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April 19, 2013
Volume 13
Issue 20
Thanks to Johnson County Farm Bureau for visiting the Statehouse this week.
This week saw the House of Representatives reach its deadline to pass bills that originated in the Senate and the beginning of the conference committee process to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate passed versions of bills. Also this week, the state’s April revenue was released. The revenue forecast predicted that the state over the next 27 months will realize $270 million more in revenue than was predicted in the December forecast. This led Gov. Mike Pence to observe that the state could indeed afford the full ten percent personal income tax cut he has advocated since the 2012 campaign.
Because the statutory adjournment date of April 29 will fall on a Monday this year, it is generally assumed that the session will end no later than Friday next week. Once an agreement is reached on the budget, other legislation that is still pending will either be resolved quickly or abandoned for this year.
STATE BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS UNDERWAY BETWEEN HOUSE AND SENATE On Wednesday, April 17, the conference committee on HB 1001, the 2013-2015 biennial budget, chaired by Rep. Tim Brown, opened the floor to public testimony. Chairman Brown allowed the primary conferees, Sen. Howard "Luke" Kenley, Rep. Greg Porter and Sen. Karen Tallian to make an opening statement where they laid out the budgetary goals and concerns of their respective caucus. The bill has a very long list of advisors. From the House of Representatives advisors are Reps. Cherrish Pryor, Clyde Kersey, David L. Niezgodski, Jeffrey Thompson, Mara Candelaria Reardon, Eric Turner, Robert Cherry, Sheila Klinker, Steven R. Stemler, Suzanne Crouch, Terry A. Goodin and Tom Dermody. Advisors from the Senate include Sens. Brandt Hershman, Ed Charbonneau, Lindel O. Hume, Mike Delph, Patricia L. Miller, Ryan D. Mishler, Thomas J. Wyss and Timothy D. Skinner. Rep. Brown asked that comments focus on the differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget. With a four minute limitation, about 40 people came forward. Many testified to restore tobacco cessation funding while school groups testified for more public school funding along with concerns about how much funding might go to an expansion of “vouchers” for students attending a private school. A separate bill, HB 1003, school scholarships (vouchers), is one of the most controversial bills this session where the question is “will there be any limitations on the numbers of vouchers or income limitations for those applying?”
Katrina Hall testified on behalf of Indiana Farm Bureau supporting the House level of local road funding which is about $20 million more than the Senate version. She commented on IFB’s efforts to address the requirement to have a local match. She asked for flexibility of local sources but stressed that property taxes and TIF proceeds should not be the match. She also thanked both houses for repealing the inheritance tax faster and expressed support for the Senate version that eliminates the tax retroactive to January 1, 2013. Finally, she thanked both houses for restoring funding for horse racing breed development which had been deleted in the governor’s original budget proposal. Senate testimony provided by Indiana’s horsemen about two weeks ago demonstrated how this funding is generating an exceptional return on investment in this expanding agricultural sector.
The revenue forecast that was presented on April 16 painted an encouraging fiscal picture for state coffers with an additional $280 million in funding estimated over the biennium. However, $184 million of the new dollars are projected for 2015. The primary question to be answered as the budget is finalized boils down to how much of these ambitious estimates translate into a tax cut by the end of next week.
HOUSE APPROVES TRESPASS BILL; SEN. HOLDMAN DISSENTS On Monday, the House passed SB 373 (Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle & Rep. Bill Friend, R-Macy) by a vote of 65-25, the amended version of the bill that had been forwarded to the floor by the House Judiciary Committee a week earlier. All the favorable votes on the bill were from Republican representatives. Rep. Tom Saunders (R-Lewisville) joined the Democrats on the floor in voting against the bill which was opposed by organized labor. The House-passed bill adds entry to an area to which access has been denied by a fence or wall to the definition of criminal trespass and makes it a misdemeanor to make a false statement or withhold a material fact on a job application. Holdman, as author of the bill, filed a dissent motion to send the bill to a conference committee. He would like to see it return to the form it was in when it left the Senate. That version of the bill specifically made it a misdemeanor to photograph or videotape an agricultural or industrial property without the owner’s consent if the individual taking the picture intends to harm the owner. The Senate bill also included an exception for individuals who believe a law or rule is being violated provided it is reported to an appropriate enforcement authority within 48 hours. In addition to Holdman and Friend, the conferees on SB 373 will be Sen. Karen Tallian (D-Portage) and Rep. Pat Bauer (D-South Bend).
HOUSE NARROWLY APPROVES MEASURE TO PRESERVE HUNTING PRESERVES Also on Monday, the House approved SB 487 (Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford & Rep. Don Lehe, R-Brookston) by a vote of 52-39. Two Democrat representatives Sheila Klinker (Lafayette) and David Niezgodski (South Bend), joined fifty Republicans in supporting the bill. Since a number of Republicans voted against the bill, these two votes were critical in achieving the constitutional majority of 51 which is required to pass a bill. The entire roll call may be viewed at http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2013/PDF/Hrollcal/0495.PDF.pdf.
SB 487 as it passed the Senate dealt with fees for out-of-state users of Indiana’s hunting and shooting preserves. In the House Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Matt Ubelhor (R-Bloomfield) offered an amendment that would require the Department of Natural Resources to license the four deer hunting preserves that have been in continual operation in Indiana since 2005. The preserves have been operating in a state of uncertainty since 2005 when DNR under the Daniels administration reneged on the approval earlier given by DNR. They have been operating under a court order restraining DNR from closing them down. Since these preserves provide a market for farm-raised deer in Indiana, Farm Bureau has supported the bill with the provision grandfathering the existing preserves. The members of the conference committee assigned to consider the bill are: Sen. Steele, Rep. Lehe, Sen. Richard Young (D-Milltown) and Rep. Clyde Kersey (D-Terre Haute.)
SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS BILL FLOUNDERS IN HOUSE Following an amendment on the floor of the House that essentially neutralized the effect of SB 510 (Sen. Doug Eckerty, R-Yorktown & Suzanne Crouch, R-Evansville), Rep. Crouch chose not to call it down for a final House vote on Monday. The bill would have required the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to take another look at the impact that the state’s support of the proposed synthetic natural gas plant in Rockport, Ind. The arrangement between the plant’s developers and the Indiana Finance Authority would require Indiana gas retailers to purchase synthetic gas and sell it to their customers. Because of recent technological developments in the extraction of natural gas this purchase requirement will, in all probability, result in Hoosier gas customers paying a considerably higher rate for gas than they would otherwise have to. The higher gas prices could also increase the cost of fertilizer in Indiana. Because of the impact the arrangement between the state and the project’s developers could have on farmers and other rural natural gas consumers, Farm Bureau has joined with those calling for the entire deal to be revisited by the IURC. Since the bill did not pass the House, it will not go to a conference committee. It did however pass one house and is therefore eligible to be incorporated into another piece of legislation during the conference committee process.
IMMIGRATION REFORM This week, the bi-partisan group of eight Senators introduced their comprehensive immigration reform bill. The bill includes extensive solutions to ensure agriculture has access to a legal and stable workforce. Farm Bureau actively participated in negotiations that produced the agricultural portions of the bill. The Agricultural Workforce Coalition (AWC), of which Farm Bureau is a part, supports this legislation and Farm Bureau agrees that it represents an improvement over the current system and deserves support. The Judiciary committee will begin hearing on Friday, April 19.
The agricultural portion of the legislation includes two critical principles. The first is the creation of a ‘Blue Card’ program for experienced farm workers. Under the ‘Blue Card’ program, experienced agricultural workers can obtain legal status by satisfying criteria such as passing a background check, paying a fine and proving that applicable taxes have been paid. Blue card workers would be required to continue to work in agriculture before having the opportunity to qualify for a green card. The second title of the bill establishes an agricultural worker program for future guest workers. The bill creates a new agricultural worker visa program that allows agricultural employers to hire guest workers either under contract or at-will. Visa holders will be able to work in the country under a 3-year visa and work for any designated agricultural employer. The program will be administered by the USDA.
SULFURYL FLUORIDE LEGISLATION INTRODUCED Last week, Cong. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) introduced H.R. 1496, The Pest Free Food Supply Act. The legislation forces the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdrawal a proposed federal regulation to revoke the food tolerance for the fumigant Sulfuryl Fluoride (SF) by 2014. Farm Bureau supports the bill.
Sulfuryl fluoride is a fumigant critical to the food and agricultural industry in its efforts to prevent pest contamination of foods made from wheat, rice, corn, oats, oilseeds, cocoa, nuts and dried fruit, as well as seeds and other commodities. Methyl Bromide is another important fumigant for pest eradication, but the agriculture industry is being required to phase out its use under the Montreal Protocol. SF is the alternative to which the industry has been transitioning. The removal of this product would critically compromise agriculture’s efforts to protect the U.S. food supply.
FARM FLEX OFFERED IN SENATE This week, Sens. Coats (R-Ind.) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) introduced The Farming Flexibility Act of 2013 (Farm Flex), legislation that would benefit Indiana specialty crop producers and save taxpayer dollars.
The Farm Flex legislation would permanently implement a current pilot program that allows farmers to voluntarily forgo federal subsidies and opt-out of restrictions on fruit and vegetable production so they can produce specialty crops to meet growing market demands. The Coats-Donnelly legislation would expand the program from a pilot to all 50 states.
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