Senate Bill 4 (Local Workforce Recruiting and Retention), authored by Rep. Travis Holdman (R-Markle), allows local governments to use surplus money to establish a “workforce retention and recruitment” program. The Senate passed SB 4 unanimously and it has been assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee. This bill offers local governments a tool to stem brain drain in Indiana and market their communities to those who live out of state. It compliments perfectly the state’s READI program, which granted funds to Indiana regions to develop quality of place programs and projects.
Senate Bill 245 (Statewide Sports and Tourism Bid Fund), authored by Sen. Kyle Walker (R-Lawrence), establishes the framework for a sports and tourism bid fund, which can be leveraged by state and local organizations to compete for sporting events, trade shows and conventions. The Senate passed the measure unanimously, which was assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Senate Bill 358 (Consumer Data Protection), authored by Sen. Liz Brown (R-Fort Wayne), strikes an equal balance between giving consumers the ability to ask about and protect personal data that companies store and use and allowing companies to use consumer data in their business operations. Senate Bill 358 was amended prior to passing unanimously in the Senate to reflect Virginia’s more preferable Consumer Data Protection Act. The bill was assigned to the House Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development Committee.
Senate Bill 361 (Economic Development), authored by Sen. Ryan Mishler (R-Bremen), is the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s (IEDC) agency bill. The introduced version of SB 361 included three main sections that remain intact in the Senate-passed version: removing existing employer tax credit caps in lieu of a $600 million aggregate cap, establishment of a remote worker incentive program to be managed by the Indiana Destination and Development Corporation, and authorizing the IEDC to designate an innovation development district, which operates similar to a tax increment finance district whereby tax increments are used for future economic development projects. Prior to the Senate passing SB 361 unanimously, another section was added: The film and media tax credit program, whereby those who produce entertainment projects in Indiana become eligible for a state tax credit. If passed, Indiana will finally be able to compete (or at least be considered) for projects we have lost to other states with long-established incentives.
Resource: Adam Berry at (317) 264-6892 or email: aberry@indianachamber.com
