INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — A bill containing consumer protections from unfair credit card interest rates is now eligible for consideration by the Indiana Senate.

State Sen. Brandt Hershman (R-Wheatfield) successfully amended Senate Bill 238 to include conditions that would prevent public money from being invested in banks issuing credit cards with exorbitant interest rates to patrons in good standing.

“Public funds are being deposited in more than 100 financial institutions throughout the state,” Hershman said. “If these entities are issuing credit cards with unfair interest rates and forcing their consumers with good credit histories to pay unjustified charges, then these institutions should not be rewarded with taxpayer deposits.”

Not only would these current state depositories be denied funds, financial institutions applying to become a state depository would be rejected if they issue to their customers credit cards with interest rates above 21 percent.

“Hoosier families and consumers are struggling to make ends meet,” Hershman said. “Already, taxpayers have been forced to bail out Wall Street and banks. Although the credit card industry is regulated by the federal government, I am working at the state level to do what I can to control unjustified increases. State depositories should not be biting the hands that feed them.”

Hershman said consumers in Indiana and throughout the country are frustrated at drastic jumps in credit card interest rates that are occurring even when a cardholder has a record of paying on time. Since 2003, banks’ penalty fees have jumped from about $11 billion to more than $18 billion – a 65 percent increase – according to ABC News reports.

Hershman said many financial institutions are still profiting despite negative trends in the economy. According to CNN, the nation’s banks raised credit card rates and increased profits from lending to consumers in the first half of 2009.

“Indiana lawmakers understand banks often consider credit cards high-risk loans, but this is not always the case with all consumers,” Hershman said. “Hoosier cardholders with clean credit histories should not be penalized because of those with delinquent or uncollectible credit card debt. The bottom line is this: institutions that continue this unfair policy will not be rewarded with extra taxpayer dollars with which to lend and profit.”

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — “There will be leaders and followers as America’s economy emerges from the recession and I want to make certain Indiana tax laws and economic development efforts position our state and our fellow Hoosiers to compete effectively,” State Sen. Brandt Hershman (R-Wheatfield) said.

Sen. Brandt Hershman (R-Wheatfield) Senate District 7

The Republican lawmaker is calling for the creation of a legislative study committee that will conduct an immediate, bipartisan review of the best economic practices used by other states in attracting, retaining and expanding business investment and job creation.

Hershman’s Senate Bill 237 – which establishes the Interim Study Committee on Economic Development – will be heard by the Senate Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy at 8 a.m. Tuesday in Room 431 of the Statehouse.

“We need to ensure Indiana remains competitive and better positioned than other states as the economic recovery occurs, and findings from this newly created committee could help our state do so,” Hershman said. “Although Indiana continues to make solid progress in establishing a positive business climate, we need to do all we can to help maintain jobs and foster the creation of new opportunities.”

Hershman said the 15-member bipartisan study committee would have two members from the Indiana Senate, two members from the House of Representatives, the chief executive officer from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (or a designee), and ten members appointed by the governor.

According to Hershman, before Nov. 1, 2010, the panel will report their findings on various economic matters:

• Best practices in state and local economic development policies and activities;
• Use and effectiveness of tax credits and deductions;
• Specific sectors of the economy for which Indiana might have comparative advantage over other states;
• Extent to which Indiana’s tax laws encourage business investment and any improvements that might be made;
• How Indiana’s education system can best support economic development; and
• Other issues assigned to the committee by the Legislative Council or as directed by the co-chairs of the committee.

Visit www.in.gov/senator.hershman and click on “Watch and Listen” to view the proceeding online.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — State Sens. Ron Alting (R-Lafayette) and Brandt Hershman (R-Wheatfield) today invited area middle and high school students to make the Indiana Statehouse their “classroom for a day” by serving as Senate pages during the 2010 Indiana General Assembly.

“During the legislative session, pages spend one day at the Statehouse working with their senator and Senate staff,” Alting said. “Student pages start the day in orientation before touring the historic Statehouse. Throughout the day, pages spend time in the Senate Chamber observing the introduction of bills, listening to debates and delivering important messages among senators and staff.”

“Through Indiana’s valuable page program, students interact firsthand with legislators and meet other students from across the state while learning about the legislative process through observation and participation,” Hershman said.

Interested students should submit page requests in a letter or e-mail. The student’s name – as it would appear on a certificate – address, home telephone number, age and school affiliation should be included with the request. Friends wanting to page on the same day should send requests together. Specific date requests will be considered, but may not be possible. The Senate’s page office will confirm the scheduled date after processing incoming requests.

This will be a short session of the legislature – running from Tuesday, Jan. 5 to Sunday, March 14 – so days to serve as a page will be limited. Students are urged to send their requests as soon as possible.

Sen. Ron Alting (R-Lafayette)

To be a page for Alting, e-mail requests to Senator.Alting@iga.in.gov or send by U.S. Mail to:

Sen. Alting
Indiana Senate
200 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

To be a page for Hershman, e-mail requests to Senator.Hershman@iga.in.gov or send by U.S. Mail to:

State Senator Brandt Hershman, District 22

Sen. Hershman
Indiana Senate
200 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Students can visit http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/legislator/search/ to determine if they should page for Alting or Hershman.

Participating as a page is an excused absence from school. Pages must arrive at the Statehouse by 8:30 a.m. Parents are responsible for transportation and student pages are responsible for their own lunches, which can be economically priced at the Government Center Cafeteria, Circle Centre Mall or one of the many downtown restaurants.

For additional information, call 1-800-382-9467.

Sen. Alting represents Senate District 22, which includes a portion of Tippecanoe County.

Hershman represents Senate District 7, which includes Carroll, Clinton, Howard, Jasper, Tippecanoe and White counties.

Dear Editor:

Bankrupt Unemployment Fund Fix Balances Needs of Workers, Concerns of Businesses
Indiana’s General Assembly last week approved a plan to replenish the state’s bankrupt jobless fund. The bill, which passed the Senate 46-3, is a bipartisan compromise that preserves worker benefits, restores the fiscal integrity of the system, and prevents premium increases for employers who do not lay off workers – generally speaking, Indiana’s vital family-owned small businesses.

For industries with layoff histories, typically big business, any premium increases would be phased in over two years to help ease the impact during these troubled economic times. Regardless of size, if a business never lays off workers, a decrease in premiums should result.

To further empower business and restore the integrity of the system, House Enrolled Act 1379, which we co-authored and advocated, launches a series of sweeping reforms to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and creates new on-going oversight to prevent future problems with Indiana’s unemployment insurance fund.

For some time, premiums paid by businesses – which fund unemployment benefits for laid-off Hoosiers – have failed to keep pace with benefits paid-out to workers. As a result, Indiana’s fund is now partially sustained by a more than $800 million interest-free loan from the federal government, an amount estimated to top $1 billion by year’s end.

If lawmakers failed to find a fix in the near-term, we risked facing a federal government takeover of the fund – a move that could have resulted in a massive, permanent expansion of Indiana’s unemployment insurance system and additional premium increases on top of those required to balance the fund.

Thirty states have jobless funds which are already insolvent or at risk of insolvency, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. But many of these states are placing the burden to replenish their funds solely on the shoulders of businesses without looking to find efficiencies in their systems. No general tax revenues are used to fund the UI system. All proceeds are paid in via insurance premiums paid by employers, and all of the premiums in the UI fund are used only to pay unemployed worker benefits.

Common Sense, Cost-Saving Reforms
Indiana’s solution, HEA 1379, balances nearly dollar-for-dollar up to $302 million in cost-savings and reforms to the system with approximately $315 million in premium increases for 2010.

Reforms to the system include the creation of a compliance center tasked with monitoring the fund to prevent improper and overpayments to unemployment insurance claimants and an oversight committee charged with making future recommendations for reforms to the system.

Common-sense, cost-saving reforms will require jobless Hoosiers receiving benefits to actually apply for one job per week, not just look for one as current law provides. Workers fired for poor attendance, working under the influence of alcohol or stealing from their employers will no longer be able to claim benefits.

Fairer, Yet Competitive Premiums
Just as high-risk drivers pay higher premiums for their auto insurance than motorists who rarely have accidents, businesses more likely to lay off workers should pay higher premiums than those that never lay off workers. Consequently, nearly 40,000 Hoosier employers who have never tapped the fund will actually receive a slight decrease in premiums, while those who use the fund more frequently will see increases – but only to levels that maintain Indiana’s economic competitiveness with other states.

Even businesses experiencing the largest increase in their annual, per employee contributions – those who draw down the fund’s balance the most by laying off the most workers – will still pay lower premiums than the Midwest average of $1,042. New premiums will also be phased in over the next two years, giving businesses still recovering from the recession relief from approximately $100 million in 2010 premiums.

A Forward-Thinking, Innovative Solution
Lawmakers went into this session in need of an unemployment reform bill that would work for all Hoosiers — our employed and unemployed, our small businesses and large industries. Senate Republicans worked in a bipartisan fashion to author and pass a comprehensive bill that closes loopholes, protects many small businesses from premium increases and positions Indiana as a forward-thinking, innovative leader in tackling this nationwide problem.

Ron Alting Brandt Hershman Dennis Kruse
State Senator State Senator State Senator
Lafayette–District 22 Wheatfield–District 7 Auburn–District 14

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Sen. Brandt Hershman (R-Wheatfield) says Senate District 7 residents could help direct federal stimulus dollars to local infrastructure projects by submitting their ideas online.

Hershman said most of Indiana’s $4.3 billion in federal stimulus is meant for roads, Medicaid, schools, unemployment and other programs.

To make best use of the monies, Gov. Mitch Daniels charged the Indiana Economic Development Corp., Indiana Office of Community & Rural Affairs and Indiana Association of Regional Councils with the task of directing the use of funds from the 2008 Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity and/or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

“To achieve long-term and short-term economic development in Indiana, a survey was created to help state and local leaders generate a comprehensive list of potential infrastructure projects, which will be used to maximize the state’s use of federal dollars,” Hershman said.

Constituents can fill out the survey online by Wednesday, Feb. 25 at http://www.bsu.edu/cber.

Hershman said the survey will take less than 10 minutes per project and it is not a grant submission process. However, he said survey participants will benefit from a thorough review of projects, which will help identify all funding streams available through several government sources.

For project specific questions, please contact your community liaison from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs at (800) 824-2476 or click on http://www.in.gov/ocra/files/Community_Liaison_Map_11.17.2008(4).pdf.

You can also contact the Indiana Economic Development Corporation at (800) 463-8081 or click on http://www.in.gov/iedc/files/IEDC_Business_Development_Regions_1.22.09.pdf.