GOP unveils their legislative agenda

republican-elephant-1

A day after Governor Pence announced his legislative agenda, Senate Republicans have chimed in with their own.

Senators are proposing mandatory minimum sentences for major drug dealers, and  endorsing Pence’s request for additional money for the Regional Cities Initiative.

But Republicans are also calling for a 400-thousand-dollar boost in the $1.25 million cap on malpractice verdicts. Senate President Pro Tem David Long (R-Fort Wayne) says the cap hasn’t kept pace with rising health care costs, to the point where it runs the risk of being declared unconstitutional.

The bill authored by Senator Brent Steele (R-Bedford) would refigure the cap every four years based on the health care cost index.

The G-O-P agenda also includes more money for local roads, but not Governor Pence’s call for more money for state roads. Long says senators are awaiting the details of a House proposal.

Republicans are also prioritizing a solution to a long-running struggle to control rising property-tax assessments on farmland. Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Chairman Brandt Hershman (R-Buck Creek) says because the formula measures past economic performance, farmers end up paying higher taxes in the midst of a downturn.