Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category
Ellspermann Edition: Go Red for Women
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
February is heart month and for the last few weeks the women in the Indiana House Republican Caucus have been raising awareness regarding the dangers women face from heart disease.
Cardiovascular illness is the leading cause of death in the United States, but in 2004 the American Heart Association (AHA) discovered women knew very little about this life-threatening disease. Studies showed many wom…en viewed it as an “older man’s disease” with little effect on them. In response, the AHA founded the Go Red for Women initiative to educate the public about a preventable illness that claims the lives of half a million American women each year.
Go Red for Women helps millions of women reduce their risk factors for heart disease through education and community programs. Participants in Go Red for Women are much more likely to eat a healthy diet, regularly visit the doctor, follow an exercise routine, and undergo standard tests to measure heart health.
As a woman in the Indiana House of Representatives, I want to help all Hoosiers learn the risks posed by heart disease. In raising awareness and providing education, we can continue to fight the number one killer of women and become a healthier society.
To learn the early warning signs of a heart attack and for more information on heart disease in women, visit www.goredforwomen.org or www.heart.org. For a message from the women of the Indiana House Republicans that could help save your life or the life of a woman you love, follow the links above.
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Protecting Women Who Are Victims of Violence and Their Children
Friday, February 10th, 2012
As the mother of four young adult daughters and grandmother for a first time, I know our family has been blessed. However, my heart breaks to even consider the trauma that a victim of rape endures.
I am sponsoring Senate Bill (SB) 190, Termination of Parent-Child Relationship, a bill which allows a woman who has been raped to file a petition in court to terminate the biological father, the rapist’s, parental rights. Believe it or not, in Indiana a rapist may claim his parental rights for the baby forcing a woman who courageously chooses to raise the baby, rather than abort or give her child up for adoption, to deal with her rapist and share her precious child with him.
Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso) drafted this bill after hearing firsthand from a female law student, who had been raped, dealt with this situation and then researched Indiana’s lack of protection for women like her and their children.
It is difficult to know how many women conceive during a rape since sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in the United States. The FBI reports that less than 28 percent of sexual assaults are reported to police. In Indiana it is estimated that one out of every seven women are victims of rape. Women who would conceive during a rape have the ability to abort; there are women who are determined to keep the baby, and we must do everything in our power to provide them with the support that they need during a difficult time. (more…)
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Ellspermann Edition: Halftime and Moving on to Senate Bills
Friday, February 3rd, 2012
The Indiana House passed 108 bills in the first half including one enacted House Bill (HB) 1001, Right to Work, and one enacted Senate Bill (SB) 4, Human Trafficking, prior to the Super Bowl. The greatest attention, by far, was paid to passage of Right to Work as Indiana became the 23rd state to provide this workers’ right to choose whether to pay union-related fees. Job commitments have already been made in Northeast Indiana and location inquiries are increasing, including in SW Indiana, based on this important job creation legislation. Indiana is now the “shining buckle” of the Rust Belt states.
However, many other important pieces of legislation were passed this session including HB 1199, Phasing Out of the Inheritance Tax, which allows numerous farmers, small business owners and families who have worked hard to create modest wealth to pass it along to their loved ones and to keep these family businesses alive. The Smoking Ban, HB 1149, passed the House again this time with various casino-related and private club exemptions, but including an 18 month phase out of bars, rather than a full exemption. (more…)
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Rep. Ellspermann: Health Care Compact passes out of House
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
STATEHOUSE- State Rep. Sue Ellspermann (R-Ferdinand) has coauthored legislation that would adopt a Health Care Compact (HCC), an agreement which would allow Indiana to remove itself from the federal government’s universal health care mandate. The legislation, House Bill (HB) 1269, passed out of the House with a 61-34 vote on Tuesday.
HCC is an alternative to the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and would allow Indiana to remove itself from the existing Federal law. An interstate compact is an agreement between two or more states that can be adopted as part of the law in each state with the consent of Congress. The HCC has to be approved by Congress and signed by the president, before it can be implemented.
“The Healthcare Compact that Indiana passed today is one of our best opportunities to provide effective healthcare while managing its costs for Hoosiers. This is the first step to joining other states with similar healthcare compacts to encourage Congress to pass enabling legislation.”
As part of the HCC, the Indiana General Assembly, working with a cross section of medical experts and citizens’ input, would determine if and how a health care system would operate in Indiana. The compact would allow Indiana to modify specific federal laws, regulations and orders concerning health care. Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas have all passed HCC and 18 other states are currently considering an agreement. (more…)
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Rep. Ellspermann’s Bill to Expand Farmers’ Rights Passes House
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
STATEHOUSE – State Rep. Sue Ellspermann (R-Ferdinand) authored a bill that will expand farmers’ rights to sell items at farmer’s markets or roadside stands. House Bill (HB) 1312 passed the House by a vote of 73-24 and will now move onto the Senate for further consideration.
This legislation would expand the rights of an individual who sells items at a farmers’ market or roadside stand to be able to grow the food product not just from their home, but from other property they lease or own, as well. The bill would also allow poultry to be sold at a farmer’s market or roadside stand if it was prepared following federal guidelines.
Further, the bill would create a summer study committee to research the obstacles farmers face in producing, processing, and distributing locally grown food and finding strategies to encourage the distribution of locally grown products to Hoosier consumers.
“The local farmers at farmers’ markets are entrepreneurs, and my hope is that this legislation will eliminate unnecessary obstacles they face in selling their homegrown foods at farmers’ markets. Further, I look forward to innovative solutions emerging from the study committee to consider how we can increase Hoosier consumption of locally grown foods,” said Rep. Ellspermann.
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Rep. Ellspermann’s Bill to Support Entrepreneurs, Small Business Passes House
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
STATEHOUSE – A bill authored by State Rep. Sue Ellspermann (R-Ferdinand) that would allow a pilot program for rural counties to retain the state income tax of new businesses and their employees for a 5 year period up to $500,000 per year passed the House by a vote of 85-13. House Bill (HB) 1241 will now go to the Senate for further consideration.
HB 1241 would allow a rural county, one with a population of 50,000 people or less, with the approval of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), to designate that county as a Rural Entrepreneurship Area Development Incentives (READI) area. This would allow funds from the adjusted gross income taxes paid annually by employees working in a READI area for a new business, and the new businesses, to be transferred to the rural county for the development of new business opportunities in the rural county.
Initially, IEDC would choose one county from the proposals they receive in which to try READI areas as a pilot program.
“Supporting our entrepreneurs is vital to allowing our communities to thrive,” said Rep. Ellspermann. “My focus continues to be job creation for Indiana, especially in our rural counties.”
These funds could be used for small business services, revolving loan or venture capital funds, an incubator or business accelerator or specific incentives offered to qualifying small businesses.
Based on the 2010 population data, currently 64 counties in Indiana could qualify as READI areas if a written proposal is approved by IEDC.
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Rep. Ellspermann Co-authors Bill to Phase Out ‘Death Tax’, Passes the House
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
STATEHOUSE – House Bill 1199, co-authored by State Rep. Sue Ellspermann (R-Ferdinand), passed out of the House on Monday with a 78-17 vote. The proposed bill allows small business owners, farmers and individuals who have acquired savings and assets to pass these to their children or others without tax.
Indiana is the only state that does not exempt direct descendents children and grandchildren from paying the inheritance tax. Indiana’s neighboring states, Michigan and Ohio, do not have inheritance taxes and Kentucky does not tax on transfers to children.
“The phase out of the Inheritance Tax is one of the great bills to pass out of the Indiana House this session,” said Rep. Ellspermann. “Farmers and small business owners particularly will benefit as it enables them to retain family farms and businesses across generations. I am so pleased that we could move this bill forward truly benefiting families and communities across southern Indiana.”
Indiana’s inheritance tax rate can range from one percent to as high as 20 percent of a person’s inheritance; 20 percent is the highest possible inheritance tax rate of any state. (more…)
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Rep. Ellspermann Authors Bill to Protect Hoosier Workers
Friday, January 27th, 2012
STATEHOUSE – To help protect the privacy rights of Hoosier workers, State Rep. Sue Ellspermann (R-Ferdinand) authored a bill that passed the House by a vote of 65-26.
House Bill (HB) 1173 would mandate that the identity of employees that file a complaint concerning workplace safety or health standards must be kept confidential and undisclosed to public records. The bill also states that neither the commissioner of the Department of Labor nor any former employee of the Department of Labor may be subpoenaed for inquiries concerning any occupational safety or health inspection, except for during the enforcement proceedings brought under by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Act.
“Employees always have the right to know that their work environment is both safe and healthy,” said Rep. Ellspermann. “I want to ensure that all Hoosier workers’ privacy is protected.”
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Ellspermann Edition: The Warm up Begins to Super Bowl
Friday, January 27th, 2012
What a week it has been! As our quorum was re-established midweek, we began moving forward in earnest. The General Assembly and governor’s highest priority bill, Right to Work, was passed through each Chamber as different bills. Each Chamber’s bill will now go to the opposite Chamber for further consideration. District 74 leans in support of Right to Work in both polls and legislative survey. Further, serving on the General Assembly Interim Study Committee, I heard over 20 hours of studies and testimony, as well as an additional hearing of the joint House and Senate Labor Committee the first week of session. This has been one of the most hotly discussed pieces of legislation I can recall in my years. As a freshman, let me tell you that one could not be weak-kneed with this legislation… no matter where you and your district fell. I strongly support the final passage of this bill and signature into law by our governor shortly. This bill provides the third stool of worker rights: a right for workers to organize, a right of that union to collectively bargain, and finally, a right for an individual worker to choose whether to be in the union and to pay associated fees. Further, it allows our state the ability to attract many new jobs and companies to Indiana and our district… which lines up perfectly with what Hoosiers have asked us to focus on – job creation. (more…)
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Rep. Ellspermann Supports Hoosier Workers’ Freedom
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
Today is a great day for Hoosier workers with the passage of HB 1001, Right to Work, in the House. We have studied this issue closely… a full year of study. We have heard from all sides, all studies and all perspectives. Now it is time for Hoosier workers to have the freedom to choose to belong and pay fees to a union and our communities will have a new economic development tool to attract more jobs and higher wages for Hoosiers.
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