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Local, state, and federal highlights in this week's memo include:
- Indiana School Districts Put Public Question on Ballot
- Indiana Employers Concerned about Workforce Talent
- Indiana Task Force Approve Recommendations to Address Housing Issues
- Interim Education Committee Reviews Final Recommendations
- Health Insurance Premiums in for a Brutal Increase
- U.S. Economy Expands 2.6%
- Most States Expand Medicaid Postpartum Coverage
- Important Dates
Indiana School Districts Put Public Question on Ballot
What’s new: Nine Indiana school districts will be asking voters to approve an increase to their property taxes or continue a referendum tax levy.
Why it matters: Most of the funding requests would go to paying teachers and other staff, according to the spending plans filed by each school corporation. Without approval for these new levies, suburban and rural districts alike say they will be forced to cut staff and likely see an increase in the number of students in a classroom.
What they’re saying: “If the community votes no to supporting our schools, we will be forced to significantly reduce programing and services across our academics, the arts and athletics,” said Brown County Schools Superintendent Emily Tracy in a public message about the $15.1 million operating referendum on the November ballot for the district that serves 1,569 students. “We will be forced to freeze salaries and wages for our staff and cut positions across the entire district.”
Yes, but: There are some, including the executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association, Terry Spradlin, that believe the public question on the ballot is misleading and may cause misunderstanding.
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“We do believe the language is confusing and certainly misleading to taxpayers,” he said, noting that most voters would be paying far less in new taxes on an approved levy than the amount of the estimated average increase listed on the ballot question.
What’s next: Spaldin said his association and others will push for a change to the law in the legislative session next year. He’d rather the question include a precise dollar amount of a proposed property-tax increase based on the median home value in the school district community. (Indiana Public Media)
Indiana Employers Concerned about Workforce Talent
What’s new: Results from the 15th Annual Employer Workforce Survey by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce show that workforce talent remains a top concern in 2022 for Indiana employers.
The details:
- Of the 992 survey respondents, 83% said meeting talent needs is a challenge. 52% said it’s their biggest challenge.
- 18% identified government regulations as its biggest workforce challenge, while 16% said inflation and 15% mentioned supply chain issues as the biggest challenge.
- 74% of Hoosier firms said they were forced to leave jobs open – at least temporarily – in the last year due to a lack of qualified applicants.
- 55% of companies surveyed said they’ve increased their investment in training. That’s up from 31% last year.
- 47% of firms reported increasing time allowed for training, up from 27% last year; 25% increased classroom training, up from 8% last year; and half the companies reported increased online training, up from 40% a year ago.
What they’re saying:
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“Finding enough talent and the right talent continues to be a huge problem plaguing Indiana employers,” says Jason Bearce, Indiana Chamber vice president of education and workforce development. “The concern over talent by far trumps other concerns, including government regulations, inflation and supply chain challenges.”
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“It’s clear that more employers would benefit from engaging in meaningful talent pipeline partnerships with K-12 and higher education institutions, workforce training providers and community-based organizations,” Bearce stresses.
Zoom out: In his statement, Bearce added that more employers recognize that accessible and affordable childcare is a workforce barrier that needs to be addressed as part of their talent strategy, along with housing and transportation. (Indiana Chamber)
Indiana Task Force Approve Recommendations to Address Housing Issues
What’s new: On Thursday, the Indiana General Assembly’s Housing Task Force approved a list of recommendations for future legislation — including state funding for housing-related infrastructure and a vague pledge to hold accountable negligent landlords peddling “substandard” housing.
The details: There are 16 early-stage ideas on the draft list with the same goal, all have the same goal: boost housing in Indiana, said Housing Task Force
Co-Chair Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart.
Recommendations include:
- Brownfield redevelopment support
- Tax incentives
- 1% construction cap on TIF districts
- Appraisal anti-discrimination education
- Fund appraisal gaps
- READI program grant support
- Renovation and repair help
- Statewide building code adoptions
- Manufactured housing in legislation
- Oppose new taxes on housing
- Financial literacy for prospective homebuyers
What’s next: The most likely piece of legislation to hit the Statehouse for the 2023 legislative session, according to Miller — is state infrastructure financing, through a revolving loan fund or grants. Representatives for builders, buyers and municipal governments repeatedly emphasized the financial strain posed by water-sewer connections and other necessary infrastructure in previous meetings. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Interim Education Committee Reviews Final Recommendations
What’s new: The Interim Study Committee on Education released their final report last week, detailing recommendations for bills and topics during the upcoming legislative session.
Recommendations include:
- Streamlining certain school data
- A push for work-based experiences on student transcripts
- Integrating financial literacy into math coursework
- Removing a recommendation that would make changes to Indiana’s discussion law
- Removing a few required discussion topics – including class size or budget appropriations and the pupil-to-teacher ratio discussions.
- The repeal of the annual school corporation performance report.
Bigger picture: Concerns brought up during the final vote on the report mainly stemmed from Democratic lawmakers, who feared some of these recommendations would increase mandates on educators.
What’s new: lawmakers were able to start filing bills on October 24th, and have until December 9th to finalize their legislation before the 2023 legislative session. (WFYI)
Health Insurance Premiums in for a Brutal Increase
Employers face a brutal increase in health-insurance premiums for 2023, Axios' Arielle Dreher writes from a Kaiser Family Foundation report out this morning.
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Why it matters: Premiums stayed relatively flat this year, even as wages and inflation surged. That reprieve was because many 2022 premiums were finalized last fall, before inflation took off.
By the numbers: It cost an average of $22,463 to cover a family through employer-sponsored health insurance in 2022, KFF found.
- Workers contributed an average of $6,106.
Between the lines: In the tight labor market, some employers absorbed rising costs of coverage instead of passing them on to workers.
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An October survey of 1,200 small businesses found that nearly half had raised prices to offset rising costs of health care. (Axios)
U.S. Economy Expands 2.6%
What’s new: The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.6% annual rate in the third quarter, ending the streak of back-to-back contractions that raised fears the country had entered a recession.
Why it matters: Gross domestic product got a boost from trade dynamics, but the underlying details — including weaker housing and decelerating consumer spending — point to an economy that's slowing.
The backdrop: The Federal Reserve is trying to engineer an economic slowdown in a bid to crush high inflation. It has swiftly raised borrowing costs five times this year, with another big increase likely ahead at its upcoming policy meeting next week.
What they're saying: "For months, doomsayers have been arguing that the US economy is in a recession and Congressional Republicans have been rooting for a downturn," President Biden said in a statement. "But today we got further evidence that our economic recovery is continuing to power forward." (Axios)
Most States Expand Medicaid Postpartum Coverage
What’s new: More than half of the states have now expanded their Medicaid postpartum coverage from the federally mandated 60 days to one year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Why it matters: U.S. maternal mortality rates outpace those in other developed nations, and expanded eligibility for benefits is seen as an increasingly important tool for improving maternal and child health.
By the numbers: More than half (53%) of pregnancy-related deaths occur between a week and a year after giving birth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What they're saying: "As of today, more than half of states have heeded this call, achieving an important milestone that will significantly impact women and families," Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement.
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HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra urged remaining states to follow suit and "extend access to this critical care." (Axios)
Important Dates
- Thursday, November 10th at 10am - Prosecutorial Oversight Task Force
- Monday, November 21st at 10am - Drainage Task Force
- Tuesday, November 22nd at 1:30pm - Organization Day
- Friday, December 9th - LSA bill request deadline
- Monday, January 9th - 2023 Legislative Session Reconvenes
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