville and Bluffton. Other small firms, including Ligonier Telephone Co. and the Citizens Telephone Co. in Warren are also investing millions of dollars to bring fiber-optic-based broadband to their communities in northeast Indiana.

Verizon spent well over $100 million to enhance broadband offerings and provide a fiber-optic cable TV alternative (FiOS) to customers in Allen County. Verizon also has provided high-speed Internet connectivity to communities such as Butler, Woodburn, Poe-Hoagland and Monroeville and upgraded its wireless Internet with EVDO service. In turn, AT&T invested $21 million in its northern and central Indiana wireless network last year to provide site enhancements and allow for more wireless broadband opportunities. Embarq continues to increase broadband investments in the area as well, upgrading its high-speed Internet services to 5 megabits per second.

These large investments also mean new jobs for Indiana. We estimate that the reform legislation has added more than 2,100 jobs to date across the state. AT&T has announced the addition of 1,650 new jobs since the legislation’s passage, and we expect the demand for additional telecom personnel to be strong across our industry in the years ahead.

Telecom companies statewide have delivered on their promise to connect more communities to high-speed Internet services. To date, 102 Indiana communities that once had zero or limited Internet access are now able to enjoy high-speed connections – thanks to the telecom reform legislation.

But it isn’t just consumers who have benefited from this bill – the impact is also felt on our economy. By offering better technology, Indiana is able to promote itself to new corporations and businesses as a leader in telecom advancement.

Telecom reform has put Indiana in the lead of all states to grow advanced broadband services. The legislation is delivering on its promises for all Hoosiers. We can take pride in the vision of the Indiana General Assembly and the governor for passing this new law that is leading our state to unprecedented technological growth.

John E. Koppin  is president of the Indiana Telecommunications Association. He wrote this for The Journal Gazette.

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080219/EDIT05/802190379

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
The Courier-Journal

This is the sixth in a series of question-and-answer interviews with Southern Indiana legislators, and House and Senate leaders.

INDIANAPOLIS — Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, is one of the General Assembly’s most prolific bill authors, pushing legislation this year on diverse topics that include the sex-offender registry, hunting and fishing, immigration, and domestic violence.

In fact, Steele is the author or co-author of more than two dozen bills that are still alive, according to the Legislative Services Agency.

And he’s sponsoring or co-sponsoring at least nine bills that have been passed by the House and sent to the Senate for consideration.

Among Steele’s bills is Senate Bill 86, which restructures Indiana’s Sex and Violent Offender Registry so it dovetails with federal law. The change would set up a structure in which some offenders would remain on the list at least 15 years, and the most violent offenders would stay on it for life.

The bill passed the Senate and has been sent to the House Ways and Means Committee, which typically handles fiscal issues.

Here’s what Steele had to say last week about SB 86 and other legislation:

Question: Why did you decide to author SB 86?

Answer: It’s basically adopting the Adam Walsh requirements that the federal government set down with regard to actually tiering out the people on the sex-offender registry.

This meshes out our system with the federal government so that our felonies work with the way they rate offenses. If you’re a seriously sexually violent predator or child molester with a crime involving penetration, you’re going to be on the registry for life.

But if it’s a lesser degree — if you can call any child molestation lesser — that involved no threat with a weapon or no penetration or no bodily injury, you could register for 25 years with an ability to get off (the registry) if you could prove to authorities you’d changed your ways and no longer posed a threat to any child.

By complying with the (federal) Adam Walsh legislation, it would allow us to some federal (grant) money. We have one more year to adopt this to get the monies.

Q: Will the bill pass?

A: So far, they’ve killed (SB) 86 in the House. They sent it to Ways and Means even though there’s no fiscal impact. It’s deader than a doornail, and I have no idea why.

It wasn’t that controversial and had the backing of the Criminal Justice Institute, the attorney general’s office, the prosecuting attorneys’ council.

Q: You were a co-author on the immigration bill, which cracks down on employers that knowingly hire illegal workers. What do you like about that bill?

A: I do believe the law is the law and people should comply with it. The thing that I see is this: We’re fostering a subclass of people.

And we fought a civil war over that exact same thing where you take advantage of someone’s race or ethnicity to your financial advantage.

If you’re an illegal alien and your boss decides to cheat you out of eight hours of overtime, where would you turn to? Would you go to the federal wage and hour board? No. You just take it.

If he doesn’t offer workman’s compensation to you like his competitor down the road does for his employees, he’s getting to operate at an unfair advantage against his competitor, and you get hurt and he tells you (to) take a hike. There’s nothing for you to do.

I don’t think that’s right.

Q: Do you think that bill or some parts of it have a chance of becoming law?

A: Yes, I do. I certainly do.

Q: You are a co-author of the bill that calls for an eight-hour cooling-off period before police can release someone arrested in a domestic-violence case. What do you like about that bill?

A: It gives the spouse who has been battered a chance to get out of the house, to clean out, and maybe go to mom or dad’s or get to the shelter. They need time to get the kids ready, box up some clothes and get out.

If the man is immediately arrested and makes bail and comes back, then there you are again. You’re right back where you were. It’s a reasonable thing to give a chance for people to defuse the situation, put some distance between them, both in time and in actual distance. I think it helps hold down the escalation of domestic violence.

Q: You are the author of a proposed constitutional amendment to create a right for Hoosiers to fish and hunt. Why is that important?

A: What has happened through the years is that there are several groups — I’ll call them animal-rights or anti-hunting groups — who have amassed several million dollars in a fund, and all they do his hire lawyers and go around and sue different states over the right to fish and hunt.

I just think it’s a part of our heritage that needs to be protected, and we need to avoid some of this litigation. I realize maybe people don’t hunt as much as they used to. I took all four of my boys hunting and fishing, but maybe that’s a thing that will eventually fall into the past. I hope not.

But I don’t want it to be sued out of existence.

Q: What do you think of the governor’s property-tax-reduction plan?

A: I’m more interested in a total elimination of real estate taxes for all classes of real estate and some form of substitute revenue. We heard testimony (that) we could actually lower our sales tax from 6 percent to 4.5 percent.

But I realize those are broad concepts and the people of Indiana need a chance to study that, mull over it, and make sure it will work. This is the kind of shot you only get to fire one time, and it needs to be right.

So until such time we can take a very serious look at that … I’m satisfied with what we’re seeing (in the governor’s plan). I like the local spending controls that are there. I like the idea of the referendum for capital projects over $7 million or 5 percent of your assessed value. That makes sense to me.

I like the idea that the state takes over the general fund of education and welfare, taking that off the back of property-tax payers. I like the caps (on tax bills).

But I want the 1 percent increase in sales tax we’ll adopt to have a sunset provision in the event a future legislature doesn’t pass the proposed constitutional cap (1 percent of the property’s assessed value). To me that’s a very, very important thing.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080218/NEWS0204/802180440/-1/rss