Gov. Eric J. Holcomb today announced his 2020 Next Level Agenda, which focuses on improving the lives of Hoosiers with better health, improved career opportunities and a better place to live.

“Because of the hard work of Hoosiers, Indiana has become a destination of certainty and stability, but we can’t stop there,” Gov. Holcomb said. “As I travel the state, I hear people concerned about rising health care costs, the increase in youth vaping, and our education system. My goal is to listen to their concerns and find solutions to build a bolder, brighter future.”

The 2020 Next Level Agenda includes five pillars detailing both legislative and administrative priorities for the year ahead.

Cultivate A Strong And Diverse Economy

To continue strengthening our economy, Gov. Holcomb’s 2020 agenda focuses on transforming how we tell Indiana’s story by elevating Indiana’s profile within and outside the state with joint branding and promotion efforts with the private sector and the new Indiana Destination Development Corporation with the goal of attracting more jobs and more people. The state will also build a 21st-century defense innovation ecosystem to triple federal defense investment in Indiana by 2025.

Maintain And Build The State’s infrastructure

The 2020 agenda is designed to connect Hoosiers with reliable infrastructure. To accomplish this goal, Gov. Holcomb’s $1 billion Next Level Connections program expands broadband service to unserved areas in Indiana, grows the state’s systems of trails and creates more nonstop international flights. The 2020 agenda also focuses on preserving our highways and decreasing distracted driving by enacting a hands-free device driving law.

Develop a 21st Century Skilled And Ready Workforce

Gov. Holcomb will continue to make finding long-term sustainable solutions to improve teacher compensation a top priority by supporting the Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission. The 2020 agenda also includes identifying unfunded mandates and unnecessary requirements in K-12 education for elimination in 2021, holding schools harmless for ILEARN scores, changing career-related teacher professional growth points from required to optional, and redesigning our prison education system to better prepare Department of Correction offenders to re-enter society.

Public Health And The Drug Epidemic

Gov. Holcomb is calling for raising the age to purchase tobacco and e-cigarettes from 18 to 21 and enhancing enforcement to prevent underage buyers. The 2020 agenda also includes providing healthcare price transparency for consumers via an “All-Payer Claims Database,” protecting consumers from surprise medical bills, improving mental health services at schools and hospitals, and incentivizing more community paramedicine programs. In the fight against the drug epidemic, the Governor wants to add more recovery housing for Hoosiers coping with substance use disorder. The state will continue to work toward becoming the best state in the Midwest for infant mortality by 2024 by protecting pregnant workers by providing more workplace accommodations.

Deliver Great Government Service

The 2020 agenda saves Hoosiers more than $125 million in borrowing costs by using $300 million in cash now to fund capital projects. Additionally, Gov. Holcomb will simplify how Hoosiers reach out for health and human services assistance by integrating the 2-1-1 helpline into FSSA call centers.

“These aren’t just lofty goals – they are solutions to improve the lives of Hoosiers around Indiana,” Gov. Holcomb said. “We are charting a bold course for our state to become the absolute best place in America to grow as an individual, a family, a business and as a community.”

Attorney General Curtis Hill said today his office will continue working to protect elders from becoming victims of fraud following his recent successful partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to arrest “money mules.”

U.S. Attorney General William Barr recently cited Indiana as one of two states in which the state attorney general’s office has contributed to “a concentrated effort across the country and around the world to halt money mule activity.”

Money mules are individuals who assist fraud schemes by receiving money from victims, many of them elderly, and forwarding proceeds to foreign-based perpetrators.

The specific nature of the fraud schemes vary greatly. They include such scams as when imposters call would-be victims claiming to represent some official entity such as the IRS or even a personal acquaintance such as the would-be victim’s grandchild. In other cases, the scams are conducted via email, with scammers trying to lure would-be victims to provide personal information, perhaps by claiming they have won prizes. In all cases, the end goal is to bilk unsuspecting victims of money.

Over recent months, investigators from the Office of the Indiana Attorney General reviewed 251 possible cases of such activity before identifying 31 individuals as people of interest and forwarding information to the FBI.

“Exposing fraud and abuse is part of our responsibility as stewards of the public trust,” said Attorney General Curtis Hill. “As public servants, our team of investigators works tirelessly to hold those accountable who mistreat Hoosiers or wrongfully take funds through fraudulent rings and other illegal means. We will continue to ensure that our elderly citizens are looked out for and protected.”

Nationwide, law enforcement interviewed more than 550 individuals and served more than 500 warning letters on individuals who recently served as money mules for fraud schemes. More than 30 individuals were criminally charged. Law enforcement partners included the FBI; the U.S. Secret Service; the IRS Criminal Investigation; the Department of Transportation; the Inspector General for Tax Administration; and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.

During the two-month initiative announced Dec. 4, U.S. law enforcement disrupted mule networks that spanned from Hawaii to Florida and from Alaska to Maine. In Indiana, some elderly citizens lost tens of thousands in such schemes.

Grant Funding Prioritized For Areas Facing Air Quality Challenges

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of grant funding to implement projects aimed at reducing emissions from the nation’s existing fleet of older diesel engines. EPA anticipates awarding approximately $44 million in Diesel Emission Reduction Program (DERA) grant funding to eligible applicants.

“Modernizing our nation’s aging fleet of diesel-powered vehicles is an important part of the Trump Administration’s plan to further reduce harmful emissions and guide counties and States from nonattainment, into attainment,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Our hope is that through these upgrades and ongoing efforts, communities will continue to see improved health outcomes for their residents, ensuring all Americans breathe cleaner air.”

Diesel-powered engines move approximately 90% of the nation’s freight tonnage, and today nearly all highway freight trucks, locomotives, and commercial marine vessels are powered by diesel engines.

EPA is soliciting applications nationwide for projects that significantly reduce diesel emissions and exposure, especially from fleets operating at goods movements facilities in areas designated as having poor air quality. Applicants may request funding to upgrade or replace diesel-powered buses, trucks, marine engines, locomotives and nonroad equipment with newer, cleaner technologies. Priority for funding will also be given to projects that engage and benefit local communities and applicants that demonstrate their ability to promote and continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended.

EPA anticipates releasing a separate Tribal DERA grant funding opportunity in early 2020.

Background

Since the first year of the DERA program in 2008, EPA has competitively awarded over 790 grants and 420 rebates across the country. Many of these projects funded cleaner diesel engines that operate in economically disadvantaged communities whose residents suffer from higher-than-average instances of asthma, heart and lung disease.

Eligible applicants include regional, state, local or tribal agencies, or port authorities with jurisdiction over transportation or air quality. Nonprofit organizations may apply if they provide pollution reduction or educational services to diesel fleet owners or have, as their principal purpose, the promotion of transportation or air quality. Applicants may apply until Feb. 26, 2020.

Under this competition, EPA anticipates awarding between 40 and 60 assistance agreements. Applicants must request funding from the EPA regional office which covers the geographic project location. The maximum amount of federal funding that may be requested per application varies by EPA Region.

• Region 1 (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) will accept proposals requesting up to $1,000,000 in grant funds.
• Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands) will accept proposals requesting up to $2,500,000 in grant funds.
• Region 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia) will accept proposals requesting up to $2,500,000 in grant funds.
• Region 4 (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee) will accept proposals requesting up to $2,000,000 in grant funds.
• Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin) will accept proposals requesting up to $3,000,000 in grant funds.
• Region 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) will accept proposals requesting up to $2,500,000 in grant funds.
• Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska) will accept proposals requesting up to $1,500,000 in grant funds.
• Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming) will accept proposals requesting up to $2,600,000 in grant funds.
• Region 9 (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands) will accept proposals requesting up to $4,000,000 in grant funds.
• Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington) will accept proposals requesting up to $1,000,000 in grant funds.