Press Release

House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1082, authored by State Representative Woody Burton (R-Whiteland) and coauthored by State Representative Eric Koch (R-Bedford), was signed into law by Gov. Mike Pence this week.

“This issue was brought to my attention by a constituent who was charged with a Class C infraction and had to pay $138 just because she forgot to sign her vehicle registration,” said Rep. Burton. “With this new law, motorists will no longer be required to sign their vehicle registration forms.”

HEA 1082 removes the requirement that the person whose name appears on the vehicle registration must sign it. As the result of the bill, individuals who fail to sign their vehicle registration will no longer be subject to a Class C infraction. Additionally, law enforcement officers were previously within the law to impound vehicles simply because the registration wasn’t signed by the owner, but now this disproportional punishment will no longer be in effect.

“This was a common sense change to Indiana law, and it will eliminate a lot of unnecessary embarrassment and expense for Indiana drivers,” said Rep. Koch.

HEA 1082 will go into effect on July 1, 2013.

State Representative Woody Burton recently brought House Concurrent Resolution 31 to the House floor to honor Terry Magnuson, principal of Pleasant Crossing Elementary School in Whiteland.

Mr. Magnuson was named the Indiana Association of School Principals District 9 Elementary School Principal of the Year. He spent 13 years as a teacher and has been an administrator for 21 years. Mr. Magnuson was named the principal of Pleasant Crossing Elementary School in 2007.

“I am impressed that Terry knows all of his students by name,” said Rep. Burton. “He makes sure that each of Pleasant Crossing Elementary School’s 500 students receives a personal birthday greeting and a cup on the student’s birthday. He really goes above and beyond.”

One of the projects Magnuson has championed is the Early Education Project. The goal of this project was to improve the learning capabilities of Pleasant Crossing’s kindergarten through fourth grade at-risk students. More than 100 students, the majority of whom are eligible for free and reduced priced lunch, are delivered to school by bus 40 minutes early and receive additional small group skill practice, additional learning in a computer lab, and enrichment extensions that help to make learning fun. Reading books are also given as gifts for each child during the year to encourage reading.

“Terry is a devoted teacher and administrator,” said Rep. Burton. “He brings new and fresh ideas into Pleasant Crossing Elementary School, and I am honored to have the opportunity to recognize his efforts.”

State Representative Woody Burton sponsored legislation regarding the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), which passed the Indiana House on Tuesday with a unanimous vote.

Senate Bill (SB) 162 requires that IEDC incentive agreements be made available and updates on the following aspects appear in the annual report: performance goals, actual jobs created, number of expected jobs, recaptured incentives, total number of recipients and tax credits claimed for the reporting period.

“The bill stems from a number of situations involving transparency with the IEDC,” said Rep. Burton. “Much of this has been driven by the media claiming that companies are not delivering on the number of jobs they had agreed to create. This bill provides a good balance between transparency and respecting companies’ privacy.”

In addition to the annual report requirements, an independent auditing firm will be required to review the number of actual jobs created and number of jobs expected.

In 2012, the IEDC worked with 256 companies that made decisions to expand or establish new business operations in Indiana, an increase from 219 companies in 2011 and more than any other year on record.

SB 162 will now head to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

To stay up-to-date on this bill and any other piece of legislation in the General Assembly, visit www.in.gov/legislative.

Two bills cosponsored by State Representative Woody Burton passed through the Indiana House today. Senate Bill (SB) 228, a bill regarding the Indiana Public Retirement System, passed the House with a 94- 0 vote. A second bill, SB 526, deals with the Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (PERF) membership and retirement benefits. It also passed the House today with a 97-0 vote.

“SB 228 stems from recommendations from the Pension Management Oversight Committee,” said Rep. Burton. “This bill seeks to bring benefits extended to participants in the Teachers’ Retirement Fund, to members of PERF as well.”

The Senate bill provides a death benefit for PERF members who are currently not entitled to the same death benefit as members of the Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRF) are, in terms of how the benefit is distributed. This bill would provide the same opportunity for public employees to have their death benefit vested with the designated beneficiary on file at the time of death.

SB 526 has two main provisions. First, because Indiana Lottery Commission employees are state employees, they will now be members of PERF. Second, the bill aims to eliminate the practice of “double-dipping” by preventing retirees who become reemployed by the state from being able to receive supplemental retirement benefits while employed in their new position.

An amendment added in the House provides that transferring a member from the Lottery Commission’s retirement plan to PERF shall not diminish the amount of the benefits previously accrued by the member. If the member’s benefit exceeds the amount due from PERF, the Lottery Commission is responsible for the remaining obligation.

“The Indiana Lottery Commission recently privatized many of their operations and went from 200 employees to 40,” said Rep. Burton. “The changes in this bill were necessary to support a pension fund that was no longer sustainable with so few employees.”

SB 228 and 526 will now head to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

To stay up-to-date on this bill and any other piece of legislation in the General Assembly, visit www.in.gov/legislative.

Legislation co-sponsored by State Representative Woody Burton assisting Hoosier farmers was signed into law today by Gov. Pence. This is the first piece of legislation to be signed in the 2013 legislative session.

Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 319 was fast‐tracked through the House in order to prevent an estimated tax increase of $57 million for farmland across the state.

“Providing tax relief to Hoosier farmers was the intent behind this law,” said Rep. Burton. “Since farmland has experienced the largest property tax increase of all land since 2007, it was essential that we take action to lessen the burden.”

The soil productivity factors used for the March 2011 assessment of agricultural land will remain in place for property taxes payable in 2014, and the new soil productivity factors will not be used until 2015.

SEA 319 also requires the Department of Local Government Finance, with the Purdue College of Agriculture, to submit proposed soil productivity factors to be used going forward by Nov. 1, 2013 to the Commission on State Tax and Financing Policy.

SEA 319 will go into effect on March 1, 2013.