Jan. 20, 2012

On behalf of the Ice Miller and Ice Miller Strategies lobbying team, we hope you had wonderful holidays, and that 2012 is starting off well for all of you. We would like to update you on activities at the Indiana Statehouse as the 2012 legislative session gets underway. Session began Wednesday, Jan. 4.

The 2012 legislative session will almost certainly be as contentious as we witnessed in 2011. Despite this being a non-budget, or “short” session, meaning all legislative business must be completed by March 14, many important issues will be debated.

The House and Senate Republican caucuses, along with support from Governor Daniels, have vowed make Indiana the twenty-third state to pass "right to work." The proposal would bar private employee unions from seeking contracts that mandate all workers pay union fees regardless of whether they are members. Supporters say the law would help attract new business to the state. Opponents call it an attempt to weaken organized labor.

The procedural push for right to work started with a joint hearing of the House and Senate labor committees Friday, Jan. 6 to hear HB 1001 and SB 269 (identical bills), at which time SB 269 passed the Senate Pension and Labor Committee by a vote of 6-4. The House Employment and Labor Committee approved HB 1001 8-5 on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

Other key issues slated to be debated during the 2012 session include:

· Implementation of a statewide smoking ban

o Currently, HB 1149 bans smoking in all public places throughout the state, with the exceptions of casino gaming floors (not the full casino operations), certain private clubs and cigar bars.

o The bill was debated in the House Public Health Committee on Monday; it passed the group 8-3 on Wednesday. If passed, the ban would become effective immediately. (insert dates)

· Various local government reforms including reducing nepotism, eliminating conflicts of interest, township reforms and movement toward a single county commissioner, among others

· Closing loopholes in the state's human trafficking law before the Super Bowl, an event that typically attracts a fairly large sex trade

o This bill passed unanimously out of Senate Committee, and will be fast tracked to the Senate floor

· Authorization of a one-time increase in the amount of money that victims of the State Fair stage collapse would receive—beyond the $5 million total already paid out under state law

· Remote-seller tax collection—Indiana retailers are in support of requiring Internet sellers such as Amazon to remit sales tax to Indiana cutting an unfair advantage

o HB 1119 appears to represent the terms of last week’s announced agreement the Governor made specifically with Amazon representatives. It will require companies, such as Amazon, whose affiliates operate warehouse/distribution facilities in Indiana, to collect sales tax from Indiana purchasers.

o Much of the committee discussion focused on the effective date of the legislation: Jan. 1, 2014. This is the date at which Amazon and the Governor arrived, but some feel the law should go into effect immediately.

· Central Indiana mass transit referendum

The Governor gave his final State of the State speech the evening of Jan. 10. You can watch or read the text of the speech here: http://www.in.gov/gov/2012stateofstate.htm

Please contact a member of Ice Miller's Public Affairs Group with this or other legislative issues impacting your business.

This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The reader must consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader's specific circumstances.