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House Republicans Support Job Creation Republican Committee Report Paves Way for Roads Jobs

 

    On January 27, House Bill 1369 was heard in the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee. An amendment, filed by Terri Austin (D-Anderson), made numerous changes to the statutes governing public-private agreements with the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) concerning toll roads.

   The amendment hampered efforts to create jobs by creating a bureaucratic maze before a road project could begin. The amendment also jeopardized two key projects, the Ohio River Bridges project of Kentucky and Indiana and the Illiana Expressway. The proposed 10-mile Indiana portion of the Illiana Expressway would connect Interstate 65 with Interstate 55 in Illinois. The bill passed out of the committee on a party line vote, with no support from any House Republican members.

   Due to the concerns expressed in committee, House Republicans filed a minority report giving public-private partnership authority to build the Illiana Expressway. The minority report paved the way for road construction jobs to be created in a part of the state that desperately need jobs and new infrastructure. Unfortunately, the report failed on a largely party-line vote.

   Rep. Austin, as the author of the bill, then presented the majority committee report to the House explaining the reason why the bill passed out of committee and should continue to second reading.

   Rep. Randy Borror (R-Fort Wayne) spoke in opposition to the majority committee report, in a floor speech featured in the video above. A roll call vote was taken at the conclusion of Rep. Borror's comments, and the majority committee report failed to pass, with a tie 49-49 vote.

   Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) told the Post-Tribune that the majority report "included several 'poison pills' that were sure to kill the public/private partnership to build the Illiana Expressway." He also expressed frustration at requirement of having a memorandum of understanding with every city and town the road touches. "The legislation only complicated the project. I don't play games with thousands of jobs and people's lives," he said.

   "This bill was the exact opposite of a jobs bill. It would have created a bureaucratic mess that would have deterred investment in roads in the state, but it would have also delayed job creation at a time when Hoosiers need jobs the most," said Rep. Borror.

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