Glick's Bill Would Spin Off ISDA
Indiana Sen. Susan Glick (R-District 13) of LaGrange announced the introduction of Senate Bill 202 at the Indiana Farm Bureau Legislative session last Wednesday.
"Sen. Buck from Kokomo and I are on a bill to elevate the State Department of Agriculture, to put it at a cabinet-level posi-tion in the state of Indiana," she said. "This is an attempt to put agriculture in the priority with the state of Indiana that it deserves. Almost 65% of the economy of Indiana is agricultural-related."
Glick stated that many other states give the Secretary of Agriculture cabinet-level status, and she said it is time to encourage the same elevation for Indiana's agriculture leadership.
"All we're asking is that agriculture be put on the same par with the other cabinet-level departments and the Secretary of Agriculture be on that level. We want the lieutenant governor. He will continue to be the head of the Office of Community Rural Affairs. He will be an integral part of the whole agricultural situation and that will not change. It just elevates the position of agriculture in the state of Indiana," she said.
If adopted, the bill would take the ISDA out of the office of the lieutenant gover-nor and make it a free-standing agency of state government similar to the Department of Natural Resources and other such organizations.
"The governor already appoints the secretary of agriculture," Glick said. The bill would change the office that the director of ISDA reports to from the lieutenant governor to the gover-nor.
"This has been tried once or twice in the past," she said.
However, it has not yet been adopted. When asked why the previous bills calling for a separation of the ISDA from the lieutenant gover-nor's office had failed in the past, Glick said she did not know.
"It may not have been the time. There may have been other projects, etc." she said.
However, she thinks with the new leadership of Gov. Mike Braun and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, there is a chance the legislation will pass.
"All we're trying to do is place the emphasis on agriculture, which it deserves," she added. "We're saying it shouldn't be on the back bench. It should be a part of the equation."
She said Indiana should cer-tainly have agriculture at a cabinet level due to the influence of the industry on the state's econo-my.
"Agribusiness is huge in this state. Why would we not include it?" she said. "We've talked briefly with the lieutenant governor; we've talked with the governor. There seems to be some discussion about whether or not they're in favor of it. That's what the legislative process is all about. We're going to sit down; we're going to hammer out what we can and see if there's an appetite to do this. We think this is a positive thing for the state."
Glick does not consider removing the ISDA from under the leadership of the lieutenant governor to be "crippling." She added that he would retain many responsibilities related to agriculture.
The bill "will focus a lot of people's attention on the Indiana State Department of Agriculture," she said. "Anything that shines a light on productivity of the future farmers of your operation is a boon to all of us," she said. "When the farmers are successful, it enhances the success of all those counties and all those towns, everywhere they go."
Her passion for the bill stems from the rural envi-ronment of District 13 and throughout the state.
"I don't see the downside. What's the nega-tive of building up an Indiana industry that has an impact on two-thirds of the population?" Glick said.
Beckwith Shares Ag Perspectives
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith spoke to Indiana Farm Bureau members last Wednesday at the annual Legislative Forum in Indianapolis. The Huntington University alum fielded a slew of questions from audience members to give farmers an idea of what they can expect from the new state admin-istration.
The Noblesville man grew up on a dairy farm in Hillsdale, Mich. before transplanting to Indiana after college.
"We want to be your champion. We want to make sure that government is there to help you and not get in the way of what you're trying to do," Beckwith said.
Beckwith addresses a range of topics that included: what farmers can do to give the governor's office direction, tax definitions, property taxes and education.
He called farmers to be "forthright with communication" to help the gover-nor's office. He encourages agricultural professionals to keep in touch with the Indiana State Department of Agri-culture and the Indiana executive offices.
"Really, the agriculture industry in Indiana is the most im-portant industry—and I'm not just saying that speaking in front of you all today—I really truly believe that if that is not healthy, then Indiana has a serious problem," he said.
Isabella Chism, INFB second vice president, asked Beckwith to list the biggest challenge in terms of agriculture and what he hopes to accomplish in his first year serving as Indiana's secretary of agriculture.
"To answer your first question, property taxes. To answer your second question, property taxes," he said, eliciting a laugh. "I think right now we see farmers (having a) 26.2% increase from last year to this year in our property tax increasesI was blown away."
Beckwith said there is some action planned to relieve property taxes.
"I think that's got to be priority one. And it is priority one. Senate Bill 1 is going to have Braun-Beckwith language in the property tax relief and Sen. Holdman is carrying that," he said.
Joe MacGuire of South Bend shared his struggles as a hydroponics lettuce farmer.
"We grow about 2.5 million pounds of fresh lettuce –lettuce that normally comes from California. We're a new industry coming on very quickly," he said. "No one seems to know what to do with us is there anything that you can do to help us? The assessor is assessing us in such a way that is very burdensome, and we need to expand."
He requested support for proper definition of the operation.
"We have our product in stores such as Walmart, Meijer, Martins, we just got into Costco, and it's growing. And this is an all-new business. This is taken right from California and some other states, and we need support so that we can be properly defined and not taxed with such a burden," McGuire said.
"I'm going to fight for you to be able to do your job," Beckwith said. "Obviously, there's personal responsibility in there. We've got to make sure that you're not abusing your liberties; but, at the same time, if there's a burden that's holding you back, please come and tell me."
He promised to work with legislators in Indiana to remove unnecessary burdens from the shoulders of Hoosiers.
Another question was about access roads for farm equipment around the U.S. 31/U.S. 30 intersection.
Beckwith said he could discuss this with the Department of Transportation. Also discussed were access points onto highways for emergency vehicles.
"Mike Braun has set up his cabinet structure with eight secretaries, and I am included in that. So, when you hear about issues like that, please relay that to (ISDA) Director (Don) Lamb, and then I will take it in to the governor in the cabinet meeting," he said.
The final question involved the education system. A Bartholomew County resident expressed concerns about the content in children's and teens' library books, and requested that a rating system similar to movies be creat-ed.
"(In) many of the last school board elections, the recent ones, many people got labeled as 'book burners.' It was an ugly election," said Deanna Glick. "I would like us to start looking at a rating system for kids of all ages. It helps the parents; it helps the students. And faith-based books are very un-derrepresented in libraries. There needs to be equality."
"The battle for the heart and the mind of the next generation is the forefront of the battle for liberty in our nation," Beckwith said, expressing his reso-nance with Glick's concern. "Abraham Lincoln said, 'the philosophy in the classroom in one generation is the philosophy of the government in the next generation.'"
He said it is important to protect the children and keep age-appropriate content in books and movies.
"I have seen the amount of filth," he said. "And it is that. Even if someone disagrees with me, even on the left, I will show them some of the excerpts from some of these books that are for 8-,9- and 10-year-olds. I have never once had someone say to me, 'Oh, that's appropriate for a child.' They always say, 'Oh, well, I didn't know that was in there.'"
He promised to work with legislators and government officials to better help parents to assess the contents of the books their children are reading.
Beckwith also said "survival of the fit-test" is harmful to students' mental health by encouraging suicide, and the curriculums taught in schools should include lessons on human value that point to purpose and a creator.
Gov. Mike Braun and Lt. Gov. Beckwith were sworn into office on Monday.