By John Byrne, Post-Tribune staff writer
INDIANAPOLIS -- The South Shore rail funding bill may yet have breath in its lungs.
Despite a hearing on the package early this week that devolved into bickering among Northwest Indiana leaders, the Senate Tax Committee has set House Bill 1220 for a vote Tuesday.
After this week's cantankerous meeting, Tax Committee Chairman Sen. Luke Kenley said he would only schedule another hearing on the proposal if he felt there was an agreement the committee would vote to pass.
Kenley himself presents a large hurdle to the bill's success.
He is an avowed opponent of using state sales tax revenue for local projects, and Rep. Chet Dobis' bill relies on $350 million of such money.
But Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, said she will work until Tuesday to convince Kenley that Northwest Indiana has offered sufficient local money.
"Porter County adopted an income tax to fund the (Regional Development Authority)," which will in turn kick in $150 million toward the rail extension, Tallian pointed out. "I want to impress upon Sen. Kenley that we shouldn't be penalized because we did that ahead of time."
In the meantime, Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, will prepare three amendments to the South Shore funding bill, and wait to see whether she will offer any of them.
All three seek to weaken a clause added to the bill by Dobis, D-Merrillville, which locks the government entities now funding the RDA into a 10-year commitment to continue doing so.
One Rogers amendment would nullify Dobis' proviso entirely.
Another would grandfather in the current RDA funders -- Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, Lake County and Porter County -- allowing them to back out of funding the group but locking in any paying members to join in the future.
The final amendment would give Gary alone the opportunity to opt out of paying its $3.5 million annual casino share to the RDA, while locking in the rest of the membership.
"Gary is putting a larger percentage of its riverboat money toward the RDA than Hammond or East Chicago," Rogers said in justifying the move.
Rogers also said she expects to see language about a rail spur for the Gary/Chicago International Airport that could be added to the South Shore bill Tuesday.
Whether that language is sufficient to gain the support of Gary Mayor Rudy Clay, who wants the spur funded as part of HB 1220, Rogers would not predict.