This was sent to us from the leaders of the transition coalition:
Thank for you for signing the petition to support transit funding in Indiana. The House Ways and Means Committee is considering HB 1073 which would:
1. A method for the public to express their support for transit funding through a referendum;
2. Local Home Rule, the role of local government to make decisions in the best interests of the people it serves;
3. A method to partially fund mass transit through the flexibility to increase a local option income tax to become a dedicated funding source.
We contacted you in November to let you know there will be calls to act and contact Indiana legislators. This is our first call to action! We need your help NOW!
There are two preferred ways to contact your legislator.
1. Via telephone: The Indiana House switchboard number is 1-800-382-9841.If you call, we suggest you say:
“Hello, this is (state your name). I am calling to ask Representative (state his/her name) to vote FOR HB1073 in the Ways and Means Committee. Thank You.”
If you happen to be a constituent of the Representative you call, please include that in your statement, simply saying “I am a constituent of Rep. XXXXX, and I live at XXXXXX”Please Remember, this is a switchboard number. The person who answers the phone does not impact the vote. They are employed by the State and will take your call and record your sentiment. This information is reported to the staff and legislators contacted.
2. Via email:If you email, please keep the email brief. The email will be received by his/her legislative assistant, and likely will be aggregated into a list, to be presented to the legislator en masse.
You will likely receive an automatic reply message thanking you for your email, that the matter is important, and that they will look into it. This is standard practice. KNOW THAT THE VOLUME OF EMAILS ARE REPORTED TO THE LEGISLATORS, SO THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO CONTACT MEMBERS.
At a minimum please make the same statement as you would in the phone call:
“Hello, this is (state your name). I am contacting to ask Representative (state his/her name) to vote FOR HB1073 in the Ways and Means Committee. Thank You.”
If you happen to be a constituent of the Representative you call, please include that in your statement, simply saying “I am a constituent of Rep. XXXXX, and I live at XXXXXX” We encourage you, in your own words, to share why improved mass transit is important to you and your neighbors, and that you would be willing to pay a bit more in taxes to pay for improved service.
If you are constituent, or know the legislator personally, you should mention that. For example you might say: “I am a constituent of yours. I live at 2222 Happy Way. I met you at the Bob Evans restaurant last fall.”Our goal is to demonstrate support for a “yes” votes on HB 1073 to pass out of the House Ways and Means Committee.
This first call to action is focused on those committee members. It is important we contact every member of the committee. Thank you for taking the extra time to make this contact.
Here is a link to the most current version of the bill. Be aware that the language of the bill could change slightly before the vote. http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo?year=2012&session=1&request=getBill&docno=1073 Our main goal at this time, is to get a bill approved by the Ways and Means Committee, in order to keep our mass transit proposal alive.
You should expect to hear about and see changes in the bill as it moves forward.
Chair: Representative Jeff Espich h82@in.gov 317-232-9651 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Suzanne Crouch h78@in.gov 317-232- 9769 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Bob Cherry h53@in.gov 317-232-9619 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Thomas Dermody h20@in.gov 317-232-9619 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Phyllis Pond h85@in.gov 317-234-2993 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Milo Smith h59@in.gov 317-232-9678 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Jeff Thompson h28@in.gov 317-232-9793 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Jim Baird h44@in.gov 317-232-9671 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Edward Clere h72@in.gov 317-232-9648 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Mike Karickhoff h30@in.gov 317-234-9380 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Rebecca Kubacki h22@in.gov 317-232-9674 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Dan Leonard h50@in.gov 317-232-9793 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Richard McClain h24@in.gov 317-232-9648 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Randy Truitt h26@in.gov 317-234-9380 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Eric Turner h32@in.gov 317-232-9815 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Matt Ubelhor h62@in.gov 317-232-9647 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative William Crawford h98@in.gov 317-232-9875 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Mara Candelaria Reardon h12@in.gov 317-232-9600 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Terry Goodin h66@in.gov 317-232-9875 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Clyde Kersey h43@in.gov 317-234-9218 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Sheila Klinker h27@in.gov 317-234-9218 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Win Moses h81@in.gov 317-232-9999 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Scott Pelath h09@in.gov 317-234-9294 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Cherrish Pryor h94@in.gov 317-234-9047 or 1-800-382-9841
Representative Peggy Welch h60@in.gov 317-232-9976 or 1-800-382-9841
Thanks for your hard work. This is the part in our great process that lets you engage in a meaningful way on issues that matter to you. We appreciate your support. If you are willing, please bcc us at info@indianacat.org so we can count how many emails are sent to legislators.
Please use Tuesday afternoon, January 17th, as a goal line for having Ways and Means Committee members reached.
I emailed everyone on the list. It is quicker than you think and can make a difference!
I sent some emails today as well.
Going to share this link on Facebook so everyone knows.
Emailed all of ’em today. 5 minutes well-spent.
dead on arrival…or even before arrival…
http://www.ibj.com/mass-transit-plan-faces-likely-defeat-bill-sponsor-says/PARAMS/article/32094
We REALLY need a home rule charter for Indianapolis!
Chris Barnett, Indiana does have limited home-rule for all municipalities in Indiana. However, the home rule doctrine is not in our state constitution, and the legislatively granted home-rule allows the General Assembly to dictate how and when certain municipal powers may be exercised.
The only way to seriously address the home rule issue would be through an amendment to the state constitution; however, it is very difficult to amend Indiana’s constitution compared to the amendment process in many other states. It would be quite the uphill battle.
For the foreseeable future, the only way a local mass-transit referendum will ever be approved by the General Assembly is through a massive statewide campaign to get broad public support/buy-in for the legislation. Also, the bill should be amended to grant the referendum authority to any county in the state, not just Central Indiana counties, or else it will always be dismissed as a “favor to Indianapolis.”
So, rather than complaining, individuals in Central Indiana who support mass-transit should start gearing up a campaign to get statewide support for local mass-transit referendums.
The politics of this bill:
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–proposes a possible income tax increase (by referendum)
–it’s only for Indianapolis and 10 surrounding counties
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Therefore, it’s a tax increase that 81 counties in Indiana don’t benefit from. (Never mind that it neither hurts nor helps those other counties.) The Tea Party will be running against any Republican who “votes for a tax increase”.
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In the Bizarro World that is state politics, this means it’s DOA. Sheesh.