Latest news with #HB1402
Chicago Tribune
29-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Guest column: Public school legislation and what you're not being told
It's the end of March. The Indiana General Assembly will finalize its two-year budget by the end of April. Public input is needed now (while discussions are still taking place) to protect the financial well-being of public schools. Republican legislators are out bemoaning the dire Indiana revenue forecasts and telling everyone to be prepared for minimal increases, even status quo, in state funding for the next two years (even citing the negative effects of President Donald Trump's tariff wars). The key bills coming up are: HB 1001, SB 1, HB 1402 and SB 518. HB 1001 is the House budget, which touts a 2% increase for education. What the public isn't told is that this would be the lowest increase in school funding since 2017 and doesn't even keep pace with the current inflation rate of 3%! What the public is not being told is that public schools will actually be lucky to receive even a small portion of that 2% increase. Public schools will also lose other sources of revenue from reduction in property taxes and having to divert referendum funds to charter schools. What the public doesn't realize is that private school vouchers are being opened up to provide public tax dollars to even the wealthiest of parents in the state to pay for private school tuition (welfare for the rich). Projections are that this will amount to $139 million to be subtracted from the overall 2% funding for K-12 public schools. SB 1 and HB 1402 are both different versions of property tax reductions that will result in a loss of at least $500 million over three years from public schools for capital improvements, transportation and debt payments! SB 518 would require public schools that pass a referendum (needed to make up for lost state revenue) to divert much of that referendum money to all charter schools in their area, even further reducing public school revenue for which voters intended. What the public doesn't know is that charter schools already receive an additional $1,400 per student to be comparable to the property tax revenue public schools receive. Charter schools do not have to provide for transportation costs, nor have anywhere close to the debt and facility costs of public schools. If the state wants to give charter schools more, then make that a separate fund — don't continue to rob public schools! Further, what the public doesn't fully recognize is that private school vouchers and charter school funding with public tax dollars are provided without any public reporting or monitoring as to how public tax dollars are used and spent. No one has any idea as to who is making personal profits rather than spending for student learning. Charter school fraud with public tax dollars is real (just last February another charter school CEO admitted to embezzling over $900,00). This would not be possible if charter and private schools had to publicly account for the spending of their public tax dollars. If 'school choice' is as important as Republican legislators say it is, then why do they prioritize funding the wealthy with vouchers and shortchanging the overwhelming choice of public schools by 90% of Indiana students?! Demand that public school funding becomes the top priority and that public schools actually do receive at least 2% increases in real money without misleading hidden diversions to private vouchers and charters. Fix HB 1001, SB 1 and say no to SB 518! Demand that private and charter schools receiving state tax dollars be publicly audited! Call the Indiana Senate (800-382-9467 — Senators Bray and Mishler). Call the Indiana House (800-382-9841 — Representatives Huston and Thompson). Go to for more info about being an advocate for your public school.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to block high-speed rail from altering Texas roads heads to subcommittee
PALESTINE, Texas (KETK) — A bill authored by East Texas State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine) to stop high-speed rail projects from altering state roadways has advanced to a public committee hearing. Tyler approves study for train services Harris introduced House Bill 1402 on Nov. 19, 2024. Since then, the bill has been read and referred to the House Subcommittee on Transportation Funding for a public hearing on March 31. 'HB 1402 would stop the use of your hard-earned tax dollars from being spent to alter roadways for this unwelcome project,' Harris said. 'We're one step closer to defending private property rights and protecting Texas taxpayers from this transportation debacle through HB 1402.' H.B 1402 would amend Section 199.003. of the Texas Transportation Code to say the following: 'This state, a state agency, or a political subdivision of this state may not use public money to pay for the alteration of a roadway related to the construction of a high-speed rail project operated by a public or private entity.' That section of the Texas Transportation Code was passed as Senate Bill 977 on Sept. 1, 2017. The bill made it illegal for the state to appropriate any money for planning, constructing, maintaining, securing, promoting or operating high-speed rail operated by a private entity. Trump administration takes aim at $4B in funding for California high-speed rail Texas Rail Advocates, a non-profit dedicated to promoting freight and passenger rail, rated Harris's bill as counterproductive. The nonprofit noted that the bill would prevent public funds from being used to alter roadways on the public's highspeed rail projects. State Rep. John Bucy III, a Democrat representing Austin, has filed House Joint Resolution 58, which proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing the state to spend money on transit-oriented projects. Texas Rail Advocates rated Bucy's resolution as productive. TOWNHALL TENSION: State reps booed off stage during education meeting Both Harris' and Bucy's proposals are scheduled to be discussed by the House Subcommittee on Transportation Funding in room E2.014 at the Texas Capitol in Austin starting at 10 a.m. on Monday. Texas residents can submit their own comments for all the bills and topics the subcommittee will be discussing on Monday through the House Public Comment form online. The hearing will be streamed live on the Texas House website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Indiana Statehouse: Property tax bill to get overhaul
Lawmakers are back from their crossover break and beginning work on bills passed by the opposite chamber. The big picture: Seven weeks are left in the legislative session, with some big issues left to tackle. While some bills have already taken clear shape and will likely move through the rest of session with relatively little change, several "priority issues" are less settled. Here's what we're watching this week: 🥸 New chamber, new property tax bill Senate Bill 1, the major property tax reform bill, will be back in committee this week, but it's going to look different from the proposal that received five hours of discussion last week. Why it matters: At the request of Gov. Mike Braun and homeowners statewide reeling from skyrocketing home values, property tax reform is supposed to be one of the top priorities this legislative session. Yes, but: Everyone hates Senate Bill 1. Braun says it's not going to do enough for homeowners. Local governments, which depend on property taxes to fund the services they provide to their residents, say the loss of revenue will devastate them. The latest: Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he plans to introduce an amendment to strip SB 1 of its current language and insert House Bill 1402 — a different property tax bill that he authored but didn't move in the first half of the session. As written, HB 1402 would give more relief to homeowners but less for other kinds of property. Thompson said he expects more amendments to the bill at a later date, too. 🧪 Ending the rape kit backlog The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee will consider House Bill 1413, which would create a fund for the Indiana State Police to eliminate the state's backlog of untested rape kits, at 9am Tuesday. Why it matters: Indiana crime labs are sitting on hundreds of rape kits, waiting to be processed due to limited resources and technicians. The fund would cover equipment, processing the kits and raising pay for technicians. The bill would also require all law enforcement agencies and labs to process all rape kits in their possession as of July 1, 2025, by the end of 2026. 🏫 Office of School Safety House Bill 1637, which would create the Office of School Safety, will get a hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Transportation Committee at 9am Tuesday. Another Braun priority, the office would focus on securing school buildings and coordinating disaster responses. 🤑 Senate budget hearings begin We're more than a month out from getting a final budget proposal, but the current draft of the state's two-year spending plan has reached the Senate. The latest: The Senate Appropriations Committee will start hearings on House Bill 1001 this week, taking requests from the state's higher education institutions (Tuesday at 2pm) and state agencies (Thursday at 11am). Senate Republicans are expected to introduce their own spending proposal next month.
