Bills becoming laws

Have you ever had a project that you poured your heart and soul into? Maybe it was garden work, building a barn or a contest entry for your favorite hobby. You spend hours planning, researching and creating the best possible outcome. Each year, the part-time legislative body meets for session. Since session spans only three to four months (depending on the year), I have similar feelings in regards to the months of preparation put into meeting with members of the community, working on policy initiatives and finally drafting legislative proposals as a means to better Indiana.

I am excited to say that last week some of the bills I authored and co-authored for the 2013 legislative session were signed into law by the governor: House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1130 and HEA 1359.

HEA 1130 provides that an individual who is gravely disabled, in addition to having a mental illness and being in immediate need of hospitalization, may be detained by a law enforcement officer and transported to the nearest appropriate facility.

Currently, people who are gravely disabled are not included in the immediate detention statute (commonly referred to as the 24 hour detention), which makes situations more difficult for law enforcement officers to handle .The primary purpose of this type of detention is to permit law enforcement officials or emergency medical personnel to take an individual who is experiencing a mental health crisis into custody for transportation to a local health care or psychiatric facility for assessment and emergency treatment.

This legislation is important for public safety, especially as more people are being diagnosed with mental illnesses like Alzheimer’s or dementia. I want to make sure that the proper precautions are taken with individuals who have mental illnesses.

Secondly, I co-authored HEA 1359 with three other state representatives. The legislation addresses age-restricted housing programs and passed with bipartisan support in both chambers. This bill allows a redevelopment commission to establish a program for age-restricted housing.

This piece of legislation came from the desire by local governments to make their communities welcoming to senior citizens. By creating the option for residential housing TIF (tax increment financing) districts, communities will have another option to redevelop and sell housing that may otherwise not be considered.

This will benefit the baby boomer generation particularly by providing housing incentives that are specific to their demographic, if they choose to downsize their homes. This will have a positive impact on abandoned houses or places in need of rehabilitation and provides incentives to redevelop unsightly areas.

HEA 1130 will go into effect on July 1, and HEA 1359 will become effective on May 15 of this year. I will continue to work tirelessly on the other issues that I have proposed before the General Assembly as a way to improve Hoosier communities.

As always, feel free to connect with me on my website at www.in.gov/h75 or by phone at 317-232-9674. I look forward to continuing to support legislation that positively impacts Hoosiers in our state.

Tilly – Tilly is a very social Australian cattle dog with LOTS of energy. She responds well to correction and is food motivated which is helping as we perfect her manners here at the VHS. Since she’s a young, active girl, it’s important that she gets regular exercise. She also loves attention, so she’ll want to be included in your life and activities. Her first birthday is coming up this month – will her new forever family come fall in love with her in time to celebrate it? Her adoption fee is $100, which includes her spay, age-appropriate vaccines, nationally-registered microchip, and a bag of food.

www.vhslifesaver.org

On March 22, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children awarded Indiana State Police Detective Chris Cecil with a Certificate of Honorable Mention for his crucial role in the investigation that resulted in the arrest and conviction of Jonathan Martin, 28, of Vincennes. Detective Cecil is assigned to the Crimes Against Children unit and a member of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

On January 20, 2011, Indiana State Police Detective Chris Cecil initiated an investigation concerning child exploitation after receiving information Martin allegedly posted an advertisement on Craigslist wanting young girls for sex. During the investigation, Detective Cecil developed information showing Martin was involved in numerous online activities pertaining to child exploitation.

On March 7, 2011, Detective Cecil, along with members of the Indiana State Police Crimes Against Children and Cyber Crime Units, and Indiana ICAC Task Force executed a search warrant at Martin’s residence located at 1411 Prairie Street in Vincennes and discovered more than 20,000 images and videos depicting child pornography that Martin had been sharing via email clients and peer-to-peer file sharing. Martin was storing child pornography in his email account and in a cloud-based storage server in Russia.

“Detective Cecil’s expertise, creativity and perseverance resulted in the identification, conviction and sentencing of a serial contact offender against children,” said Lt. Chuck Cohen, Cyber Crime and Criminal Intelligence Section Commander for the Indiana State Police.

On February 29, 2012, Martin was sentenced in federal court to 18 years of imprisonment followed by lifetime supervised release. Martin was also sentenced on November 1, 2012, to 25 years of imprisonment after pleading guilty to two counts of Class A felony child molesting in Elkhart County, Indiana. The state judge imposed an additional credit felony restriction on Martin, meaning he will be required to serve 83% of his sentence in the Indiana Department of Correction rather than the normally required 50%. The federal and state sentences will run consecutively, with Martin beginning his state term of imprisonment when he is released from federal custody in no less than 15 years and 4 month. His total term of imprisonment will be in excess of 36 years. Jonathan Martin, who was 28 at the time Cecil arrested him, will be in custody until he is at least 64 years old.

Detective Cecil is an eight year veteran of the Indiana State Police and has been a detective in the Crimes Against Children Unit since August 2010.

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller recently helped launch a legal toolkit to assist state attorneys general in cracking down on those who prey upon military service members.

Zoeller worked with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Consumer Protection Working Group of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force and attorneys general from Kentucky, Illinois and North Carolina to develop the toolkit. The kit outlines issues impacting the military community and how states’ consumer protection officials can effectively combat these types of financial predators and scammers.

“Scammers and illegitimate businesses often target service members and their families because of their steady paychecks and deployments,” Zoeller said. “Issues impacting our military include topics ranging from predatory mortgage lending to auto financing and from GI Bill related scams to identity theft. It’s important that state and federal officials use the resources available to crack down on those who prey on individuals serving our country.”

The toolkit is intended to serve as a guide for relevant statutes and regulations, as well as a platform to discuss best practices and developing trends. Zoeller said his colleagues in offices of state attorneys general nationwide will be better equipped to navigate the diverse issues and complex laws concerning the military community.

“I want to thank Attorney General Zoeller for his efforts to protect our service members from financial predators who attempt to take advantage of those serving our country,” said Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, Adjutant General of the Indiana National Guard. “I also want to encourage every soldier and airman to look closely at the resources available to protect themselves and their families, so they understand situational awareness in the world of finance can be just as important as it is on the battlefield.”

Zoeller said there are some important resources available to those in the military to help prevent financial harm including:

· Active-Duty Alerts: These alerts can be placed on a service member’s credit report to inform a business it is obtaining information from an individual away on active duty. The alert requires the business to first obtain permission from an authorized third party like a family member or friend before proceeding.

· Caps on interest bearing debt: Those on active duty may cap the interest rate on most outstanding loans at 6 percent under the provisions of the Service members Civil Relief Act. To have your interest rate reduced to 6 percent, you must write a letter to each creditor letting them know about your orders and your intent to invoke the 6 percent cap.

· Vehicle and property lease terminations: Deployed military members are able to legally terminate some vehicle and property leases. If you are currently leasing a vehicle or home/apartment and wish to terminate your lease, contact the leaseholder and inform them of your deployment.

· Foreclosure and eviction relief: Under the Service member Civil Relief Act and the National Mortgage Settlement, service members are granted special relief when facing foreclosure. For example, a person may be able to obtain a “stay” or temporarily delay in a foreclosure or other civil court proceeding if he or she is called up to active duty. In addition, service members have special eligibility for loss mitigation relief such as a modification of their loan or a short sale. Similarly, service members and their families who rent their home may obtain a temporary stay of eviction proceedings while the service member is on active duty.

Military service members can visit www.IndianaConsumer.com/military/ to learn more about resources available to them.

Through the Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males, health screenings and health education programs for African-American males will be provided on Saturday April 13, 2013 at more than 50 barbershops in Indiana including five Evansville Barbershops. In Evansville, the program is being sponsored by the Evansville Commission on the Social Status of African American Males in collaboration with community partners. David Wagner, Chairperson of the Evansville Commission on the Social Status of African-American Males, encourages men to be proactive with their healthcare because, “it may save your life.” Free screenings will be provided from 9:00 am-3:00 pm at the following barbershops:

Fila’s Designs Jerald’s Barbershop Shark’s Den Barbershop

1010 S. Kentucky Ave. 1337 E. Walnut St. 765 Lincoln Avenue

Evansville, IN 47714 Evansville, IN 47714 Evansville, IN 47713

Going Forward Lynch’s House of Coiffure

Barber & Beauty Shop 555 S. Kentucky Avenue

1015 E. Riverside Dr. Evansville, IN 47713

Evansville, IN 47714

Recent figures from the Indiana Department of Health show African American men have the highest mortality rate of any group in Indiana. African American men also suffer from prostate cancer at a higher level in Indiana than any other racial or ethnic group. Through black-owned barbershops, which represent a cultural institution of familiarity and trust, the initiative chose to provide health information and screenings in an environment men are comfortable with. This year the goal is to screen over one thousand men across the twelve cities. Last year in nine participating cities 748 screenings were performed.

Local partners include the City of Evansville and the Evansville Commission on the Social Status of African-American Males, Community Action Program of Evansville (Minority Health Initiative), Southwest Indiana Area Health Education Center (SWI-AHEC), hosted by the University of Southern Indiana, Evansville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and American Medical Response (AMR).