By Ann Craig-Cinnamon
State legislators representing Hamilton County recently participated in an all-county legislative breakfast sponsored by the Hamilton County Chambers of commerce, including Fishers. They discussed the recently-ended short legislative session and talked about the things that were accomplished that will benefit Hamilton County. Among the legislation mentioned were bills providing for a referendum on mass transit in Central Indiana, tax reform that includes giving local government units three new options for cutting the business personal property tax, and a revision of the criminal code.
One of the participants was State Senator Jim Merritt who represents Fishers and has been a state senator for 24 years. Merritt, who lives in Fishers, said one of his proudest achievements was the expanded Lifeline law. “I’ve visited both high schools. I mainly talk about alcohol and drugs, but specifically bath salts. There wasn’t legislation surrounding that before the expanded Lifeline law. If someone was a victim of a sexual assault and they were inebriated, prior to this they couldn’t call and have immunity on their own behavior. Now, if you’re a victim of a sexual assault or a victim of a crime, or if you witness a crime and you are under 21 and you have a situation such as being intoxicated, you can call 911 and have immunity.”
Merritt says that what he tries to do with a piece of legislation is to create a gray area. “The law has to be flexible and we have to understand that kids make mistakes. So the LifeLine law is expanded this time to include someone who is in need of medical attention,” he said.
The issue of school funding was raised, especially in light of the budget shortfall that Hamilton Southeastern Schools is experiencing. Merritt said it is a work in progress. “We need to continue to press that funding follows the student. It’s like turning a cruise ship around in a creek. We won’t lick it in just a few sessions. It will happen over time, because we can’t bankrupt Gary or IPS. Education is the backbone of all public policy. It is the source of economic development. People will not move to a state where education fails.”
Merritt said making more changes to business property tax laws and outlawing synthetic drugs will be issues that he will work on in future legislative sessions. Merritt also has a downloadable app that provides a list of companies with job openings. For more information, vist www.citizens4merritt.com.
