Press Release

No Show on Day One of Session

Rep. Woody Burton and his 59 House Republican colleagues came to the Statehouse to start the legislative process, however the minority caucus did not share the same mentality. House Democrats failed to attend the start of the 2012 legislative session, disallowing the state’s business to proceed.

“It’s amazing that 40 elected officials can simply walk out on their responsibility, on Day one nonetheless,” said Burton. “We were elected by the people, to represent them at the Statehouse. Turning your back on the constituents that voted you into office doesn’t help anyone or the process.”

As a result of the five-week Democrat walkout that occurred last session, members of the General Assembly passed anti-bolting legislation that enables the Speaker of the House to institute a $1,000 fine per day per member after the third missed session day. The Speaker and members of the House also maintain the authority to pass a motion to institute fines for a single session day missed.

“It is my hope that members will come to their senses and come back to work. If you disagree, you should stay and debate your side of the issue.”

The only item of business on today’s calendar was passing down the House bill list, which requires a quorum or 67 members present. In order to start the legislative process and get legislation assigned to House committees, a bill list has to be passed down on the House floor.

State Rep. Woody Burton will be holding two town hall meetings on Saturday, January 7, 2012 to discuss various community concerns to better prepare for the 2012 legislative session.

These meetings will serve as a town hall for the Franklin, Greenwood, New Whiteland, and Whiteland areas. All interested and concerned citizens are encouraged to attend.

Where: Greenwood City Hall, 2 North Madison Avenue in Greenwood

When:   Saturday, January 7 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

 Where:  New Whiteland Town Hall Building, 401 Mooreland Drive in New Whiteland

When:   Saturday, January 7 from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

If you have any questions concerning these events or any legislative issues, please contact Rep. Burton’s office by phone at 1-800-382-9841 or by e-mail at h58@in.gov.

Rep. Woody Burton joined Attorney General Greg Zoeller today to disclose the list of more than 70 victims of foreclosure fraud who will receive payments from the newly-created Consumer Protection Assistance Fund.

During the foreclosure crisis, many homeowners were victimized by foreclosure-rescue fraud, deceptive credit services or home loan practices. Many consumers then filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Office.

“It’s upsetting that these people put their faith in other people or organizations to help them with their financial troubles, and they were cheated,” said Rep. Burton. “In difficult economic times, people are trying to do what’s right and make ends meet, but they are taken advantage of by bad actors.

“This assistance will help those who are in need in order to get them back on their feet and undo any damage. More importantly, the assistance is at no expense to the taxpayer.”

Default judgments against companies do not often result in the victims receiving any payments for their financial losses. In order to help those who reported these types of violators to the state, the 2011 Indiana General Assembly passed legislation creating the fund.

Legislators, including Rep. Burton, passed legislation allowing the money to originate from funds recovered from companies sued by the attorney general for violating consumer protection laws.

State Reps. David Frizzell (R-Indianapolis), Randy Frye (R-Greensburg), Mike Speedy (R-Indianapolis), Sen. Pat Miller (R-Beech Grove) and two victims receiving help from the fund were also present during today’s announcement.

The following picture features (from left to right) Rep. Mike Speedy, Sen. Pat Miller, Wanda Stewart (fraud victim), Attorney General Greg Zoeller, Rep. Randy Frye, Rep. David Frizzell, Cecil Holly (fraud victim) and Rep. Woody Burton.

Well, I will get straight to the point. Addressing issues facing K-12 education in our community and our state is a huge concern. Educating our youth must be one of the most important parts of growing and improving our economy. Simply said, we must start at the bottom and work our way up.

There are many issues surrounding K-12 education on the local and national level, including a student’s ability to learn and a teacher’s ability to teach in a changing social environment. We need to address those issues, one by one. I met with teachers last week from Center Grove and Clark Pleasant schools to discuss growing concerns regarding public education in our community.

The turnout was less than what I had hoped, but the conversation was inspiring. We touched on many different issues from problems in the classroom, parents’ involvement, or test scores to teacher evaluations. There wasn’t a topic that was off the table. I wanted to hear from them, and I wanted to discuss how we can go about fixing these issues.

The turnout at Center Grove was alright, but the turnout at Clark Pleasant was very light. Superintendents were also present to give their feedback and share their concerns. And, to no surprise to me, members from the teachers union were also present to voice their concerns.

I am glad that the teachers were well represented by their superintendents and teachers union, both of which were very vocal in their concerns. However, I want to hear from the teachers themselves.

I am glad that people are passionate about education—the issue affects everyone, not just students. However, my goal is to continue having an open discussion with teachers in order to hear feedback and ways of addressing these concerns. I feel they don’t get a fair opportunity to be heard, for whatever reason that may be.

I want to hear their concerns and their thoughts on how we can improve the education system as a whole. They are the individuals on the frontline of education. They are the ones that have to implement plans set out for educating our youth.

If you have concerns, ideas or questions, please contact me. You can call my office at 1-800-382-9841 or email at H58@in.gov.

I will be at Greenwood High School on Nov. 15 from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m. In addition, I will be visiting Creekside Elementary on Nov. 16 as “Principal of the Day.” If you can come out and see me, I would enjoy hearing from you. If not, please contact me by phone or email. Either way, I want to hear from you!

Rep. Woody Burton attended an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference over the weekend to discuss ways to improve Indiana’s higher education.

The purpose of the conference was to help states advance reforms and increase parental involvement, accountability, and transparency in all educational institutions.

“Every legislator in attendance was there with the goal to ensure more students are being given the opportunity to succeed,” said Rep. Burton. “We discussed ways states can work to ensure graduates are receiving the best education they can and are prepared for the next generation’s workforce.”

Workshops offered during the conference included the following topics:

–          What states can learn from other states in their education reform progress;

–          Ways to increase graduation percentages;

–          Questions legislators should ask about higher education; and

–          Subjects that should be a requirement in basic curriculums (i.e. basic math, economics, finance, English   composition).

“Overall, it was a helpful conference which I am glad I attended,” said Rep. Burton. “Every workshop and panel I attended was very informative and provided a lot of in-depth research I was able to bring back to our Hoosier state.”