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The Indiana General Assembly just reached the midpoint of its 2023 legislative session and passed some deadlines for advancing bills, which has pushed at least two-thirds of them back to the curb—at least for this session. So this is a great time to take stock of the bills that made the cut and those that tanked.
As usual, education funding has been at the center of major debate. Lawmakers also are hip-deep in social issues, such as so-called “ESG investing” and potential bans on library books some people believe are inappropriate for minors. The Legislature likes to trumpet its efforts to make the state more business-friendly, and different ways to lower business taxes have been under discussion.
For this week’s edition of the IBJ Podcast, regular host Mason King is turning the discussion over to Managing Editor Greg Weaver, who’s been covering state government for decades, and IBJ statehouse reporter Peter Blanchard. And they have invited a guest to help flesh out the discussion: Casey Smith, a reporter for Indiana Capital Chronicle, who recently authored a scoop on a major omission in the Indiana House Republicans’ school funding plan.
Click here to find the IBJ Podcast each Monday. You can also subscribe at iTunes, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify and anyplace you find podcasts.
You can also listen to these recent episodes:
IBJ Podcast: Is downtown safe? Ask two business owners who reached different conclusions.
IBJ Podcast: Downtown fixture Wheeler Mission on verge of big transition
IBJ Podcast: He stitched handbags in his Irvington basement, and now it’s a $1M business
IBJ Podcast: Amy Brown’s unusual route from family studies to tech CEO
IBJ Podcast: A look back at celebrated Indy jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery
Looking for another podcast to try? Check out IBJ’s The Freedom Forum with Angela B. Freeman, a monthly discussion about diversity and inclusion in central Indiana’s business community.
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Greg: although the S in ESG stands for social, I’d hardly call this anti-ESG/pension fund issue a social one. The primary objection to the ESG funds is the E, for Environmental, specifically that they’re steering capital away from oil & gas development as well as heavy industries, that are net CO2 producers but also tend to create the best paying jobs. The high-profile “social” issue for ESG funds is firearms manufacturers, and this isn’t nearly as important to our economy.
Peter: do you really think “we’re getting away from fossil fuels”? The “green energy revolution” is about adding alternatives to our existing fossil fuel base, not substituting alternatives for fossil fuels. I know that’s not the fairy-tale narrative we hear so often from certain politicians, but it’s a hard fact, unless we want to impoverish much of the world.