Legislation being introduced by Indiana Senate Republicans could increase transparency in economic development efforts at both the state and local level.
State Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, is co-authoring a bill aimed at increasing public oversight of Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s efforts to create jobs.
“My position is very clear — any time public money is involved or tax dollars spent the public deserves the highest level of transparency into what they’re being used for,” he said.
The bill introduced by Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, would require the IEDC to list jobs that were created using incentives.
The IEDC has recently come under scrutiny for its effectiveness and for its lack of transparency.
Recently, The Indianapolis Star ran a story about Monica Liang, a former contract employee and business emissary, who was accused by Chinese officials of extortion and soliciting bribes. It reported the IEDC failed to contact law enforcement after these accusations were made.
Before working for the state, Liang served as international affairs coordinator for the city of Marion.
Banks said he has been personally dissatisfied with the IEDC’s answers about development deals and was looking to author his own legislation before Delph introduced the bill. He noted Democrats had also introduced similar legislation in the past and was not surprised it was a bipartisan issue.
“I’ve heard it best said that this is an issue of good government, of transparency,” he said
Banks, who represents Grant County for District 17, said the principle of transparency should apply “across the spectrum” of government. He said this could extend down to local economic development entities that receive public money, but noted the bill was still being drafted.
“We need to review the bill further to understand how far the impact of the bill will be applied,” he said.
If it applies to local groups, it could affect the Grant County Economic Growth Council, which receives about $300,000 annually in public money, but maintains that as a private entity it does not fall under public access laws.
As of Friday, Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne, had not yet assigned the bill to a committee. One possibility is that it would go to the Commerce, Economic Development and Technology Committee chaired by Sen. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo, who also represents part of Grant County.
Buck said he did not know whether his committee would consider the bill. He served on the committee that originally introduced the IEDC legislation and said no one expressed concerns to him about transparency at the agency or for local economic development groups.
Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, said he hasn’t talked to Delph about the bill, but expressed concern that a measure could make Indiana lose a competitive advantage in attracting companies against other states.
“I think there’s probably some room for some compromise, but once again we need to be cautious how to do that so we don’t discourage investment in Indiana,” he said.