Editorial Roundup: Indiana
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. August 29, 2022.
Editorial: Legislators wrongly look to trim governor's rulemaking powers
A General Assembly study committee last week laid the foundation for recommendations aimed at providing lawmakers additional oversight of rulemaking by state agencies that could slow Indiana's response to emergencies.
The Administrative Rules Review Task Force is the result of a failed Republican effort to mandate submission of emergency regulations to the Indiana attorney general for approval, and to limit those rules to 180 days. On the last day of the 2022 legislative session, lawmakers added limitations on rulemaking into a bill that Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed.
Lawmakers passed an earlier rulemaking bill in 2021: House Enrolled Act 1123. It would've empowered lawmakers to call themselves into 'œemergency session'ť and intervene during public health emergencies such as in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled the act unconstitutional in June.
At the first meeting of the Administrative Rules Review Task Force, Chairman Rep. Steve Bartels, R-Eckerty, said he'd ask the 10-member group to vote eventually whether to recommend that lawmakers be notified when agencies adopt new rules or readopt expired ones, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported Thursday. Bartels also wants a vote on whether the rules themselves be published prior to a public hearing.
Bartels said last week transparency is the reason for the oversight push. Hoosiers would welcome early notification of pending rule changes and the reasons for their need.
Currently, the attorney general has 45 days, and the governor 30 days, to review new administrative rules after adoption. Why would the attorney general undertake a legal review after rules have been sanctioned?
Though Indiana's conflict over emergency powers has focused on public health and the governor's COVID safety protocols, potential problems over rulemaking don't end there. The state's emergency management and disaster law lists other adversities.
Ice storms, drought, utility failure, radiological or biological events, terrorism or a technological emergency are all potential calamities that would have devastating effects on Hoosiers. Adding to the problems by arguing over who makes the rules to help in any of those scenarios would undoubtedly slow a state response and make things worse.
The three legs of our system of government '“ the executive, legislative and judicial branches '“ certainly should be coequals in governance, but the General Assembly is a body of part-time lawmakers. Chances are good the next crisis Hoosiers face '“ a tornado outbreak, widespread flooding or another highly infectious virus '“ will occur when the legislature is not in session.
The General Assembly sets policy and the executive branch implements it. Therefore, rulemaking authority should remain with the executive branch, where the governor must move with alacrity and urgency when the health and safety of state residents demand it.
___
Indianapolis Business Journal. August 26, 2022.
Editorial: Indiana's future economy demands relentlessness
The pieces are starting to come together that could make Indiana a player in the economy of the future.
With several recent economic development announcements, Hoosiers can see the vision of Gov. Eric Holcomb, Indiana Commerce Secretary Brad Chambers and other government and business leaders to make the state a center for the production and development of computer chips, electric-vehicle batteries and other high-tech advances.
But the state needs to keep up its frenetic drive toward economic progress and boost its pool of educated tech workers if it hopes to surpass other states and become a technology hub for the heartland and the nation.
A flurry of recent developments has boosted the state's hopes.
In May, carmaker Stellantis NV announced it had signed an agreement with renewable battery company Samsung SDI to build a $2.5 billion electric-vehicle battery plant in Kokomo, which is expected to open in 2025 and create up to 1,400 jobs.
A month later, Taiwan-based MediaTek USA unveiled its partnership with Purdue University to establish a computer-chip design center on the West Lafayette campus. That was followed by Minnesota-based SkyWater Technology's announcement that it will build a $1.8 billion semiconductor plant at Purdue if it can receive federal funding through the new CHIPS and Science Act.
Last week, a joint venture between General Motors Co. and LG Energy Solution filed a tax abatement application for a facility in St. Joseph County that-based on similar projects elsewhere-could bring more than $2 billion in investment and more than 1,000 jobs to northern Indiana.
Holcomb isn't letting up on his economic development efforts. This week, he led an Indiana delegation to Taiwan and South Korea to lure more Asian companies to invest even more in the state.
It's that kind of ongoing push that will be required for Indiana to compete with other inland states to become an outright technology leader and not just one of the 20 tech hubs envisioned and funded by the CHIPS Act.
As IBJ's Peter Blanchard notes in his story on page 1A, Ohio already has a bit of a leg up, landing a $20 billion semiconductor plant in Columbus. In Texas, Samsung Electronics plans to build up to 11 chip plants worth $191 billion.
Among Indiana's biggest challenges will be providing the high-tech workforce that will be needed to support economic growth.
Indiana colleges are doing their part. Purdue, for example, is launching a semiconductor engineering program. But that still doesn't solve Indiana's declining college-going rate and its shortage of skilled workers.
In 2020, only 53% of graduating Indiana high-schoolers went straight to college, a steep drop from 58% the previous year.
That's certainly not going to help produce the additional 41,000 skilled tech workers the state needs by 2030, according to TechPoint, an advocacy group for Indiana's tech industry.
The group has launched an initiative called Mission 41K to help the state reach that goal. But it's going to require an all-hands-on-deck approach from government, business and academia to make it happen.
Everyone should get on board.
___
Anderson Herald Bulletin. August 25, 2022.
Editorial: Literacy plan's promising if administered properly
Indiana struggles with the balancing act known as education.
Third grade scores in IREAD-3 had a passage rate 10 percentage points behind a top rate of 91.4% some 10 years ago. There's a racial gap in achievement between students of color when compared to white pupils. Nearly 60% of all Hoosier students are not reading at their grade level. Interest is waning among high school students in attending college.
Now perhaps we'll see more accountability in a plan to repair Indiana's sliding literacy rate among young readers - accountability in that the Lilly Endowment is funding up to $60 million to start the initiative and an additional $25 million to prepare teachers to carry out the plan. The Indiana Department of Education will use $26 million of federal pandemic funds to bring it all to a $111 million investment.
Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the program Aug. 18 at Eastside Elementary School in Anderson. Holcomb set a goal for 95% of all Indiana third graders to pass the state reading exam by 2027 (Holcomb leaves office in January, 2025). Current results show that one in five third graders lack fundamental skills to become successful readers.
The fix can't come soon enough.
In April, the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP called on Holcomb to take major actions to address achievement gaps between Black and white students. The group is pushing for better culturally responsive learning, hiring more underrepresented teachers and requiring children to attend full-day kindergarten. That recommendation doesn't seem to touch the new initiative.
The Lilly-IDOE initiative is intended to support educators with implementing research known as the 'œScience of Reading,'ť a series of books, videos and resources that were reviewed by the IDOE and faculty at Indiana University but, inexplicably, 'œare not endorsed'ť by either, according to the IDOE website.
The Science of Reading is touted as a scientifically based and structured approach to literacy. It has been promoted by the International Dyslexia Association for students with dyslexia.
Other goals include the deployment of instructional coaches; stipends to teachers who participate in Science of Reading professional development; and providing support for students who need the most help in improving their reading skills.
The initiative sounds groundbreaking. But Hoosiers have heard of such 'œgroundbreaking'ť proposals before.
If this program is administered properly with predetermined goals and ongoing oversight, then Hoosiers might hold hope for its highly touted outcomes even if it's not until 2027.
END