March 1, 2010
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
It was very busy last week in both the House and Senate chambers with a large number of bills being considered for second and third reading on the floors of the Senate and House. The deadline for third reading was reached and any bill not passing third reading is dead, although its contents are eligible for insertion into another bill during the conference committee process as described below.
The following is an update on bills that we have been monitoring and working on:
HB 1001: The bill deals with legislative ethics and lobbying reform and would require state and university employees that spend 10 percent or more of their time performing "legislative liaison" activities to begin reporting certain expenses to the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission. The bill passed the Senate.
HB 1063: The bill, which requires that government buildings, including university buildings to meet LEED or other energy efficient standards, was not called down on second reading and thus died. However, since the bill passed the House, it is eligible for insertion into another bill during conference committee.
HB 1086: The bill, which had included a provision requiring extensive reporting of state agency and university financial transactions, was amended to delete this requirement for universities.
HB 1135: The bill, which requires universities to accept credit for AP coursework in which the student scores a 3 on the AP exam, passed the Senate as an elective, but not for courses in the students major. The bill is now subject to the conference committee process.
HB 1297: The bill makes changes in the university bonding procedures. The bill passed the Senate and is now subject to a decision by the House author on whether to accept changes made by the Senate or subject the bill to conference committee process.
HB 1365: The bill, which was amended in committee to affirm that higher education institutions may charge tuition for dual credit courses, was not called down on second reading. Once again, however, since the bill passed the House, it is eligible for insertion into another bill during the conference committee process.
SB 84: The bill requires state colleges and universities to make certain research resources available to legislators and legislative staff. It also requests that the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) in conjunction with the IU School of Law-Indianapolis study the establishment of a research and policy division with LSA. The bill passed the Senate and is awaiting signature or veto by the Governor.
SB 257: The bill, which includes a provision that permits a state college or university that offers dual credit courses to be accredited by either National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) or approval by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, passed the Senate and awaits the Governor's signature or veto.
Looking ahead to next week, the General Assembly intends to adjourn the session by week's end. To do so, all bills will have to complete final legislative consideration. If a bill passes the second chamber without amendment, it is sent straight to the Governor for his consideration, and he can decide to sign, veto or permit the bill to become law without formal action on his part. For a bill amended in the second Chamber, the author can either "consent" to the changes made by the bill sponsor or "dissent." If the author consents, a concurrence motion is filed and a final vote taken on the bill. If the author dissents, the bill is subject to the conference committee process whereby differences between the two versions passed by each chamber are ironed out by a small committee of legislators and if agreement can be reached, a final vote in each chamber is taken on a conference committee report.
We expect it to be a very busy week and are very hopeful that the General Assembly's goal of completing the session a week early can be achieved.
This report has been brought to you by the Indiana University Office of Government Relations with editorial and technical support from the Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations.
Please contact IU Government Relations via e-mail at gov@indiana.edu or by phone at 317.681.1776 if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for improvement.
Showing posts with label state. Show all posts
Showing posts with label state. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
IU President Michael McRobbie's State of the University address online
Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie. Courtesy of Indiana University.
In his speech, he addressed faculty and colleagues about the financial situation of the university, key university priorities that include the academic core and infrastructure, international initiatives, economic development and university advancement. For the complete text of President Michael A. McRobbie's 2010 State of the University address, go to http://www.indiana.edu/~pres/speeches/022310.shtml, or, watch an archived broadcast at http://broadcast.iu.edu/ceremon/sou2009/index.html.
(IU News: 2/23/2010)
IU forms statewide engagement council
Representatives from each IU campus will participate in economic development discussions
INDIANAPOLIS -- As part of its "Innovate Indiana" initiative, Indiana University has established a university-wide engagement council composed of economic development representatives from IU's eight campuses and three engagement offices located throughout the state.
The newly created IU Council on Regional Engagement and Economic Development will be chaired by Bill Stephan, IU vice president for engagement. The purpose of the council is to create a university-wide forum to more effectively connect with all IU campuses and the communities they serve in addressing regional economic issues. Council members from IU campuses have been directly appointed by their respective chancellors.
(IU News: 2/25/2010)
INDIANAPOLIS -- As part of its "Innovate Indiana" initiative, Indiana University has established a university-wide engagement council composed of economic development representatives from IU's eight campuses and three engagement offices located throughout the state.
The newly created IU Council on Regional Engagement and Economic Development will be chaired by Bill Stephan, IU vice president for engagement. The purpose of the council is to create a university-wide forum to more effectively connect with all IU campuses and the communities they serve in addressing regional economic issues. Council members from IU campuses have been directly appointed by their respective chancellors.
(IU News: 2/25/2010)
Monday, February 22, 2010
Statehouse Report 8
February 22, 2010
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
Bills moving forward
It was a relatively busy week last week with a large number of bills being heard in committee and an increasing volume of bills considered for second and third reading on the floors of the Senate and House.
Bills on which we worked this week include:
HB 1001: The bill, dealing with legislative ethics and lobbying reform, would require state and university employees that spend 10 percent or more of their time performing "legislative liaison" activities to report to the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission $50 or more in expenditures for meals or gifts to a legislator or legislative staffer in a day or $250 in a calendar year. The bill passed out of Senate committee.
HB 1063: The bill requires that government buildings, including universities, meet LEED or other energy efficient standards. The bill was amended in committee to incorporate provisions from Governor Daniels' 2008 Executive Order addressing energy efficient construction.
HB 1135: The bill was amended in committee this week to require universities to accept credit for AP coursework in which the student scores a three on the AP exam, but such credit may be applied to electives. The bill also specifies that for credit towards a major, the university may require a higher score.
HB 1297: The bill was amended in committee to address several capital financing technical provisions.
HB 1365: As passed by the House, the bill would have required higher education institutions to waive tuition for dual credit courses taken to meet Core 40 Academic Honors diploma requirements. The bill was amended in committee to affirm that higher education institutions may charge tuition for dual credit courses.
Looking ahead to next week, the deadline for hearing bills in committee will fall early in the week. Any bill not receiving a committee hearing will die, although the content of a bill that passed either the House or Senate may be inserted into another bill during the conference committee process. We expect the volume of bills on second and third reading will be high as the General Assembly attempts to move bills to the conference committee process and wrap up its session about a week early.
Contact Information:
Jeff Linder
Associate VP for Public Affairs and Government Relations
jmlinder@indiana.edu
317-681-1776
This report has been brought to you by the Indiana University Office of Government Relations with editorial and technical support from the Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations.
Please contact IU Government Relations via e-mail at gov@indiana.edu or by phone at 317.681.1776 if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for improvement.
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
Bills moving forward
It was a relatively busy week last week with a large number of bills being heard in committee and an increasing volume of bills considered for second and third reading on the floors of the Senate and House.
Bills on which we worked this week include:
HB 1001: The bill, dealing with legislative ethics and lobbying reform, would require state and university employees that spend 10 percent or more of their time performing "legislative liaison" activities to report to the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission $50 or more in expenditures for meals or gifts to a legislator or legislative staffer in a day or $250 in a calendar year. The bill passed out of Senate committee.
HB 1063: The bill requires that government buildings, including universities, meet LEED or other energy efficient standards. The bill was amended in committee to incorporate provisions from Governor Daniels' 2008 Executive Order addressing energy efficient construction.
HB 1135: The bill was amended in committee this week to require universities to accept credit for AP coursework in which the student scores a three on the AP exam, but such credit may be applied to electives. The bill also specifies that for credit towards a major, the university may require a higher score.
HB 1297: The bill was amended in committee to address several capital financing technical provisions.
HB 1365: As passed by the House, the bill would have required higher education institutions to waive tuition for dual credit courses taken to meet Core 40 Academic Honors diploma requirements. The bill was amended in committee to affirm that higher education institutions may charge tuition for dual credit courses.
Looking ahead to next week, the deadline for hearing bills in committee will fall early in the week. Any bill not receiving a committee hearing will die, although the content of a bill that passed either the House or Senate may be inserted into another bill during the conference committee process. We expect the volume of bills on second and third reading will be high as the General Assembly attempts to move bills to the conference committee process and wrap up its session about a week early.
Contact Information:
Jeff Linder
Associate VP for Public Affairs and Government Relations
jmlinder@indiana.edu
317-681-1776
This report has been brought to you by the Indiana University Office of Government Relations with editorial and technical support from the Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations.
Please contact IU Government Relations via e-mail at gov@indiana.edu or by phone at 317.681.1776 if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for improvement.
Monday, February 8, 2010
HHE: Session moves to second half
We reached the half-way point of the legislative session last week when the deadline for third reading of bills introduced in each Chamber was reached. This resulted in evening sessions on Monday and Tuesday, but both the House and Senate completed work on nearly all bills that were heard in committee.
A number of bills died as a result of not being heard in committee and thus not being eligible for third reading. Of the total of nearly 800 bills introduced, about 242 bills are still alive as we begin the second half of the legislative session. We started the session with more than 100 bills of potential impact to IU that we were monitoring. At the halfway point, this number has been reduced by more than half to nearly 45.
Here's an update on the status of some of the bills that are still alive that we will be monitoring during the second half of the legislative session.
House Bills:
1001: The bill addresses lobbying reform, but does not incorporate provisions impacting university government relations activities.
1002: The bill would require that at least 80 percent of contractor employees working on public works projects be Indiana residents.
1063: The bill requires that public facilities be designed to meet energy efficient standards.
1065: The bill would prohibit certain restrictions on carrying firearms but the bill includes exceptions for university campuses.
1086: The bill primarily deals with property taxation but also includes a provision that would require state agencies and universities to report certain financial information to the state auditor for posting on a Web site.
1131: The bill would ban smoking in public places but incorporates exemptions for certain businesses.
1135: The bill would require universities to accept credit for advanced placement coursework completed by high school students when they achieve a score of three or higher on the advanced placement exam administered by the College Board.
1297: The bill incorporates a number of revisions to the university bonding statute.
1365: The bill would prohibit tuition being charged for certain dual credit course offerings.
Senate Bills:
25: The bill is similar to HB 1065 by limiting restrictions on carrying firearms but like HB 1065, includes an exemption for universities.
84: The bill provides members of the General Assembly and its staff access to certain university library and research resources, as long as such access does not violate subscription agreements.
114: The bill addresses government ethics and lobbying reform. It would require universities to report certain government relations expenditures and categorize university and state agency government relations staff as "legislative liaisons."
213: The bill addresses illegal immigration issues and includes a provision prohibiting a state agency from entering into a contract for services unless the contract requires the contractor to verify the legal status of its employees through the federally maintained E-Verify program.
This report has been brought to you by the Indiana University Office of Government Relations with editorial and technical support from the Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations.
Please contact IU Government Relations via e-mail at gov@indiana.edu or by phone at 317.681.1776 if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for improvement.
(HHE: 2/8/2010)
230: The bill provides that the governing body of a public agency shall also give public notice by electronic mail to any person (excluding news media) who annually requests notice of meetings.
237: The bill establishes an interim study committee to review state economic development matters, including the role of state higher education institutions.
257: The bill was amended in committee to require the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to review proposed university facility projects within 90 days of submission of a request for review. The bill was also amended to make NACEP (National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships) accreditation for dual credit courses optional.
Looking ahead to next week, the entire legislative process of hearing bills in committee and then second and third readings on the floor of each Chamber are repeated. Of course, the Senate will be working on House bills and the House on Senate bills. With fewer than half of the original number of introduced bills eligible for further consideration, we expect the volume of legislative activity to be diminished but more focused on key issues.
A number of bills died as a result of not being heard in committee and thus not being eligible for third reading. Of the total of nearly 800 bills introduced, about 242 bills are still alive as we begin the second half of the legislative session. We started the session with more than 100 bills of potential impact to IU that we were monitoring. At the halfway point, this number has been reduced by more than half to nearly 45.
Here's an update on the status of some of the bills that are still alive that we will be monitoring during the second half of the legislative session.
House Bills:
1001: The bill addresses lobbying reform, but does not incorporate provisions impacting university government relations activities.
1002: The bill would require that at least 80 percent of contractor employees working on public works projects be Indiana residents.
1063: The bill requires that public facilities be designed to meet energy efficient standards.
1065: The bill would prohibit certain restrictions on carrying firearms but the bill includes exceptions for university campuses.
1086: The bill primarily deals with property taxation but also includes a provision that would require state agencies and universities to report certain financial information to the state auditor for posting on a Web site.
1131: The bill would ban smoking in public places but incorporates exemptions for certain businesses.
1135: The bill would require universities to accept credit for advanced placement coursework completed by high school students when they achieve a score of three or higher on the advanced placement exam administered by the College Board.
1297: The bill incorporates a number of revisions to the university bonding statute.
1365: The bill would prohibit tuition being charged for certain dual credit course offerings.
Senate Bills:
25: The bill is similar to HB 1065 by limiting restrictions on carrying firearms but like HB 1065, includes an exemption for universities.
84: The bill provides members of the General Assembly and its staff access to certain university library and research resources, as long as such access does not violate subscription agreements.
114: The bill addresses government ethics and lobbying reform. It would require universities to report certain government relations expenditures and categorize university and state agency government relations staff as "legislative liaisons."
213: The bill addresses illegal immigration issues and includes a provision prohibiting a state agency from entering into a contract for services unless the contract requires the contractor to verify the legal status of its employees through the federally maintained E-Verify program.
This report has been brought to you by the Indiana University Office of Government Relations with editorial and technical support from the Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations.
Please contact IU Government Relations via e-mail at gov@indiana.edu or by phone at 317.681.1776 if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for improvement.
(HHE: 2/8/2010)
230: The bill provides that the governing body of a public agency shall also give public notice by electronic mail to any person (excluding news media) who annually requests notice of meetings.
237: The bill establishes an interim study committee to review state economic development matters, including the role of state higher education institutions.
257: The bill was amended in committee to require the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to review proposed university facility projects within 90 days of submission of a request for review. The bill was also amended to make NACEP (National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships) accreditation for dual credit courses optional.
Looking ahead to next week, the entire legislative process of hearing bills in committee and then second and third readings on the floor of each Chamber are repeated. Of course, the Senate will be working on House bills and the House on Senate bills. With fewer than half of the original number of introduced bills eligible for further consideration, we expect the volume of legislative activity to be diminished but more focused on key issues.
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