BIC MATTERS: Sen. Long Talks about Senate Action on Road Funding

TO: BIC Grassroots Network
FROM: Vicki Kitchin, Executive Director
DATE: March 23, 2017

BIC MATTERS: Sen. Long Talks about Senate Action on Road Funding

Want to know what the Senate is thinking about road funding? Watch the first eight minutes of this video as Senate President Pro Tempore David Long talks about pending senate action on a road funding package: periscope.tv/w/a6J6kTFXTEVS. This was his weekly wrap-up with statehouse media earlier today. (If you have trouble with the video link, you can find it on Twitter @INSenateGOP.)

Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy to Hear HB 1002 Next Week
The Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee will hear HB 1002 for the second time on Tuesday, March 28. At this meeting the Committee will amend and vote on the bill. BIC’s lobbying team and our coalition partners are talking with leadership about the importance of maintaining the HB 1002 funding levels for the long-term.

ACTION REQUIRED: It is critical that you encourage your senator to support actions that will provide the $1.2 billion additional annual funding over the next twenty years for state and local roads and bridges, as contained in HB 1002. Please contact your senator by end of day Monday, March 27 and contact BIC with feedback.

Our coalition Toolbox contains a list of all senators’ contact information, or check out the list for the Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee.

Town Hall Update
This week’s list includes meetings tomorrow (Friday) in South Bend, on Saturday in Mooresville, Tipton, Kewanna, Seymour, LaGrange, Otwell, on Sunday in Napoleon and on Monday in Danville. If you are from one of these communities, please attend and talk to your legislators about road funding. They need to hear local support.

Road Funding Day Success
Thank you to everyone who attended our coalition’s Road Funding Day at the Statehouse on March 21. About 90 persons made it their mission to meet with state senators and representatives and urge them to support HB 1002. Here are photos from the high-impact day.

With only about four weeks left in the legislative session, now is the time for everyone to stay in contact with legislators. Remember to contact BIC after you talk with them. Thanks for your support.

Bosma, Soliday, Kenley, McGuinness to Speak at Road Funding Day

TO: BIC Grassroots Network and Road Funding Partners
FROM: Vicki Kitchin, Executive Director
DATE: February 9, 2017

BIC MATTERS:  Bosma, Soliday, Kenley, McGuinness to Speak at Road Funding Day

Road Funding Day Speakers Announced
Register for Road Funding Day on February 21 and hear what these VIPs have to say about the legislation being debated by the Indiana General Assembly this year:

  • Indiana Speaker of the House Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis)
  • House Roads and Transportation Committee Chairman Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso)
  • Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville)
  • INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness

The schedule for the day is shown here:

February 21, 2017
Indianapolis Marriott Downtown
350 W. Maryland Street

10:00 AM Registration and networking
10:30 AM Briefing featuring Speaker Bosma, Chairman Soliday, Chairman Kenley and Commissioner McGuinness
12:00 PM Lunch for all attendees – our coalition has invited ALL legislators to attend the lunch
1:30 PM Legislator visits at the statehouse (just across the street from the Marriott)

At the event registration site, you can see we have about 160 people signed up including county and city officials, economic development reps., farmers, organized labor, MPOs, road corridor groups, chambers and many from BIC’s collective membership. Make sure your name is on the list, but don’t stop there. Encourage your local officials to attend. Also, reach out to your local legislators and encourage them to attend the lunch. So far, we have about twenty legislators who have signed up for the lunch and we’re re-issuing the invitation again today. Remember, we will also visit with legislators after lunch at the Statehouse.

Bottom line: We need a large crowd for this event to show our esteemed speakers the breadth of support for this year’s road funding legislation across the state. Sign up today.

Updated List of Town Hall Meetings
Yesterday, we issued a new list of town hall meetings for the next few days. We’ve learned that the LaPorte/Hammond meeting is cancelled. View this Town Halls document for the most up-to-date schedule.

House Ways and Means Committee Vote Sheet
Here’s the official vote sheet from yesterday’s Ways and Means Committee action on HB 1002. It wasn’t available for our update yesterday. Look at the column marked “DPA,” meaning “Do Pass as Amended”, for the final committee vote on the amended bill.

BIC MATTERS – Ways and Means Committee Passes HB 1002

TO: BIC Grassroots Network
FROM: Vicki Kitchin
DATE: February 8, 2017

SUBJECT: 1) House Ways and Means Committee Passes HB 1002; 2) Upcoming Town Halls

House Ways and Means Committee Passes HB 1002
Today the House Ways and Means Committee passed HB 1002 on a vote of 14-9. Two Republicans (Reps. Clere and Davisson) and all Democrats present at the time voted against the bill (Rep. Klinker was excused). The committee did approve an amendment offered by Chairman Tim Brown that moves all the sales tax collected on fuel purchases to the highway accounts beginning in FY 2018, rather than phasing this in over four years. This is a positive amendment as it means more funds will be available sooner for road and bridge improvements. While this is a key component of the House Democrat proposal to fund roads, none of the Democrats on the committee supported the amendment.

Representative Ed Soliday, chairman of the Roads and Transportation Committee, explained the bill and Chairman Brown also allowed limited testimony. BIC, local government representatives, Indiana Farm Bureau, Indiana State Building and Construction Trades and the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce all spoke in favor of the bill. No one testified against the bill.

HB 1002 will be eligible for amendment by the full House of Representatives next week. We do not know yet when the bill author will call it for this step, known as “2nd Reading.”

We still have a long way to go in the legislative process, but today’s vote by the House Ways and Means Committee is significant. HB 1002 provides long-term, dedicated, stable funding for Indiana roads and bridges. BIC thanks Chairman Tim Brown, Chairman Ed Soliday and all those members of Ways and Means who voted in favor of this bill today. If your legislator was one of those voting in favor, please reach out to them with a big “Thank You.”

Town Hall Meetings for this Weekend
Speaking of showing support to our legislators, we’ve been getting good feedback from several of you on the Town Hall meetings from around the state. Legislators very much appreciate it when supporters of HB 1002 attend these meetings. We need BIC members at every one of these meetings. On this week’s list you’ll find meetings on Friday, February 10 in Fishers, LaPorte, Elkhart and Terre Haute. On Saturday, February 11 meetings are in Lebanon, Evansville, Huntington, Martinsville and Fort Wayne. On Monday, February 13 there’s a meeting in Anderson and on Tuesday, February 14 there’s one in New Palestine. Attend these meetings, share your support for HB 1002, and contact BIC with feedback.

Finally, remember to register for Road Funding Day at the Statehouse on February 21. Thank you.

2016 Legislative Session Wrap-Up

Road Funding

The Indiana General Assembly didn’t pass long-term transportation funding during the 2016 short session, but it approved several bills allowing for diversion of existing and future collected tax funds from the local option income taxes reserves, general fund and gas use tax. These will provide:

  • $330 million for local units of government in fiscal year 2016;
  • $228 million for INDOT in fiscal year 2017
  • $414 million for local units of government in fiscal year 2017;
  • $68 million for local units of government in fiscal year 2018; and
  • $105 million for local units of government in fiscal year 2019.

Counties can now double their wheel tax (raising an additional $286 million), and municipalities with a population of more than 10,000 may impose a wheel tax at their existing rate (raising an additional $90 million).

Lawmakers created a 16-member task force of legislators and gubernatorial appointees (including one recommended by Build Indiana Council) to analyze state and local road and bridge needs and long-term funding methods. The task force must present its recommendations to the State Budget Committee by January 1, 2017.

Lake, LaPorte, and Porter counties will see additional funding from revisions to local income tax laws, and Henry County plans to use a food and beverage tax for roads. Lagging farmland assessment values will decrease local tax revenues across the state.

Time & Material

Contractors selling non-tax exempt construction under a time and material (T & M) agreement or simply providing invoices including detailed labor, material, and equipment costs should consult with an accountant familiar with contract law and the new Indiana Code 6-2.5-4-18, Retail Transactions of Merchants. The new law is retroactive to January 1, 2007. Indiana Department of Revenue supported the bill to provide a legal basis for existing administrative code 45 IAC 22-3-9. The law states that contractor selling construction under a T & M contract must collect and remit the state gross retail tax.

Insurance

Legislators adopted language that provides a specific legal basis for “named driver exclusions” that limit liability to the insured.

VBE

Lawmakers added a definition of “veteran” to Indiana’s small business code. For the purposes of qualifying as a veteran-owned business for set-aside government purchases, a veteran is any individual who is serving, or has served, in any branch of the armed forces of the United States or their reserves, the national guard, or the Indiana National Guard. The bill also removed the requirement that a veteran be a resident of Indiana for at least one year before making an offer to bid on a state contract.

Public Works Contracts

The public works contractor qualification requirement, adopted in 2015 and scheduled to go into effect on July 1 will now go into effect on December 31 of this year. Lawmakers added two new sections under State Public Works – Qualifications for State Public Works Projects and INDOT – Qualifications of Bidders for Contracts. Contractor prequalification is not required for public works contracts awarded by a local unit of government if

  1. The total estimated contract amount does not exceed $300,000;
  2. The public agency complies with Indiana Code 36-1-12 including bidding procedures, bonding and drug testing.

Local government units may not establish wage rates in a contract in a public works contract unless mandated by federal or state law.