Press Release

Johnson County could finally get a long-awaited fourth judge in their Supreme Court thanks to Rep. Woody Burton’s legislation that passed the Indiana House of Representatives late last night.

Following a hearing before the Commission on Courts during the previous interim, House Bill (HB) 1092 would address the need that Johnson County has for an additional judge. If enacted, a fourth judge will be added as of January 1, 2015.

“This issue first arose in 2005, but there has been a need for an additional judge in Johnson County for the past eleven years,” said Rep. Burton. “Adding an additional judge will alleviate some of the work load for other judges, while making the court system run more quickly and efficiently.”

HB1092 passed with a 94-0 vote and now heads to the Senate for further discussion.

Deals with abandoned property and imposes rules on creditors

Two pieces of legislation dealing with abandoned property and credit unions, which were both authored by Rep. Woody Burton, passed out of the Indiana House today.

House Bill (HB) 1238 will help expedite the foreclosure process by allowing a creditor in a residential mortgage to petition the court to find that the property is abandoned. At any time, however, the debtor is allowed to present evidence that the property is not vacant or abandoned.

“Abandoned and vacant homes may be an attraction for crime and may be an eye-sore on the community, which is why it is so important to expedite the foreclosure process in order to help homes and business properties to get back on the market,” said Rep. Burton.

“With HB 1238, foreclosure and abandonment action may occur simultaneously to eliminate some difficulties that communities are currently experiencing during this process.”

HB 1238 passed unanimously through the Indiana House.

HB 1239, which passed out with a 93-1 vote, deals with financial institutions and consumer credit. More specifically, HB 1239 would allow the Department of Financial Institutions to impose a regulation, rule, or policy to allow credit unions to purchase and hold certain life insurance policies, while also establishing a procedure for revoking licenses held by pawnbrokers, money transmitters, and check cashers.

The above legislation will now head to the Senate for further discussion.

Rep. Woody Burton’s legislation providing a 13^thcheck to retired public employees passed out of the Indiana House of Representatives this week with a 82-2 vote.

House Bill (HB) 1123 would provide a one-time 13^th check to members of the Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund, Public Employees’ Retirement Fund and State Excise Police, Gaming Agent, Gaming Control Officer and Conservation Officers’ Retirement Fund. Eligibility would depend on retirement and disability status.

The additional compensation will be funded from increased investment earnings from the aforementioned retirement accounts.

“Providing a 13^th check to our retired public employees will help them cope with cost of living inflation and unforeseen financial stress,” said Rep. Burton. “This is a bipartisan effort to help those individuals who devoted their lives to public service.”

An adopted amendment to HB 1123 also provides additional compensation to retired or disabled state troopers with 25 years of service or more.

HB 1123 will move on to the Senate for further discussion and debate. If signed into law, it will go into effect July 1, 2012.

Rep. Woody Burton honored Marty Chitwood yesterday for her years of dedicated service and commitment to the children of Indiana.

Marty Chitwood has dedicated her life to helping children. Her work began in the 1960s as a secretary at V. O. Isom Elementary School in Greenwood. Although she had a secretarial role, she often assumed the role of school nurse during her tenure there.

In the 1990s, she continued her tradition of volunteerism at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. While it was not always easy for her, she provided comfort and support to children and their families suffering with cancer. Additionally, she volunteered as a school nurse at Westwood Elementary School in Greenwood.
In addition to her commitment to children in the community, Chitwood was a church organist, volunteered in local politics and served as a Matron of the Eastern Star.

“A lot of times, we recognize people with high profiles, and we often overlook regular people that do great things,” said Rep. Burton. “I am honored to recognize Marty Chitwood because she has given so much to her community and brightened the lives of a number of children without asking for anything in return.

“Marty is a beacon of compassion and hope for all the children and families that she has impacted over the years. It was not always easy for her to surround herself with sick children, but her kindness and generous donation of her time to these children during their time of need will be forever remembered.”

Now 87 years old, Chitwood has been battling lung cancer for the past five years. Despite her own battles, legislators noted that her impact continually reaches beyond her own community.

Chitwood was greeted to a standing ovation by all legislators, staff and members of the public and her family that were present during today’s legislative session.

Rep. Woody Burton held two successful town hall meetings in the Johnson County community over the weekend.  Rep. Burton had 50-60 people in attendance, including both meetings, to discuss various issues, with the hot topic being Right to Work (RTW) legislation. RTW is the reason behind the minority party stall tactics during the first week of legislative session with both sides arguing about its ability to promote worker freedom and job growth in Indiana.

“I’m thankful for the open and honest discussion we had at both of these meetings,” said Rep. Burton. “Regardless of what side of the issue someone was on, they were respectful of one another. It created a very healthy discussion of the issues facing our state today.

“As an elected representative, it is important to hear the views and concerns of my constituents. I want to thank all the individuals that came out on Saturday to share their insight with me.”

In addition to RTW, attendees discussed the statewide smoking ban and public mass transit. Both of these issues are on the 2012 legislative session agenda. Familiar topics of higher education tuition and time zones were also debated in the town hall meetings.