State Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, announced a “Real Ideas, Real Jobs” package of legislative proposals aimed at spurring business activity and creating new jobs in Indiana.
Focused on fostering entrepreneurial ventures and leveraging small business investments, Taylor and the members of the Senate Democratic Caucus believe the proposals would improve Indiana’s job market and generate income to support families and communities.
A recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis indicated that Indiana continues to lag behind other states in personal income growth. The report said Hoosiers have experienced a negative average quarterly growth rate over the last two years when adjusted for inflation, with earnings falling 3.5 percent.
The legislative package calls for a redirection of resources from ineffective programs to those that better serve Indiana’s employers and workers. The proposals require no new state funding or new taxes.
Included in the “Real Ideas, Real Jobs” proposal announced by Taylor and other Senate Democrats:
n Fast-track for small business: The caucus wants to create a “Small Business Concierge Team” to provide one-stop service for Indiana start-ups and businesses looking to expand. The team of specialists from various state agencies would be dedicated to assisting small businesses by fast-tracking applications for state licensing and regulatory approval, as well as helping to identify capital and other resources. Critical to this service is that the state help entrepreneurs become “capital-ready.”
n Improve access to capital: The plan calls for a revision of the defunct Capital Access Fund to provide low-interest loans to Indiana businesses. Funded through dollars redirected from failing economic incentives, the program would operate as a revolving loan fund for start up and expansion costs. Management of the program would be moved from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC), to the Indiana Finance Authority.
n New hire tax credit: This plan would increase access to a new hiring incentive created earlier this year. The program approved under Senate Enrolled Act 23 provides a tax credit for 10 percent of the wages paid to qualified new hires during a two-year period.
n The Senate Democrats’ plan removes an existing requirement that a business hire at least 10 new employees to qualify for the tax credit, opening the program to small employers.
n Review and reinvest state dollars, beginning with job creation incentives: Senate Democrats want to re-establish the legislative Sunset Evaluation Committee to annually review state programs and suggest potential cuts from ineffective programs, beginning with a focus on identifying IEDC job incentives that have not produced jobs and reinvesting in those that are successful.
n Preference in state contracts to companies that use Indiana labor and Indiana materials: By requiring state contracts to contain a guarantee that at least 80 percent of the people working on those contracts will be Indiana residents, the state can make the most of state projects by reinvesting in Indiana businesses and workers. The requirement would also be applied to professional services contracts that are not competitively bid.
n Release state infrastructure project funds: Senate Democrats restated their call for the state to immediately begin work on planned construction projects, state universities capital projects, roads and highways and other state infrastructure investments. Many projects have already been authorized by the General Assembly under the state budget signed into law by Gov. Daniels in 2009, but have not been put out for bids.
More information on the “Real Ideas, Real Jobs” plan and other proposals can be found at www.senatedemocrats.in.gov.
