FROM THE DESK OF SENATOR DAVID LONG
As of this writing, there are two weeks left in the 2004 Legislative Session. Committee meetings are complete for both the Senate and the House, so the focus will now be on the most high profile bills remaining. The intensity of that scrutiny will be directly proportionate to the bill’s chance of success.
For instance, Governor Kernan is fixated upon getting Full Day Kindergarten passed, even though: 1) we don’t have the money to pay for it; 2) it would cost the schools additional money that would likely detract from the education the other school children would receive; and 3) the State Budget deficit is around $1 billion dollars. Many believe that pushing Full Day Kindergarten will force a tax increase for the 2005 Budget year, and I think that is reason enough to pass on the concept for the time being. Don’t get me wrong; I think that Full Day Kindergarten is a worthy goal and will help to better prepare Indiana’s children for grades 1-12 and beyond. However, with the budget woes of both our State and our schools being such a problem at this time, enacting Full Day Kindergarten today would be irresponsible.
The move to place pull tab machines (essentially slot machines) in the two existing horse racing tracks, as well as in the cities of Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, appears dead as well. Senate President Robert Garton placed the bill, which passed the House, into the Senate Rules Committee, and decided not to give the bill a hearing. Truly, the only way that an expansion of gambling will occur is during a Budget year, when the Budget bill can be used to advance the gaming issue. Without that sort of leverage, I just don’t see it happening.
Expanding gambling to downtown Fort Wayne would be a controversial move. On the one hand, it would bring many millions of dollars to the city and county coffers, and would allow the downtown improvement plan to proceed. On the other hand, it would also expand gambling to a level far beyond anything we have seen in our area, which would mean more families harmed by addicted gamblers losing their shirts. The sad thing is, gambling is everywhere today. Every tavern has cherry master machines, which are totally unregulated and most likely pay off far less frequently than regulated casino machines do. Also, bingo parlors are rampant, as are “casino nights” and other gambling concepts. And just for the record, the State of Indiana is heavily into gambling with its lottery games. Would expanding the gambling situation by adding a casino to downtown Fort Wayne cause much more havoc than already exists? That will be the question that must be answered. If any such opportunity did happen for Fort Wayne, I would not support it unless the voters of the community had the chance to vote on the issue. The people must ultimately decide whether or not to allow it.
The other controversial bill still lurking out there would seek to move Indiana into the Central Daylight Savings time sector. The proposal comes from a legislator from Chesterton, which is in northwest Indiana where they already observe Central Daylight Time because of their link to the Chicago area. Under the proposal, all of Indiana save those who are already on Daylight Savings Time (such as the areas that are near Chicago, Louisville and Cincinnati) would move to CDT. I personally think that if our region were to change, it should be to Eastern Daylight Time. All of the advantages of Daylight Savings Time are associated with more daylight in the summer time. With the extra hour of daylight in the evening, you get major energy savings, less crime, more recreational time, more family time, and a boost for local economic development. Our winters would be just as they are today. With Central Time, our summers would be exactly as they are today, but our winters would be quite different. Most strikingly, it would get dark in December by 4:15PM! Yes, we would get a lighter morning, but I believe the value in that is minimal.
Some argue that the bus pickup for kids would be safer with more daylight in the morning, but with the safety features we’ve enacted in recent years concerning our school buses, I think that argument is weak.
I don’t believe anything will happen this year with Daylight Savings Time, but next year, it might. You can wade in on this discussion by sending an e-mail to my Senate address, which is S16@ai.org.
> Read More Information About Us
> More Articles Written By Our Staff
- Whatzup Honors Dan Ross With H. Stanley Liddell Award - December 5, 2025
- Step Back In Time For A Traditional Christmas - December 5, 2025
- Holiday Drive-Through Light Display Supports Local Youth - December 5, 2025