The latest on HB 1131: Amended and up for a vote on Tuesday morning.

House Bill 1131 is authored by Rep. Ed Clere, and co-authored by Rep. Anthony Cook and Rep. Steven Stemler, and the legislation deals primarily with appointments to local boards and commissions.

HB 1131 has been amended, and is up for a vote on Tuesday in the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee. Following is an overview of the bill -- though note that the amendment does not change the housing authority provision.

Provides that if the executive or fiscal body of a municipality does not fill a vacancy in the municipal housing authority before the 61st day after the vacancy occurs, the remaining members of the housing authority shall fill the vacancy. Provides that the remaining members are authorized to fill the vacancy even if the number of remaining members is not sufficient for a quorum. Provides that an individual who is acting as a member of a housing authority 60 days after the expiration of the individual's term as a member of the housing authority may continue to act as a member for purposes of filling the vacancy.

Here is a recap.

1. Commission membership and appointments

Both municipal and county redevelopment commissions will consist of seven members. Under current law, municipal redevelopment commissions consist of five members, and county redevelopment commissions may have either five or seven members.

The executive will continue to appoint three members (no more than two of one party), and the council will continue to appoint two members (one of each party). The political balance is new.

There will be one school board appointee. If more than one school corporation serves the municipality or county, the school board with the most members who live in the municipality or county will make the appointment. The appointee must live in the municipality or county.

The seventh member will be appointed by the council, upon a recommendation from the local LEDO.

2. Projects outside a TIF district

If revenue from a TIF district is used to fund projects outside the TIF district, the redevelopment commission will have to certify that the project will benefit the TIF district and result in the creation of private sector jobs.

3. Annual report

The Department of Local Government Finance will produce an annual report showing the effect of TIF on circuit breaker losses for each taxing district in a county. It will illustrate the circuit breaker change that would occur without TIF, and with 10 percent, 20 percent and 30 percent reductions in TIF assessed valuation (AV).

4. County council review

If the report shows extreme TIF pressure on circuit breakers, the council may require release of up to 20 percent of TIF AV, subject to debt service reserves. Extreme pressure is defined as a case in which releasing 20 percent of TIF AV would produce more than half of the amount of circuit breaker relief resulting from releasing 10 percent of TIF AV.

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PROPOSED AMENDMENT ... HB 1131 # 5

DIGEST

Redevelopment commissions. Makes the following changes regarding commission membership: (1) Requires a county or municipal redevelopment commission (commission) to consist of seven members. (Under current law, a municipal commission must be five members, a county commission must be five members or seven members). (2) Requires one member to be appointed to a commission upon the recommendation of the local economic development organization (LEDO) of the territory served by the commission, or upon the joint recommendation by all LEDOS serving the territory within the jurisdiction of the commission. (3) Establishes political party membership requirements for some appointments. (4) Requires municipal and county commission members to reside within the territory under the jurisdiction of the commission. Provides that a member serving on a commission on June 30, 2017, that does not satisfy the residency or party membership requirements continues to serve out the member's unexpired term. Requires the commission to comply with these requirements when appointing a successor member. Provides that allocated property tax proceeds may be expended for projects located outside a redevelopment district only if the commission adopts a declaratory resolution that finds that the expenditures: (1) will directly benefit the redevelopment district; and (2) will result in the creation of jobs in the private sector. Provides that the county council of a county in which a redevelopment authority is located may require redistribution to taxing units of up to 20% of the assessed value that is allocated to allocation areas if, when considering a reduction in the allocation in allocation areas from 10% to 20%, the amount of the reduction in losses due to the circuit breaker credits is exceeded by more than fifty percent (50%). Provides, however, that the county council may not make a redistribution to taxing units if: (1) the redistribution would effect debt service; or (2) there is no loss that meets the criteria for a distribution that is to a unit other than the municipality in which the allocation area is located, or a special service district that is wholly located within the boundaries of the municipality that established the allocation area. Requires the department of local government finance (DLGF) to annually prepare a report for each taxing unit that includes a calculation of the following: (1) The total property tax levy from the assessed value in the taxing unit and the amount of loss due to the circuit breaker credits. (2) The total property tax proceeds from the assessed value that exceeds the base assessed value in all allocation areas established within the taxing unit. (3) The effect, if any, on the amount of the tax levy or proceeds and the credit for excessive property taxes under IC 6-1.1-20.6 for the taxing unit and for the allocation areas if the allocation and distribution of tax proceeds in the allocation areas were: (A) eliminated; (B) reduced by 10%; (C) reduced by 20%; or (D) reduced by 30%. Requires the DLGF to: (1) post the report on the DLGF web site; and (2) file the report with the governor and the general assembly.

Ed Clere proposes changes to Redevelopment Commission and Housing Authority appointments, so it's mute nostril agony for Jeff Gahan as his campaign-finance-loaded wagons are circled around the TIF encampment.

(Historical Update: This post is NAC's 11,000th, since October 2004)

Perhaps it's something about planetary alignment or the daily accuracy ratio of stopped clocks, but News and Tribune management finally mustered a good decision, sending reporter Elizabeth Beilman to Indianapolis to provide a day's coverage of items that actually impact our lives right, here at home.

Rest assured, readers: None of it will displace the ongoing breathless coverage of reality television shows, though it's a welcome albeit temporary change.

Let's begin with Beilman's bylines.

Redevelopment bill would give Indiana schools more voice

If passed, school boards would get appointment on commissions

House Bill 1131 authored by Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, takes one of the executive body's appointments to a redevelopment commission and gives it to a local school board, which would appoint one of its members. The other appointments will remain in control of the fiscal body.

And:

Southern Indiana schools support bill centering on tax increment financing money

INDIANAPOLIS — Representatives from every school corporation in Clark and Floyd counties testified Tuesday in favor of a state bill that would give them louder voices in economic development.

House Bill 1131, authored by State Rep. Ed Clere and co-authored by State Rep. Steve Stemler, replaces one of a municipal or county executive’s appointments on a redevelopment commission with a school board member appointment.

Obviously, HB 1131 is intended to make corrective adjustments to what amounts to mayoral abuse of appointment power, not just in New Albany, but everywhere in the state Indiana. Small wonder the statewide mayor's breakfast club is against it.

However, our own mayor is the veritable original source textbook for these abuses. Jeff Gahan's appointed Redevelopment Commission is packed with slobbering mayoral sycophants, meaning that numerous significant decisions are made offshore, away from elected bodies.

In addition, as with the New Albany Housing Authority commission, Gahan's refusal to appoint members to it in a timely fashion has revealed his naked intent to cripple the NAHA's operations, and eventually to dismantle it. I'm slowly amassing information on this story, and we'll get to it later.

Interestingly, the filing of Clere's bill forced Gahan to expedite the NAHA takeover plan, and so he duly made the appointments he'd been delaying -- and by the way, they're all being placed there for exactly the same reason that Donald Trump appoints department heads opposed to the mission of their agencies, to destroy and not build, so Gahan can queue the cattle cars for the short jaunt to Greenville.

Gahan is neither a Democrat nor democratic, but I digress. The digest of House Bill 1131 provides all the meat and taters.

DIGEST

Appointments to local boards and commissions. Provides that after June 30, 2017, one of the commissioners appointed to a redevelopment commission must be a member of the governing body of a school corporation that includes all or part of the territory served by the redevelopment commission. Provides for the appointment to be made by the appointing governing body as determined in the statute. Removes language providing for the appointment of nonvoting advisers to redevelopment commissions from the governing bodies of school corporations. Provides that nonvoting advisers serve until a member of the governing body of a school corporation is appointed to the redevelopment commission. Provides that if the executive or fiscal body of a municipality does not fill a vacancy in the municipal housing authority before the 61st day after the vacancy occurs, the remaining members of the housing authority shall fill the vacancy. Provides that the remaining members are authorized to fill the vacancy even if the number of remaining members is not sufficient for a quorum. Provides that an individual who is acting as a member of a housing authority 60 days after the expiration of the individual's term as a member of the housing authority may continue to act as a member for purposes of filling the vacancy.

Gahan and his conniving ilk are rattled.

A Southern Indiana state legislator is "optimistic" his bill targeting the balance of power on redevelopment commissions will advance out of committee to the Indiana House of Representatives.

Let's hope it does. This reform is sorely needed.

UPDATED Clerely, schools should be included in redevelopment commission decisions.

(6:00 p.m.: See update below)

It took a few days to get back to this one.

Southern Indiana lawmakers to file toll-related bills in 2017 session ... General Assembly's 2017 session begins Tuesday, by Elizabeth Beilman (News and Tribune)

Let's be clear: Tender mercies for the toll-afflicted never came up even once for Ron Grooms when the tolling oligarchs first came calling, and he climbed into bed with them.

I suppose we must give Ron partial credit for belatedly grasping the simple fact that tolling disproportionately taxes the working poor, even if he steadfastly ignored all attempts to convince him of this at the time.

But wait -- buried at the bottom amid "other bills to be filed by local lawmakers" is something of genuine interest.

• REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSIONS — Gives local school corporations one voting appointment to municipal redevelopment commissions by taking one appointment from mayor's administration, with the intention to better include schools in redevelopment decisions (Clere)

Well, look at that. If Jeff Gahan stands to lose an appointment to the body that works most diligently to keep his campaign finance beaks wet, we might yet be entertained by a good, old-fashioned self-immolation -- though I still think New Albany City FC is funnier.

Thanks to Elizabeth Beilman for posting this update from the Indiana General Assembly page. As you can see, the legislation also provides unfilled vacancies on the board of municipal housing authorities.

DIGEST

Appointments to local boards and commissions. Provides that after June 30, 2017, one of the commissioners appointed to a redevelopment commission must be a member of the governing body of a school corporation that includes all or part of the territory served by the redevelopment commission. Provides for the appointment to be made by the appointing governing body as determined in the statute. Removes language providing for the appointment of nonvoting advisers to redevelopment commissions from the governing bodies of school corporations. Provides that nonvoting advisers serve until a member of the governing body of a school corporation is appointed to the redevelopment commission. Provides that if the executive or fiscal body of a municipality does not fill a vacancy in the municipal housing authority before the 61st day after the vacancy occurs, the remaining members of the housing authority shall fill the vacancy. Provides that the remaining members are authorized to fill the vacancy even if the number of remaining members is not sufficient for a quorum. Provides that an individual who is acting as a member of a housing authority 60 days after the expiration of the individual's term as a member of the housing authority may continue to act as a member for purposes of filling the vacancy. (Provides for expiration of this provision.)