State Representative - District 75

Dennis Avery* (D), Indiana State Representative, District 75

1. During the next session of the Indiana General Assembly, a new biennial budget will be developed.  If elected, what priorities would you advocate in this process?

As a result of this year’s passage of HB 1001, we have a new responsibility to fund 100% of the general fund budget of local schools, so we must adequately fund the educational needs of our children.  We must address the needs of growing enrollment school corporations, the urban and rural schools with high at-risk populations, programs such as full-day kindergarten, early childhood education, and technology educational programs. 

We must fund programs that educate and re-train our workforce for the 21^st Century and the international economy.  Our focus should also be on promoting entrepreneurial programs that assist with seed-money, incubator development, and funding for research that generates new ideas for our economy.  I have deep concerns, however, about the way existing programs only benefit the Lafayette, Indianapolis, and Bloomington corridor.

We must encourage alternative energy development to meet the needs of our citizens and economy.  For economic growth to be sustainable, the budget must also address adequately funding programs that protect our fragile environment.

2. As the construction of the Interstate 69 has begun in Indiana, will you pledge to support appropriation of the $700 million in funding designated for the project through the Major Moves transportation plan?

As a follow-up, what is your plan to fund the remainder of the Interstate 69 project in Indiana, including the new I-69 Ohio River bridge? 

The decision on the route of I-69 was made during the O’Bannon administration.  During the debate on the 2007-09 Indiana state budget, I supported the appropriation of the requested Major Moves funding.  When it was deleted in the House version of the budget, two of my colleagues and I went to our House legislative leadership and indicated that the funding must be included in the conference committee report in order for me to support the budget.

I will consider the funding a sufficient priority to work with the administration on developing a funding strategy to make the highway construction a reality.  I will, and have in the past, supported fair funding and revenue-raising to fund INDOT programs and projects.  I would be willing to work with INDOT officials, the administration, and the State of Kentucky on bridge construction and improvement ideas.

3. In 2007, the bi-partisan Kernan-Shepard Commission made numerous recommendations to reform and restructure local government in Indiana, such as creation of a single county executive and legislative body, as well as transferring the responsibilities of townships to the county level.  Do you support implementation of these recommendations?

I believe the recommendations of the Kernan-Shepard Commission were not well-researched and were developed without significant public input.  They conducted their study in just a few months, without a local government audit, and without sufficient local government expertise.  It also did not include significant recommendations on re-structuring the local courts.

However, I can still support many of their recommendations.  Much of local government is an anachronism and a throw-back to the “horse and buggy days”.  The legislative and executive branches of local government need to be significantly altered, and several local government offices can become appointed offices.  We must remember, however, that our local government is already far more consolidated at many levels than the so-called consolidated governments that are held up to us as examples. Consequently, we cannot expect to achieve significant savings to the taxpayers in Evansville and Vanderburgh County and we stand to diminish the voice of voters if we have fewer elected officials who are directly accountable to them. I have commented on these issues throughout my legislative career, and will support efforts to further explore the issues, but only if they seek adequate public input.

4. As economic development becomes increasingly competitive on the regional and national level, how best can our state position itself to attract new business and retention and expansion of Indiana-based companies?

While meeting our responsibilities to the people of Indiana, the Indiana Legislature must not unnecessarily interfere with the economy of the State of Indiana.  We must strive to develop and expand our state’s infrastructure to meet the educational, transportation, communications, esthetic, cultural, and health care needs of the people of Indiana.

An educated and dynamic workforce and thriving schools and communities are attractive to employers who are considering a move to Southwestern Indiana. We have made tremendous progress in many of these areas, with an outstanding community college system, research universities, and developing 4-year college systems.  We cannot allow this progress to stagnate.

5. As the national debate continues, what role can Indiana play in the discussion and development of a new national energy policy?

As a follow-up, what should the State of Indiana do to address the issue of increasing energy costs? 

For our nation’s economic growth to be sustainable, we must focus on development of alternative and renewable energy, and the same holds true for Southwestern Indiana. As we look for solutions, we must bear in mind that short-term gains at the risk of the environment will result in long-term consequences for the health, well-being and quality of life for the generations that will follow us.

We are well-situated to be a leader in the development of bio-fuels, and Indiana can take the lead in advocating for energy strategies that focus on the future rather than simply looking for temporary solutions. In addition to developing new resources, individuals, families and businesses must work to conserve the use of energy, and we should look create new incentives for businesses that increase their energy efficiency.

Indiana can take a pro-active approach to managing the cost to taxpayers of the energy costs associated with local and state government by promoting collective purchasing that allows local governments to participate in state purchasing agreements. In terms of helping manage energy costs for consumers, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the Office of the Consumer Counselor can work to protect consumers by better managing and challenging of proposed rate increases. While shareholders deserve a fair return on their investment, consumers have no choice but to utilize their local energy provider and should be protected from rate increases that do not increase long-term capacity and efforts to create clean and sustainable generation of energy

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J.D. Strouth (R), Programmer, Product Acceptance Research

1. During the next session of the Indiana General Assembly, a new biennial budget will be developed.  If elected, what priorities would you advocate in this process?

My first priority would be to have a balanced budget. The second priority would be to abide by the property tax caps adopted in the last session.

2. As the construction of the Interstate 69 has begun in Indiana, will you pledge to support appropriation of the $700 million in funding designated for the project through the Major Moves transportation plan?

I do support appropriation of the $700 million in funding already designated for the Interstate 69 project. I do not have a set plan on how to fund the remainder of the Interstate 69 project. I would welcome discussion on the funding issues. I would be open to operating it as a toll road.

3. In 2007, the bi-partisan Kernan-Shepard Commission made numerous recommendations to reform and restructure local government in Indiana, such as creation of a single county executive and legislative body, as well as transferring the responsibilities of townships to the county level.  Do you support implementation of these recommendations?

I support implementation of the 27 Kernan-Shepard Commission recommendations. I especially like establishing a single-person elected county chief executive and a single legislative body for county government. This type of organization works well for cities with a mayor and council and should work just as well with counties.

I would hope legislation would try to ensure a county executive's appointments are not partisan appointments. One way of helping to ensure that is by having a county’s legislative body confirm executive appointments. I would like to hear discussion and debate on the issue of transferring  the duties of the  sheriff to the county executive.

4. As economic development becomes increasingly competitive on the regional and national level, how best can our state position itself to attract new business and retention and expansion of Indiana-based companies?

The extension of Interstate 69 will help facilitate transportation for commerce that will attract new business to Indiana and enable expansion of companies in Indiana.

5. As the national debate continues, what role can Indiana play in the discussion and development of a new national energy policy?

As a follow-up, what should the State of Indiana do to address the issue of increasing energy costs? 

We can try to remove obstacles to drilling Indiana oil that we already know exist and try to encourage research and development of alternative fuels. I don't have a solution to increasing energy costs but would be open to discussion on this issue.

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