INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Chamber wants to see the state's legal smoking age raised to 21 and a coordination of workforce development with business needs as part of its agenda for the upcoming Indiana General Assembly.
"The chamber is supporting a two-pronged approach to reducing the state's smoking rate: increasing the smoking age from 18 to 21 and repealing special privileges for smokers so employers have the option to screen potential hires for tobacco use," said Caryl Auslander, Indiana Chamber vice president of education and workforce development.
Smoking causes $3.1 billion in productivity losses in Indiana, she said.
Auslander also said that workforce development programs should be coordinated to provide educated and trained Hoosiers with higher-paying jobs.
But one of the chamber's top priorities may see little support from the General Assembly, which meets today for its annual Organization Day. The session begins Jan. 3.
For nearly 20 years, the chamber has pushed for reform of township government to the point of eliminating the small units of government that provide fire protection, cemetery maintenance and poor relief.
"There's not been much of an appetite in the General Assembly for far-reaching local government reform efforts," Auslander acknowledged. "Eliminating township government is entirely preferred but this year we're taking a slightly different approach and looking for more modest reforms."
This year, the chamber revamped its proposal to focus on areas with low population, although it did not define what sizes would best fit consolidation. Thirty states have no township-based form of government.
In response, House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said, "I get it and agree but my experience with it was that throughout rural Indiana, the only elected official that folks could identify was their local township trustee in many cases."
Township assessors have been merged into county assessor offices in most areas, he said. Township consolidation requires a voter referendum.
"I don't see a move to eliminate township government other than through the means that we have today which is voluntary," Bosma said. "Having said that, we might be able to make the voluntary means of merging and eliminating one level of government to another, we might be able to make that easier."
The chamber legislative luncheon, held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Indianapolis, came a day after House Minority Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, announced he would leave the legislature at the end of the 2018 session to spend more time with his family, including a son born last year.
"I will not saddle my caucus with a lame duck leader ... because what happens is once everyone knows you're not coming back people stop listening to you as much, they're not sure exactly who they're supporting and that uncertainty is not good," Pelath said.
Among other issues, the chamber agenda called for:
• Computer science courses for primary and post-secondary students with computer science a high school graduation requirement.
• A statewide water policy to assure future availability.
• Implementation of a state energy policy for reliable, affordable and cost-effective energy.
• Clarification of the state tax treatment for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies including exempt status for cloud-based services and SaaS firms.
Proposed changes in alcohol law were not listed among chamber priorities.