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Premiering on WNIT in January of 1998, Statehouse Minutes is a weekly update and report on the latest happenings in the Indiana State Legislature. Marianne Holland, hosts this concise political update, informing viewers on local mandates, proceedings and proposals, and what they have to do with WNIT’s northern Indiana viewing area. Statehouse Minutes airs at various times throughout the weekend starting Friday evening. Weekly transcripts can be seen below.
TRANSCRIPTS April 27, 2007
And now with an update from the Indiana legislature, I'm Marianne Holland. Sunday is the deadline for lawmakers to end this year's session and many key pieces of legislation are yet to be agreed upon. Chief among those is the state budget. House Speaker Pat Bauer says he thinks an agreement on budget items like full day kindergarten can be worked out without a special session. How much money lawmakers have to spend could be determined by two other pieces of legislation. One would bring in state revenue by allowing slot machines at the state's horse tracks. The other would curb growth in property taxes, estimated to go up an average of 24 percent for homeowners statewide. Also on the task list for lawmakers is determining how much the state might raise cigarette taxes to fund health insurance for the working poor. Lawmakers negotiating the plan say consensus could be reached on a 30 to 40 cent increase. For Indiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Marianne Holland.
April 20, 2007
And now with an update from the Indiana legislature, I'm Marianne Holland. Conference committees began their work this week, marking one of the final phases of negotiation on key pieces of legislation such as property taxes, slots at the horse tracks, and the budget bill. Lawmakers held four public conference committee sessions just on the budget, focusing on the school funding formula, university allocations, and health services. Legislators working on the budget received the state's revenue forecast this week. They found out revenues were lower than anticipated, meaning there's about 150 (m) million dollars less to spend in the next two-year budget than had been forecast. Lawmakers may also have reached preliminary agreement on a shift of funding for education. Senator Robert Meeks, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, suggested a temporary moratorium on charter school growth could provide more revenue for the state's poorest public school children. For Indiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Marianne Holland.
April 13, 2007
And now with an update from the Indiana legislature, I'm Marianne Holland. This week was one of deadlines at the state capitol. The House of Representatives passed legislation providing pay increases and a cut in retirement benefits for lawmakers. That bill now goes to Governor Mitch Daniels, who has not yet said whether he will sign it. The Senate passed -- with bipartisan support -- its version of Indiana's next two-year budget. It totals 26 billion dollars and puts the state's budget 1.75 billion dollars in the black. The week was also marked by Senator Vic Heinold's announcement that he will be stepping down at the end of the session to take a job in the private sector. Next week leaders will try to find compromise on property tax reform, a crackdown on illegal gambling, and implementation of state-funded full day kindergarten. For Indiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Marianne Holland.
April 06, 2007
And now with an update from the Indiana legislature, I'm Marianne Holland. This week was a busy one in the State House as lawmakers hurried to get their legislation passed out of committee by the Thursday deadline. The Senate tax and fiscal policy committee approved a bill that chairman Luke Kenley says will provide property tax relief to Hoosier homeowners. That plan relies on funding from a bill that would expand legalized gambling in the state by allowing Indiana to have and tax horse tracks and slot machines. A resloution to create a Constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage and civil unions mandated by courts failed this week in the House rules committee. A tie vote of 5 to 5 prevented the resolution from advancing further in this session. The Senate appropriations committee also introduced its version of the State's next two year budget. That measure now heads for a poll vote on the Senate floor. For Indiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Marianne Holland.
March 30, 2007
And now with an update from the Indiana legislature, I’m Marianne Holland. This week a marriage rally in support of a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage drew a crowd of about one thousand people to the statehouse. Meanwhile, the Eli Lilly Corporation and a group of religious leaders sent separate letters to General Assembly leaders asking them not to let the plan move forward. Reaction to Governor Mitch Daniel’s announcement to pull the plug on two new toll roads in central and northwestern Indiana also dominated the early part of this week. The governor would have privatized both roads. Democrats say they’re glad the governor listened to opponents who showed up at hearings held by the House Transportation Committee. On Thursday, the Senate passed a plan to allow slots at the state’s two horse racing tracks. Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee chair Luke Kenley says he hopes state proceeds can be used for property tax relief. For Indiana Public Broadcasting, I’m Marianne Holland.
March 23, 2007
And now with an update from the Indiana legislature, I’m Marianne Holland. Lawmakers heard testimony this week from proponents and opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage. At issue is how far language in the amendment would go in restricting the rights of unmarried couples. The resolution passed in the Senate earlier this session, but House Democrats have not said whether they will allow the proposal to move forward. Senators advanced a bill that would allow slot machines at the state’s horse tracks. The bill would provide fifteen hundred slots per track. It would also give fifteen percent of slot machine revenue to horse racing purses, effectively subsidizing the industry. A bill that would require schools to provide parents with information about a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer also moved forward. The bill was stripped of much of its original intent, which was to mandate H-P-V vaccination for 6th grade girls. For Indiana Public Broadcasting, I’m Marianne Holland.
March 16, 2007
And now with an update from the state legislature, I'm Marianne Holland. Governor Mitch Daniels joined state health officials and other supporters to fill the main floor of the statehouse Monday to build support for a cigarette tax increase to fund health care for the working poor. A similar health plan passed out of the Senate without a funding source. The measure failed to pass in the House. House Speaker Pat Bauer has shown little indication that he would try to revive the tax increase. Lawmakers also heard a bill in the Senate to give tax incentives to the film industry to make movies in Indiana. That bill was delayed waiting for amendments that could turn rebates into tax credits and cap the total amount projects could receive. Next week the Indiana House will debate a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. House leaders say it may be possible to move the amendment forward, even if problematic language about the legal incidents of marriage is removed. For Indiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Marianne Holland.
March 9, 2007
And now with a quick look at the past week in the legislature, I'm Marianne Holland. The week began with the news of the passing of Senator Anita Bowser of Michigan City. Her funeral was held Thursday. Session was canceled to allow lawmakers to attend. Bowser died of breast cancer at the age of 86. The week was also marked by a visit from U.S. Health Secretary Michael Leavitt. He spoke in favor of Governor Mitch Daniel?s plan to create health insurance for low income Hoosiers. That plan passed out of the Senate, but did not include any funding source. Leavitt?s visit came a day after the Indiana Department of Health released a medical errors report showing mistakes made at medical facilities. That report indicated that the most frequent errors were bed sores, often caused when medical staff fails to rotate patients in their beds. State senators will start next week by taking up the state budget. For Indiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Marianne Holland.
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