Articles
Governor Daniels' Weekly Wrap-up: 12/03/07
A look at news and events in the Daniels Administration
Volume 2, Issue 59
November 26-December 2, 2007
President approves governor's
Nov. 30, 2007- The President of the
The President sent a letter to the governor directing that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) begin Individual Assistance for
Governor Daniels receives award for child welfare reform
Nov. 27, 2007- The Annie E. Casey Foundation honored Governor Mitch Daniels for the state's progress in child welfare reform at a special ceremony in downtown
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In January 2005, the turnaround of
Orthopedics firm to locate operations in Plymouth
Nov. 26, 2007- CSpine Inc., an orthopedics development and consulting group, announced it will locate its new research and development and prototype manufacturing operation in
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BMV sponsors statewide food drive
Nov. 26, 2007- Ron Stiver, Commissioner of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), invited all Hoosiers to join the fight against hunger during this holiday season by supporting a food drive at the state's 140 full-service license branches.
Hoosiers can bring canned and non-perishable food to any of the BMV license branches from November 27 through December 8. Stiver noted that regional food banks throughout the state will collect the food from the branches and distribute it in each branch community through local food pantries.
Stiver explained, "Each year millions of customers visit their local license branches to register and title their cars, obtain driver licenses and receive other BMV services. We are now asking them to make one more visit to the branch, but this time to help others by donating canned goods and non-perishable food items for distribution to their fellow Hoosiers in need."
Governor's schedule
Tuesday, December 4
- Governor Mitch Daniels will make two announcements about the expansion of the state's multi-use trail system during his keynote address at the "Securing the Future of Indiana's Greenways" luncheon.
12:30 p.m.
Westin Hotel (Second floor ballroom)
Wednesday, December 5
- The governor will discuss his plan for property tax relief with members of the Executive Economic Exchange.
7:30 a.m.
Ritz Charles
Thursday, December 6
- Governor Daniels will address attendees at the 12th Annual Governor's Luncheon for Scouting.
Noon
Conseco Fieldhouse
IN THE NEWS
Support for governor's tax plan is growing
November 30, 2007
Hoosiers and legislative leaders are starting to line up in favor of hiking the sales tax, which is the centerpiece of Gov. Mitch Daniels's plan for property tax reform.
Boosting the sales tax drew a solid 62 percent favorable vote in a recent citizens poll by the Indianapolis Star and WTHR (Channel 13). Adding half of the undecided answers (11 percent) to the favorable total means that nearly seven out of 10 of Hoosiers polled would be willing to pay more sales tax if it meant reducing property tax bills.
Legislators seem to understand the key component of tax reform: making sure that any new tax reduces the property tax dollar for dollar. Also, installing local spending controls to convince the public that property tax relief would be permanent.
State Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, spoke for many legislators and Hoosiers last week when addressing tax reform. Kenley said: "My reading of the situation is that the public is willing to pay some of these other taxes under two conditions: The replacement tax must be just that, a replacement, not a source of new revenue, and the public expects government to look for ways to operate on less money."
If the General Assembly sticks to that philosophy, the reform plan should continue to gain public favor.
The political process won't be easy, however. Legislators don't like to raise taxes, especially in a year in which all 100 members of the House and half the 50-member Senate are up for election.
It appears, however, that there is no alternative, given the ravages caused by a property tax system that is unfairly administered and ferociously greedy for money.
Fortunately, the Daniels plan, which would reduce the average property tax bill by a third, appears to have thought of everything required for proper reform. It addresses property tax caps, local spending limits and the idea of permanence (through a constitutional amendment).
Its wisdom has also been noted by a credible source from outside
Gerald Prante, a property tax expert with the non-partisan National Tax Foundation, has examined the Daniels plan and reportedly likes what he sees. Prante told the Indianapolis Star that the plan isn't perfect, but comes closer to that standard than plans being debated in other states.
The fact that the Legislature is getting busy fast on tax reform is another good sign. During last week's Organization Day, both the House and Senate introduced the plan and set December hearings instead of waiting until after Jan. 8, when the 2008 session officially resumes.
Even Daniels and his perennial nemesis, House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, are mostly on the same page, as far as passing the plan is concerned. Although Bauer has said it won't be easy (due to lawmakers' natural aversion to raising taxes), Daniels did not react critically to Bauer's statement.
Instead, the governor said Bauer was speaking realistically, but not pessimistically, about the need for bipartisan support.
With the public overwhelmingly in favor of tax reform, legislators and the governor need to keep that point firmly in mind as they work toward a fair, efficient and economical way to finance local government.
Don't forget: Somebody has to pay
November 25, 2007
Although many people believe
In contrast, Gov. Mitch Daniels' plan is more balanced in its approach. It helps many of the people who need it the most without adding sales taxes to services or increasing sales tax rates to levels that could cripple our economy.
We need to remember that the money raised by property taxes goes to local government to pay for local needs such as schools, debt service and police and fire departments.
"People want relief from property tax, but somebody has to pay the tab," notes state Sen. Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange.
The tab is $6,127,000,000 and growing.
"If you want services someone has to pay for them," Meeks says. "If you have a fire you want the fire department and that's paid for by property taxes."
Meeks reminds local officials that "they have skin in this game, too."
He says the General Assembly has been given the responsibility to solve a problem - funding taxpayer services such as schools, fire, etc. - that it didn't create.
"What I can't get across to people is that the property tax money doesn't come to the state to spend," Meeks says. "We are willing to take child services and the general operating budget of schools at the state level. We just can't take it all.
"There is no question that the General Assembly is going to relieve the property tax burden. But the plan to completely eliminate property taxes does not sustain itself. What happens if we want to add a police officer, build a new school or raise pay at the local level? We'll be coming back and saying we have to raise the sales tax."
Unless the public decides it wants fewer government services, government has to come up with the same amount of money. The goal must be to obtain that money in ways that don't cause undue hardship to any individual, family, organization or business. The Daniels' plan is a good starting point.
November 30, 2007
The Issue: Governor receives award for state efforts.
Our View:
Not so many years ago,
Abused and neglected children, many already supposedly under the protection of the state, were dying at an alarming rate. For example, in 2004, 57 abused and neglected children died, and of them, 19 had already had contact with child protective services.
But it wasn't just one year. For a five-year period ending in 2002, at least 76
It was outrageous statistics such as these, each the number of an unprotected child, that led Governor-elect Mitch Daniels in 2004 to put his foot down. Once in office - on his second day - he created a separate Department of Child Services, pulling its function out from the huge Family and Social Services Administration. He put a high-energy former juvenile judge, James Payne, in charge, hired 800 additional caseworkers, increased their training, and put modern technology in their hands.
The department is still new, growing and evolving, but it seems the state cannot help but improve on the protection required for children who are the potential victims of abuse and neglect.
What is noteworthy today is just how far the state has come in only a few years. To mark that progress, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a public policy group that champions the best interests of children, honored Daniels earlier this week.
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Indeed, any deficiency in public policy can be improved upon if sufficient thought and resources are directed to that problem. The trick is in choosing which public problems to address with money and priority.
It is to Daniels' credit that he chose abused and neglected children for this extraordinary effort.
Cheri Daniels gives health pep talk
November 29, 2007
By Scott Smith
Stress, Daniels said, comes in many unexpected forms, and coping with that stress can be the key to living a healthy, long life.
"I don't know, maybe your husband will go into politics," she said, drawing a laugh from more than 100 women at the Indiana Small Business Development Center Women's Luncheon.
"Or maybe he'll give you a dog as a present - that can increase your stress risk," she added, referring of course to a special present from Gov. Mitch Daniels. "I can't tell you how many pairs of shoes I have that are no longer a pair."
Heart disease, Cheri Daniels said, is the No. 1 killer of both men and women in
"Give yourself the gift of life, and help me go out into the state and make it a heart-healthy state," she said.
Exercise, smoking cessation, eating in moderation and understanding the special signals of heart problems women experience are all part of Daniels' message.
But so is the simple idea that often women simply spend more time taking care of others than they do themselves.
"You take your child every year for a physical, but do you go every year to get a physical?" she said. "We need to know about our health."
"As women, we're a very unique group. First of all, we're highly intelligent," she quipped. "But we wear so many hats. We're always trying to take care of others before we take care of ourselves, because we're nurturing by nature."
Much of her focus has centered on younger women, she said, because making lifestyle changes is much easier when you're in your twenties.
But every woman, she added, needs to know "the numbers" - particularly their total cholesterol, HDL ("good") cholesterol and LDL ("bad") cholesterol numbers, as well as their blood pressure. All of those numbers, she said, need to be checked annually.
And directly speaking to the baby boomers in the group, Daniels said it's no surprise "everyone's searching for the fountain of youth."
"Exercise is the fountain of youth," she said. "If you want to stay younger, you need to have movement in your life - even 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon."
"And ask people to spread the word. Take a pledge to have a heart-to-heart talk about health with someone you love."
