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Policy Update, February 20, 2015 
Thank you for your interest and support. The Indiana Association of United Ways usually provides its Policy Update on "odd Fridays" (1st, 3rd and 5th Fridays). Contact us if you have any questions or comments about content (past, present or desired for the future).
At the Statehouse - Take Action
Register for United Way Day at the Statehouse
IaUW's annual United Way Day at the Statehouse event will be on Wednesday, March 4, the afternoon before our State Leaders Conference

Volunteers and staff of members and IN211 are invited to register to spend the afternoon advocating for some of our top priorities

At the Statehouse - Take Action
Register now for mid-session legislative update webinar March 3
Indiana Association of United Ways and Indiana Coalition for Human Services offer a webinar series during the legislative session to keep you informed. Register now for the next legislative update which will be recorded on Tuesday, March 3, 3pmET. Attendees will learn more about bills related to human service issues that have passed out of the first chamber and what is expected during the "second half" of this long session of the Indiana General Assembly. 
At the Statehouse
State budget offers wins for some human service priorities 
A state's budget represents its values and priorities. Education funding will be discussed in a separate section below. We are pleased that the House-amended budget to date includes many important human service priorities, including:

New or Increased fundingThank your Representative! Ask your Senator to keep in final budget.
* $2 million for 2-1-1 services
* $5 million (doubled from 2013) for domestic violence
* $1 million for sexual assault
* $1 million for Adult Guardianship (doubled from 2013)
* $313,807 for DCS Ombudsman Bureau (increase of nearly $100K)
* $8 million for infant mortality prevention and services

Holding steady (or maybe reduced by 3% from the 2013-2014 budget) - 
Thank your Representative. Ask your Senator to preserve or increase in the final budget.
* Early Education (holding steady at $10M/year for 5-county Pre-K Pilot and $2M/yr for Early Education Matching Grants)
* Food Banks (from $300K to $291K)
* IDA, Individual Development Accounts (from $1M to $970K)
* Healthy Families (holding steady at $3M)

See our quick budget snapshot comparison of key human service priorities. Below is a pie graph created by the House Republican staff.

Education Priority Area
Education Funding in the Budget Bill: winners and losers 
Students Writing The State Budget includes a number of provisions related to the funding of education. Spending for K-12 comprises 52% of the state budget. Below offers a few highlights about the funding in the House budget:
* Each full-day kindergartener will be counted as 1 student in the school formula. Previously, kindergarten was funded on a grant program with students counted as a fraction of a student. 
* The school funding formula is overhauled to align with a "money follows the child" approach and with changes the complexity index. The complexity index had sought to provide additional resources in schools with higher poverty and special needs. Most suburban and rural schools will see significant increases and many urban schools will see decreases.As an example, Hamilton Southeastern Schools (suburban) will gain an estimated $24 million while Indianapolis Public Schools will lose an estimated $18 million. 
Charter schools will have access to additional $20M grants.
* The budget removes the cap of $4,800 per school choice scholarships (voucher) for K-12 students attending private schools.


Income Priority Area
Bills aimed to help Hoosiers become more financially stable
Legislators debated several ways to help families become more financially stable over the last two weeks:

Smoothing the Cliff EffectTwo bills propose to smooth out the child care cliff effect. 
  • HB1616 would allow parents to continue eligibility for Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) subsidy beyond the current "cliff" at 171% of poverty. Parents would pay increased co-pays as their income increases, effectively smoothing out the cliff to help the family reach self-sufficiency. HB1616 passed the House 94-0. 
  • A Senate committee heard testimony but did not take a vote on SB129. While senators sought to smooth the cliff, they were concerned about the fiscal impact of section of the bill that increases funding for child care to reduce the wait listIaUW supports smoothing out the child care cliff effect and increased funding. 
  • See our one-pager on the Cliff Effect or our testimony on HB1616 or testimony on SB129.

Recoupling the State Earned Income Tax Credit to the Federal EITC - HB1349 is a large tax bill with many provisions, including a provision to re-couple the State EITC to the Federal EITC. Recoupling would remove the "marriage penalty" and allow families with three children or more children to claim three children (rather than being limited to claim only two). Recoupling would simplify the tax code, reducing the 13 pages of instructions required in Indiana because our state de-coupled in 2010. See our one-pager on EITC or our Testimony on EITC.

Eliminating SNAP Asset Tests - While no vote was planned, the Senate House Family and Children Committee sought to learn about asset limits with SNAP by discussing SB549. Currently, Indiana is one of only 9 states that has such strict asset limits, forcing families to spend down their assets before becoming eligible for SNAP food assistance. For example, a married couple with two vehicles valued over $2,000 would not be eligible for SNAP unless they sold one vehicle. Families would not be allowed to create an emergency savings account equal to 1-2 months of their living expenses. Strict asset limits discourage savings. The Committee expressed interest in addressing this issue next year. 

Work scheduling practices - While no vote was planned, the Senate Pensions and Labor Committee sought to learn more about work scheduling policies in a discussion of SB416. States have created different policies to address situations when employers schedule employees for work and routinely cancel their hours or send workers home early. IaUW was asked to share information from its ALICE report. See our testimonywhere we shared impacts of unpredictable work schedules on families' financial stability, child care, education, volunteer and charitable engagement, as we have heard from local leaders. 

Income Priority Area
Charitable Giving Tax Credits 
There are several bills that are making changes to various state tax credits, including several charitable giving incentives.

NAP, Neighborhood Assistance Program, Tax Credits are preserved. With collective efforts in advocacy, the repeal of NAP in HB1349 and SB441 was amended out, and NAP is preserved.

IDA Tax Credits - Both HB1349 and SB441 repeal IDA Tax Credits. Note that the IDA program is funded in the budget and matched with federal funds. The IDA program is different than the IDA Tax Credit, which is administered by the IN Housing and Community Development Authority and designed to encourage charitable contributions to the IDA local program administrators, often Community Action Agencies. 

College Contribution Credit - As one of the oldest and most utilized state tax credits aimed at encouraging charitable gifts to colleges and universities, the College Contribution Credit was preserved. Research and experience has shown that this credit is effective in incentivizing new donors, who often develop a giving tradition that grows over time. This credit is capped at $100 per individual and $200 per couple.

We are trying to keep up with changes to the various tax credits in the state. See our summary.  


2-1-1Amendments: 2-1-1 funding in HB1001 budget bill and HB1010 passed
HB1010, the 2-1-1 bill, was amended by the House Ways and Means Committee
such that the $2 million in appropriations was removed from HB1010 and inserted into HB1001, the budget bill. HB1010 passed out of the House with a vote of 95-0 and is on its way to the Senate.

2-1-1 callers include veterans, victims of domestic abuse, disaster survivors, seniors and job seekers, among others. Currently,   2-1-1 receives the vast majority of its funding from the philanthropic sector, even though government agencies such as the State Dept. of Health, FSSA and 9-1-1 regularly refer Hoosiers to 2-1-1. Without government funding, this service is unsustainable.

Follow Indiana 211 Partnership, Inc. on Twitter and Facebook to share the message with your organization's followers and friends.
Health Priority Area
Health Insurance Enrollment efforts are going strong

Marketplace - Over 218,617 Hoosiers selected a Marketplace plan or were automatically renewed during the Open Enrollment period that ended Feb. 15. CMS announced a "Special Enrollment Period" for individuals subject to the shared responsibility payment, commonly called the penalty, when they filed their taxes this year for lack of coverage in 2014. These consumers may still enroll for 2015 coverage. Go to www.healthcare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596.


HIP 2.0 - Indiana FSSA and key healthcare stakeholders are working to educate consumers about HIP 2.0, as it is confusing people transitioning from traditional Medicaid, a state plan or from a Marketplace plan. Nearly 200,000 Hoosiers have already transitioned to HIP 2.0.

Key messages for consumers: Apply online. Pay for Plus. Make your payments. Call the number on the back of your card before using services.
FSSA posted its recorded session and other helpful tools.

Call 2-1-1 for information or pre-screening. Or find an enrollment event near you.
At the Statehouse
State CapitolStay informed and get involved
The Indiana General Assembly is off and running with a number of bills already passing the first chamber. Bookmark key sites.

Tools from IaUW 

General Assembly pages

At the Statehouse
IaUW Public Policy
IaUW is a nonpartisan organization that works to advance policy principles and compromise solutions for the common good. We focus on policies that are aligned with the impact work in local communities conducted by our 61 United Ways and United Funds.
  • Education, so that children are prepared for and succeed in school;
  • Income/Financial Stability, so that individuals and families may achieve and sustain financial stability;
  • Health, so that individuals may access quality healthcare; and 
  • Strong Communities, where a statewide 2-1-1 network and a strong charitable sector help communities thrive.
Our policy priorities are developed and guided by our Public Policy Committee and our IaUW membersbased on their work in Hoosier communities.

Frequently Requested Links / Documents
  
iauw.org - Learn about the Indiana Association of United Ways, current trainings and conferences and the ways we support local United Ways/Funds, partners and communities.

IaUW Policy / Advocacy info - Review and download IaUW Policy Priorities, Third House calendar, bill lists, fact sheets, talking points and testimony.
  
Advocacy Action Center - Contact your member of Congress or State Legislator, provided through our partnership with United Way Worldwide.

IaUW Policy Update Archive - Read prior issues, special articles and key documents produced by IaUW related to public policy and advocacy.

NEW - Community Report Card - Check out key indicators in Education, Income and Health for your neighborhood, county or region.

IN211.org - Search for human service information available through the referral database or by calling 2-1-1. Download reports about resources, needs, gaps and trends from Indiana 211 Partnership.
  
NRN Calendar - Register for high-quality and affordable training for nonprofit staff and volunteers by the Indiana Nonprofit Resource Network.

Funding and Other Opportunities Explore current requests for proposals, funding and recognition opportunities.

Indiana General Assembly
 - Check the hearing or floor schedule, watch a live or recorded hearing or floor session and look up your legislators. 

Library of Congress
 - Look up bills introduced in Congress. Note that the THOMAS site will be maintained through 2014 and fully replaced by Congress.gov.