FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lance Gideon, Press Secretary
Lance.Gideon@iga.in.gov
317-234-9221
STATEHOUSE (March 28, 2023) — A bill sponsored by State Sen. Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette) that would support workforce transportation and expand local road funding opportunities passed the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Transportation today.
House Bill 1046 would allow a public transportation corporation in one county to cross into another county to transport individuals as long as an interlocal agreement between the two counties is in place.
This would allow a resident of a rural county to use public transportation to travel to a more urban neighboring county for work.
"The workforce in the Greater Lafayette area has about 100,000 Hoosiers, and there are approximately 120,000 jobs in Tippecanoe County," Deery said. "This bill would benefit economic regions like ours throughout the state by opening up job opportunities to Hoosiers who have been limited by transportation costs."
HB 1046 would also allow military base reuse authorities in Indiana to be eligible for funds from the Community Crossings Matching Grant Program, which has awarded more than $1 billion for local infrastructure projects since its creation in 2016.
This would allow authorities like the Newport Chemical Depot Reuse Authority, located in Vermillion County in the southwestern portions of Deery's district, to apply for and be awarded funding to maintain the roads for the Vermillion Rise Mega Park.
"The U.S. Army built the roads in what we now call 'The Rise,'" Deery said. "This bill will allow the property to compete for state funding to maintain the site's infrastructure while we turn it into a more prosperous industrial center that attracts new jobs and businesses to Vermillion County."
The bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Transportation today by a vote of 8 - 1 and was recommitted to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for further consideration.
Legislative calendars, agendas, vote tallies, live streams and proposed legislation can be viewed online by visiting iga.in.gov.
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State Sen. Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette) represents Senate District 23,
which includes Fountain, Parke, Vermillion and Warren counties,
and portions of Montgomery and Tippecanoe counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
