As of January, 51 of Indiana’s 92 counties have unemployment
rates of 10 percent or more. Another 17 counties have unemployment rates of
more than 9 percent.
These
statistics show the cold, hard truth of the challenge facing lawmakers in the
2009 session of the Indiana General Assembly. Not only do we need to find more
jobs for Hoosiers, but we must protect those men and women who have lost their
jobs through no fault of their own and are trying to care for their families as
they look for work.
The
problem is that the trust fund used to provide unemployment benefits is
bankrupt. For the past several years, the amount paid in benefits has been
greater than the amount paid into the fund through employer contributions.
Indiana
has been forced to borrow more than $580 million from the federal government in
order to continue to support out-of-work Hoosiers, with no end in sight. That
figure could easily exceed $1 billion by the end of this year and keep growing
unless the Legislature does something to make the fund solvent again.
Along
with job creation and passing a state budget, fixing Indiana’s unemployment
insurance crisis is a priority for state legislators this year. I believe the
best solution is one that protects our working men and women at a time when
they need our help the most.
A reform
plan that came before the House earlier this session would have protected
worker benefits, but those efforts failed when the House minority chose to
derail the process by claiming the burdens facing employers were greater than
those of people who had lost their jobs.
The
matter then was taken up by the Indiana Senate, which passed out a plan this
week (House Bill 1379) that offers a tentative first step toward reforms. It is
guaranteed that this legislation will end up in a House-Senate conference
committee to work out a compromise.
Based on
what I have seen in the Senate’s version of House Bill 1379, it fails to
protect workers and families who are trying to survive these difficult times.
The plan will cut benefits to unemployed Hoosiers by more than $540 million,
and make it even more difficult to qualify for those benefits.
I cannot
support a plan that hurts workers and their families when they already are
suffering. Their concerns will guide my vote on any reforms.
While we
still have several weeks to find a compromise, I would like to see the governor
take a more active role in this matter. So far, he has said only that he
doesn’t believe Indiana needs $148 million in federal stimulus money to help
the unemployed, but he does think that out-of-work Hoosiers already receive "Rolls-Royce"
benefits. For your information, the average weekly benefit provided currently
is about $300 before taxes are taken out.
I want
to mention another issue that came before the House this week.
Representatives
passed a measure (Senate Bill 388) that will give Indiana property taxpayers
nearly $200 million in additional relief this year if it becomes law. The
proposal would speed up enactment of property tax caps already in Indiana law
to give owners of homes, farms and businesses the full benefit of those caps
this year instead of next.
The plan
would limit a homeowner’s bill to no more than 1 percent of the property’s
assessed valuation, while the cap on farm and rental property would be no more
than 2 percent and the limit on business property would be no more than 3
percent. This proposal also gives us a chance to get additional information to
show how the caps will affect schools and other local units of government.