INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mike Pence on Tuesday outlined legislation his administration is working to push through the General Assembly, including bills ranging from job creation to education reform.
House Bill 1003 would increase the voucher scholarship amount from $4,500 to $5,500 in 2013-2014 school year, and to $6,500 the next school year. The bill would also create a higher income threshold, at 200 percent of free and reduced lunch rates, for students to receive the vouchers, and would expand the option by removing the one-year public school requirement for kindergarten students, and increase tax deductions for families with children in private or home schools from $1,000 to $3,000.
The dropout prevention bill, House Bill 1005, would bring together the various education and career departments in the state to design career and college assessments for students, and give them time for remediation.
House Bill 1334 would provide teachers a tax deduction of up to $1,000 for qualified expenses, and protect teachers against litigation threats throughout the Indiana Department of Administration. It would also prevent school corporations from collecting funds for a political purpose.
Scholarship funding in House Bill 1348 would require higher education institutions to develop degree maps for courses of study, and offer incentives for students to complete their degrees on-time or early.
On the Senate side, bills that have Pence’s influence range from education, like Senate Bill 532, to job creation, like Senate Bill 465.
The Indiana Works Council bill, Senate Bill 465, would bring a regional approach to vocational education, bringing employers and educators together to identify opportunities.
Senate Bill 520 would focus on streamlining government regulation, creating a committee that would review regulations for professional licenses and certification, and eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy.
A bill for higher education loans, Senate Bill 532, provides direct loans through the Indiana Secondary Market for Education Loans, to help teach fiscal responsibility.
Senate Bill 529 would place the Indiana Office of Energy Development under the governor’s supervision, rather than the lieutenant governor. It would also establish the Indiana Office of Defense Development, supervised by the lieutenant governor, to promote defense assets and industry in the state.
The only bill not moving forward that Pence highlighted Tuesday was Senate Bill 587 which would increase the amount of the casino admission tax used for treating compulsive gambling. He said the administration will work on that issue.