Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com

The Indiana Court of Appeals has ordered a trial court to send a corrected notice to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles that shows judgment was only entered on two of the four charges a man was convicted of related to his speeding in Brown County. The judges also suggested that the BMV update its form to avoid future confusion as shown in this case.

Alexander K. Jerden was convicted of two counts of misdemeanor reckless driving, one as a Class A misdemeanor and one as a Class B misdemeanor, as well as Class C infractions passing in a no-passing zone and speeding. Jerden and another vehicle were pulled over by police after reports of them speeding on S.R. 46. The officer testified he had to go nearly 100 MPH in order to catch the vehicles.

The trial court merged the infractions with the misdemeanor counts, but the BMV SR-16 forms transmitted by the trial court showed that Jerden was found guilty of all four counts, despite the two infractions being merged into the misdemeanor charges.

The appellate court affirmed his convictions but found the trial court erred when it submitted the forms in the current state because they included convictions in which the trial court did not enter a judgment.

“We must note, though, that the reason for this error seems to be the fact that the BMV’s SR-16 form does not track the statute. Although the statute requires trial courts to notify the BMV of only ‘convictions,’ the BMV’s form includes additional options to notify the BMV of ‘dismissed,’ ‘not guilty,’ ‘nolle prosecui[sic],’ ‘vacated,’ and ‘deferred’ charges,” Judge Rudolph Pyle III wrote. “One problem with this format is that, because the form does not distinguish between guilty verdicts and verdicts that result in convictions, there is a potential for guilty verdicts that do not result in judgments of conviction to be entered into BMV records as convictions. This potential is problematic as the contents of the BMV’s records act as prima facie evidence for determining the legal consequences of future offenses.”

The appeals court recommended that the BMV update the form in order to avoid issues such as this one in the future.

The COA also rejected Jerden’s claims of prosecutorial misconduct, noting he did not object to the statements at trial and they do not rise to the level of fundamental error. The case is Alexander K. Jerden v. State of Indiana, 07A05-1410-CR-498.

NOTE: Nationally, and in many states, Republicans are vulnerable to the charge that they oppose health care reform without offering workable alternatives. That’s one charge that won’t stick against Indiana, or Mike Pence.

A plan that works

HIP 2.0 generating impressive coverage numbers

Indiana’s alternative to Medicaid expansion is proving to be a huge success.

As The Journal Gazette’s Niki Kelly reported recently, HIP 2.0 has enrolled 177,000 people since the federal government approved the plan early this year. Since its kickoff on Feb. 5, the program also has absorbed about 110,000 people from other state medical programs.

HIP 2.0 was an expanded version of the original Healthy Indiana Plan, which never carried more than about 50,000 enrollees. So the new program and its organizers, including Gov. Mike Pence, deserve credit for the logistical accomplishment alone.

The real accomplishment, though, is that Indiana now offers a path to health coverage for people who are too poor to qualify for Obamacare’s tax credits and would have been making too much money to be covered by traditional Medicaid.

Of course, the state could have provided care to the same group by simply accepting the Medicaid expansion provision of the Affordable Care Act. But unlike other Republican governors who continue to pass up billions of dollars for coverage of their state’s poor, Pence has been able to convince the feds to allow Indiana to use HIP’s structure to deliver coverage. He contends that HIP 2.0, which requires those enrolled for the full “HIP-Plus” version of coverage to contribute 2 percent of their income, brings better results because it forces individuals and families to take more responsibility for their own health care. Though the governor has been criticized by those on the far right for selling out to the advocates of universal health care, the concept is vintage conservatism.

But ideological squabbles melt into irrelevance when a program shows the kind of results of HIP 2.0.

In Allen County, Kelly reported, more than 12,000 residents are enrolled – up from 3,000 in January.

The Neighborhood Health Clinics, Inc., one of several sites in Allen County where people can sign up for coverage, has completed 754 HIP 2.0 applications since February, according to Cathy Pollick, the clinics’ outreach and enrollment coordinator. “That number in itself shows it is most definitely working,” she said. Statewide, she noted, 71 percent of those signing up are choosing HIP-Plus, “which is where we want them to be.” HIP-Plus includes dental and vision coverage and fewer copays, so those enrolled are more likely to seek the kind of coverage that improves long-term health.

According to Mary Haupert, president and CEO, 72 percent of the patients seen by the clinic in 2013 were uninsured. With the start of Obamacare, that dropped to 54â percent in 2014.

With the addition of HIP 2.0, she said, the numbers this year will be even lower.

“There are small glitches,” Haupert said, “but it’s doing well.”

Nationally, and in many states, Republicans are vulnerable to the charge that they oppose health care reform without offering workable alternatives. That’s one charge that won’t stick against Indiana, or Mike Pence.

Indianapolis – The Indiana Homeland Security Foundation has approved more than $370,000 in grants to aid local public safety agencies statewide.

“On a fundamental level, these grants have the potential to change how public safety agencies go about their day-to-day operations,” said Governor Mike Pence. “I’m proud to have a program in this state that helps to better equip the brave men and women who continue to work every day for our safety.”

Awards were given to 101 recipients in 61 counties. Recipients include local fire departments, emergency medical services, law enforcement and emergency management agencies in all 10 IDHS Districts.

The focus of the foundation is to support the future of public safety and to provide grant funding to local agencies for critical needs across Indiana. Grants provide up to $4,000. Eligible projects include:

• Equipping emergency responders with personal protective equipment;
• Acquiring equipment for use by emergency responders;
• Providing radios and technology equipment; and
• Training for emergency responders.

In May 2014, the Indiana Homeland Security Foundation awarded more than $400,000 in grants to local public safety agencies. Examples of items that current grant recipients have funded include protective equipment, fire gear, defibrillators, fire hoses, communication equipment, thermal imaging cameras and gas detectors.

The Indiana Homeland Security Foundation is funded through the purchase of “Secure Indiana” license plates. These funds provide grants to public safety agencies and scholarships to students statewide.

Attached is a list of agencies that were awarded grants from the Indiana Homeland Security Foundation.