Four local members of the Indiana General Assembly held a town hall meeting Saturday morning in Fishers, and there were plenty of issues raised by members of the audience. The seats in the Fishers City Hall Council Chambers were roughly 75 percent full of constituents, many with questions for their state lawmakers.
The back and forth became so heated at one point a lady in the audience walked out in frustration over what she viewed as the lack of response to questions posed to the legislators.
The first question centered on a recent State Board of Education vote to create new standards for high school graduation. Teachers in the audience were clearly concerned about the lack of the state board’s consideration of educators, who largely testified against the new testing standards. Senator Victoria Spartz showed a crowd a very thick book of regulations governing schools in the state. Senator Jim Merritt said he is ready for a discussion about the board’s decision, but emphasized this comes as a response to employers in the state, who claim high school graduates lack basic skills after graduation.
The issue of doing away with gun permits in the state was raised by one audience member. Merritt, with a part of his district in Marion County, said he is very concerned about the violence in the City of Indianapolis and cannot see himself supporting the proposal to do away with gun permits, and Representative Todd Huston agreed. Gun permits are often required once one crosses state lines.
The issues of voting, absentee ballots and mail-in voting were discussed at length. Spartz claims there is fraud in mail-in voting systems. Merritt says it’s taken him 27 years, but he is beginning to change his mind on voting laws due to low voter turnout numbers in recent elections.
The Save the Train organization was at the event with several members pushing to keep the Nickel Plate line, from Tipton to the north down south to 22nd Street in Indianapolis, a rail line. The cities of Noblesville and Fishers are moving forward with plans to convert that rail line to a trail from downtown Noblesville south to 96th Street. The state lawmakers said this is a local decision that should be handled by local officials.
Solar energy was raised as many in the audience opposed the measure passed in the 2017 session to lower the solar energy incentive when selling excess power back to a public utility. Merritt chairs a key senate committee on utilities, and argued the law was a way to “level the playing field.” Merritt says he has always been focused on how state law impacts rate payers. Senator John Ruckelshaus said he voted against that bill.
Hamilton County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt says all Indiana counties are experiencing issues with overcrowding in their jails, saying some of that prisoner population is now mandated by state law. Merritt agreed with the county commissioner, but admitted he had no answers. Huston believes the state needs to look at sentencing standards and community corrections as answers.
It should surprise no one that the subject of Sunday alcohol sales came up. Merritt says he favors Sunday sales but wants the package liquor stores to continue their monopoly on selling cold beer. Huston generally agreed that Sunday sales can be worked out.
Several audience members expressed support of a hate crimes law in Indiana. Ruckelshaus said he sponsored the last proposal that did not become law and will work hard to enact a hate crime statute in the upcoming session. Merritt is concerned about the impact on law enforcement from any such law but plans to pay close attention to the issue during the 2018 session.
Merritt, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, says he expects the short session, which starts in early January, will end by March 14.