A Citizen's Guide to Indiana

Masson's Blog

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Gail Collins makes a snappy point about the Governors who are most vocal in making a show of declining federal money:

Louisiana has gotten $130 billion in post-Katrina aid. How is it that the stars of the Republican austerity movement come from the states that suck up the most federal money? Taxpayers in New York send way more to Washington than they get back so more can go to places like Alaska and Louisiana. Which is fine, as long as we don’t have to hear their governors bragging about how the folks who elected them want to keep their tax money to themselves. Of course they do! That’s because they’re living off ours.

The Tax Foundation monitors donor states versus beneficiary states. 2005 is the most recent data I saw immediately. The top 10 beneficiary states: New Mexico, Mississippi, Alaska, Louisiana, West Virginia, North Dakota, Alabama, South Dakota, Kentucky, and Virginia. (Receiving, on average, $1.70 in federal tax dollars per tax dollar contributed.) That’s a pretty red grouping of states. Colorado, New York, California, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Nevada, and New Jersey were the top 10 donor states (receiving, on average, $0.73 in federal tax dollars per tax dollar contributed.) That’s a pretty blue grouping of states.

So, when Louisiana’s ($1.78/$1) Bobby Jindal says he’s refusing stimulus dollars, maybe he’s really saying, “No, no, you’ve already been too generous.” I propose we balance the budget by bringing those federal tax beneficiaries down close to a $1/$1 ratio. Then we’d really hear those rugged individualist Alaskans ($1.84/$1) howl.

SB 29 – Law Enforcement Training Fund

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With Senate Bill 29, Senator Mrvan is proposing that every fee charged by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles be increased by a dollar and that the extra dollars be deposited in the statewide basic training fund which is to be used for the benefit of certified law enforcement academies, including the Southwest Indiana Law Enforcement Training Academy (IC 5-2-1-10.5) or to Board Certified Training Centers under IC 5-2-1-15.2.

If I’m reading this legislation correctly, Senator Mrvan will probably also want to amend IC 5-2-1-10.5(d) which seems to prohibit the Southwest Indiana Law Enforcement Training Academy from receiving funding from the State.

Crime Costs

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When the legislature passes criminal laws (and, let’s be fair, when citizens break those laws), it creates a cost to local government. To deal with some of those costs, Delaware County is considering a program for non-violent offenders that will get take them out of jail and put them on probation. So far this year, Delaware County has spent $345,000 housing inmates outside of its jail because there was not enough room. So, the county is considering putting inmates awaiting trial on C & D level felony charges on a probation-like program.

The terms of pre-trial probation are still a work in progress, Vorhees said.

The probationers would likely report to their probation officers daily in the weeks after their release with reporting requirements tapering as time passed.

“It’s going to be a pretty intensive situation for them,” Vorhees said.

Those on probation would be subject to drug screens and would be required to enter counseling if they have addiction problems.

Anyone who violates the terms of probation or is arrested again would return to jail.

However, probation is not without its costs. The Journal & Courier reports on the Tippecanoe County probation department’s request for seven new positions. These new employees are necessary to monitor compliance with the terms of probation. The article on the proposed Delaware County program suggests that the costs would be offset by user fees. But, a lot of probation fees go unpaid, and the cost of re-incarcerating the individual for a probation violation is more than the unpaid fees. (Leaving aside, for a moment, the specter of debtor’s prisons).

Just an aside here – as I wrote this, my intent was a focus on the expense to local government imposed by decisions made by state officials – but the more I think about “pre-trial probation,” the more it bothers me; and maybe it stems from lack of a clear understanding of the criminal law. Pre-trial detainees have not been convicted of anything. They’re innocent until proven guilty. However, bail can still be required to ensure their appearance at trial and based on the danger the accused poses to the community. I believe the pre-trial detainees eligible for this pre-trial probation department would be those eligible for bail but unable or unwilling to post the bond. Letting them out, even with frequent monitoring, seems to be an admission that they aren’t that great of a flight risk and not a danger to the community — which raises the question, was bail appropriate in the first place?

Grumblings about the DLGF

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(H/t Indiana Law Blog) Karen Francisco, writing for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, has a good column about some of the strife between local governments and the Department of Local Government Finance. The DLGF used to be viewed as a partner to local government. Now it has taken on a confrontational tone that is exacerbated by the seemingly constant flux of Indiana’s tax system as well as delays and contradictory information that seems to come out of the DLGF.

Not in the column, but worth mentioning is the Governor’s drumbeat of blame for local government when he was pushing his tax restructuring plan last year. That certainly couldn’t have helped relations between local government officials and the Daniels administration.