I just received a draft of One Southern Indiana's 2010-2011 Legislative Agenda, suitable for sharing with blog readers.
You're sure to have questions and comments, but the omission that baffles me is the 11th Commandment: "Thou shalt parrot the blatherings of Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana."
It must be on the double secret draft.
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Dear 1SI Members,
Our Public Policy Council is a group of business leaders who work together to promote pro-business advocacy at the local, state and federal level. Each year, the council formulates policies on issues that affect business. Over the last few months the group has developed a draft One Southern Indiana 2010-2011 Legislative Agenda. This is your opportunity to comment on issues that affect your business. Please click here to review the draft agenda, and email any comments or additional issues back to us by June 28th. Your input will help us craft our business advocacy positions for 2010-2011.
Should you have any questions please call or email Tonya Fischer, TonyaF@1si.org (812) 945-0266 ext. 204 or Michael Dalby, MichaelD@1si.org (812) 945-0266 ext. 202. Please note your comments at the end of each issue on the agenda and fax back to us at 948.4664.
Thank you
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2010 - 2011 Legislative Agenda
General Policy Position:
One Southern Indiana supports public policy that facilitates high-wage / high-skill job creation, capital investment and business retention and expansion. We also support public policy that contributes to a strong quality of life that will attract and retain jobs and investment.
Federal/State Issues
o River Ridge Development
o Support their efforts to obtain utility Infrastructure funding for on-site improvements (Federal & state funds – water, wastewater, roads, fiber)
o Completion of the I-265 extension and the approach to the east end bridge component of the Ohio River Bridges Project
o Designation of the “River Ridge Commerce Corridor” – Port Road and Highway 62 E (from I-265 interchange to Hwy 3). [Rep Stemler’s proposed HB 1225.]
o Port of Jeffersonville – Coordinate with local and State of Indiana port leadership and gain support for their capital needs.
o Immigration – We oppose the hiring of illegal workers. However, immigration is essentially a matter that must be legislated at the federal level. The General Assembly should not attempt to address the immigration issue at the state level.
State Issues
o Unemployment Insurance – In 2009 the Legislature made changes to Indiana's unemployment insurance system that were intended to replenish the totally depleted Unemployment Trust Fund by increasing the taxable wage base and the maximum tax rate paid by employers. In 2010 any changes were delayed for one year. Increasing the taxable wage base would have put too heavy of a burden on business owners who were already dealing with a bad economy.
o We support a statewide smoking ban in recognition of the message it sends that Indiana values the health of its citizens and recognizes the connection between going “smoke free” and attracting innovative companies that boost our region’s economy.
o Monitor utility rate issues and their potential impact on business, and give testimony and member survey responses to State Regulatory Commission.
o Inform members on the impact of the “1-2-3%” tax caps on property tax prior to the constitutional vote in November.
Education
o We support the funding and construction of the Education and Technology Building proposed for the IU Southeast campus. It will provide critical classrooms, labs, and technology needed to educate our future teachers and engineering technologists. The building project will help to attract and retain top talent and demonstrate a valuable partnership between IU Southeast and the Purdue College of Technology to support two rapidly growing programs that contribute directly to a bright future for the region.
o Encourage and support collaboration between Ivy Tech, Purdue, IUS and Louisville higher education institutions in providing post-secondary education offerings that translate into higher skill – higher value business innovation.
o Just as our member businesses had to make cuts during the recession, our school districts need the tools and authority to adjust their budgets. Therefore, we support the elimination of Public Law 217 (collective bargaining) and/or give administrators more flexibility and input on decisions regarding promotion, retention, reduction of certified staff.
Transportation/Infrastructure
o We support the entire Ohio River Bridges Project (two bridges and the redevelopment of the I-65, I-71 and I-64 interchange in Louisville) and will continue to engage the issue via the Bridges Coalition.
o We support the work of the Bi-State Authority.
o We encourage the immediate development of the Old Salem Road Interchange (Gateway to River Ridge) with visible progress by the end of 2010.
o Major Moves – Our position is to ensure funds designated for the Ohio River Bridges Project remain committed.
o We support the process that has been put in place by both Kentucky and Indiana - the formation of the Bi-State Authority - and giving them the ability to review any and all funding options. Let the Bridges Authority do its job and develop funding options. If viable funding options emerge that don't include tolling, we fully support that approach. Nobody wants to pay tolls. However, if including high-speed electronic tolling is the only way to fund the project and get it built in a timely manner, then we will accept a funding solution that includes tolling.
Local Government Issues
o Continue to support local government simplification efforts that can increase government efficiency, increase inter-governmental cooperation and, where appropriate decrease the number of elected officials.
o We commend the progress that has been made and support the push to continue to improve efforts to get tax bills out on time. We will work to show the negative impacts of Municipalities and school districts always having to borrow funds to get through the year, and we will also celebrate successes.
o Support local Government funding for job creation and economic development efforts from the locally collected Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT).
Federal Issues
o Card Check – 1SI surveyed our members in early 2009 and the response was overwhelmingly against the Employee Free Choice Act in its then form. If a new form is proposed, we will again survey, but all indications are that it will be strongly opposed.
o Cap & Trade – As our region’s power is derived from coal-fired power plants, and as our region’s low electricity costs have been and are currently an incentive for industrial jobs, we oppose this legislation in its current form. We do support the development of clean energy alternatives and the jobs associated with production of “green” technology systems.
o Healthcare – As details on the Healthcare Reform bill emerge, we will inform, poll and survey our members as to the impact and report to our Federal Elected Officials.
o We are dismayed by unrestricted Federal Government spending fueled by debt. As a business organization, our members know that this is a formula for failure in business. Just as our member businesses had to make difficult cuts during the recession, we encourage our federal elected officials to make the hard choices necessary to get our federal debt under control.
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12 comments:
1SI: The political wing of the local GOP.
They only need to gain two house seats to do away with collective bargaining for teachers. Shane needs to start running. He hasn't yet.
Aside from support to overturn collective bargaining, vagueness on some issues, and what I perceive as a waist of money for the two bridges project what is wrong with some of their other positions or lack there of?
Hey Roger, it looks like Socrates is alive again today in the Trib with Mr. Gonder's rebuttal.
I think Mr. Gonder meant to say that the enemies are the Oligarchs not the Plutocrats.
Any thoughts?
Well, it could go either way. Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, oligarchy is rule by the elite ... but isn't plutarchy a word, too?
I thought that plutocracy was the rule of a special class that was to be void of all ownership but supported by society. They were to be raised from birth, taken away from their paternal parents, isolated from society where they would be educated in philosophy.
They would then govern the masses as philosopher kings.
Isn't oligarchy the rule of the wealthy?
Oligarchy was the next step in the evolution of government after democracy.(?)
Even more than 2000 years Plato is relevant.
Maybe the confusion is from the Michael Moore film "Capitalism a Love Story" in it the same mistake was made.
Mr. Gonder is right; the mention of TR's name at a Tea Party rally only draws boos.
That is because the Tea Party is not the Republican Party but a Libertarian group.
Jameson, I have a question for you: Seeing as John Gonder was responding to a previous letter by Dave Matthews extolling the tea party mantra, and noting that the GOP nationwide has had mixed results with tea partiers in its ranks, was it a good idea for Matthews to tie the local party's fortunes so closely with the movement?
Was it a good idea?
I don't know.
The Libertarian Party has always been on the fringe in American politics. Will the Tea Party push the center away from the Republican Party? I think that it may. If that is true, then no, affiliating with the Tea Party will be the best thing for Democrats.
But if we look at near history the American electorate has been more conservative with their voting. Maybe the center is more Libertarian then I think and they never had a candidate to vote for. If that is true, then yes, affiliation will help.
As for locally, I think there seems to be a greater appreciation for the Tea Party but maybe I’m not being invited to the right parties to get a broader perspective.
And Floyd County went GOP in the last election. If Floyd County didn't get swept up in Obama mania then I don't see it changing anytime soon.
The only way the Republican or Tea Party can seal their own defeat is a third party candidate.
Much as New Albany voters elect people dedicated to looting and degrading their city, and much as they send their tax checks in to continue such policies, members of One Southern Indiana pay their dues to support the policies of their uber-exclusive public policy committee.
It is for that reason, among others, that our business will once again decline to fund our enemies. How about your business?
Bank Street has been a member. It made sense at the time, for reasons that have to do with the usual whore, cash, and like numerous other decisions that were made in the year 2009 now come back to haunt me, I'd like to get a "do over" card. Since I can't, non-renewal seems the ideal option. The more I shed, the fewer showers I have to take. It's green, don't you know?
What sets Destinations and BSB apart isn't just that you've decided not to financially support such 1SI lobbying but that you took the time to review their stances before deciding.
I bet a lot of members don't have a clue as to what those stances are, even though the lobby takes place in their names.
On another note, I continue to crack up that they continue to seek more government spending in conjunction with lower taxes and less citizen and worker representation while blaming the government for deficits.
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