Local communities will not be allowed to have additional alcohol permits for new restaurants that want to move in to growing areas, diners won’t pay extra to help support local public safety and the county can’t sentence certain offenders to prison to help reduce crowding in the jail.
Multiple proposals at the statehouse that were inspired by local concerns did not get approved in this year’s legislative session.
Local officials said they hope that the issues still will be addressed by state lawmakers in the future.
But for now, that means the problems that prompted the legislation aren’t being resolved.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryOne piece of legislation inspired by crowding at the Johnson County jail, and others around the state, could have helped by getting as many as 15 percent of inmates out of the jail, local officials had estimated.
The proposal by State Rep. John Young, who represents parts of Johnson County, would have allowed counties with a crowded jail to sentence offenders convicted of the lowest level felonies to state prisons, rather than county jails as the state required in new legislation a few years ago. But it did not receive a committee hearing, since the committee only met twice during the short legislative session, Young said.
At the Johnson County jail, the change could have resulted in the transfer of 30 to 40 inmates, said Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Duane Burgess, who is the jail commander.
With 400 inmates in the jail that is meant to house a maximum capacity of 322, that would not solve all the county’s issues but would help, he said.
“That makes it a lot more workable, that’s 40 less people that I have here in the jail,” Burgess said.
Burgess has continued to talk about the issue with state lawmakers, and hopes to see legislation that would help in the future, he said. Young said he expects the issue will come up again in a future legislative session.
In Greenwood, Mayor Mark Myers worked with state lawmakers on at least two key proposals that would have allowed certain communities to get more alcohol permits to issue in growing areas and permitted cities and towns to adopt their own local food and beverage taxes to help fund local services.
Neither received a committee hearing. Myers has heard that state lawmakers could still take up certain issues, such as the alcohol permits, in a special session or in summer study committees, but for now, nothing is happening.
That is a struggle for communities, who continue to deal with the problems that led them to approach their state lawmakers, he said. For example, restaurants want to come to growing areas of Greenwood, such as the downtown or along State Road 135, but aren’t because they can’t get the permits they need to sell beer, wine and liquor, since they have all been issued, he said. The proposal that had been brought to the legislature would have allowed Greenwood, Bargersville and a few other communities to issue more permits in those growing areas. For Greenwood, that would have been 20 more permits to draw in new businesses.
“It’s a year longer that we are not getting to promote businesses in our communities,” Myers said.
“It’s a hurt for all of our communities. It doesn’t help any of the local communities by holding it up.”
The city’s request to be allowed to enact its own food and beverage tax was also turned down again, a decision Myers called disheartening.
The proposal would have allowed cities and towns to approve their own tax, and was inspired by multiple requests coming to lawmakers from individual communities in recent years. State Rep. Daniel Leonard, who represents northeast Indiana, had said he was unsure if the proposal would get a hearing in this year’s short session, and if it didn’t, he would propose it again in the future.
Myers had been hopeful the legislation would get a hearing this year, after speaking with lawmakers, but said he will continue to pursue it.
The 1 percent tax has been estimated to bring in about $750,000 per year, which would go to support the city’s police and fire departments, which are underfunded, Myers said.
But Myers also plans to pursue other options as well, including a local public safety income tax that counties are able to approve to boost funding for all local police and fire departments, he said. Johnson County is in the minority of counties who do not have that tax, and local departments need more funding, Myers said.
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Here is a look at proposals that were inspired by local issues or would have had an impact locally and where they stand at the end of this year’s legislative session:
Added alcohol permits
What: Gave Bargersville and Greenwood additional alcohol licenses in areas of economic development, along with other Indiana communities.
Status: Did not get a vote in House committee.
Local food and beverage tax
What: Gave cities and towns the option of enacting their own local food and beverage tax.
Status: Did not get a committee hearing.
Sentencing convicted felons
What: Allowed counties with crowded jails to sentence offenders convicted of the lowest level felonies to state prisons, instead of county jails, as previously legislation requires.
Status: Did not get a committee hearing.
Drainage project pilot program
What: Created a pilot program in Johnson and Marion counties, where drainage projects could be paid for by residents of a neighborhood, if approved by the homeowners association.
Status: Waiting on governor’s signature.
Erasing criminal records
What: Allowed people who had been arrested, but not charged, to have their arrest record erased, instead of only being sealed.
Status: Did not get a committee hearing.
Redistricting standards
What: Set specific standards and requirements for redrawing legislative districts, which will be required after the 2020 Census.
Status: Approved in Senate, did not get a House committee hearing.
Overdose investigations
What: Requires county coroners to do testing for drugs and report the results to the state on suspected overdose victims.
Status: Waiting on governor’s signature.
Lunch shaming
What: Prohibited schools from serving students a different meal if their lunch accounts are overdue.
Status: Did not get a committee hearing.
County jail income tax
What: Allows counties to charge an additional income tax of up to .2 percent to help pay for the county jail.
Status: Waiting on governor’s signature.
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