Senator Charbonneau behind Bill that Eliminates Personal Property Tax for Potential Companies

State Senator Ed Charbonneau

Fifth District State Senator Ed Charbonneau, of Valparaiso, has championed a bill that passed the state legislature this year that would allow local communities to eliminate personal property tax on equipment for potential companies. This, according to Charbonneau, will make Northern Indiana more appealing to hi-tech companies with high paying jobs to consider locating in our area.

“We’re doing whatever we can as a state to remain one of the best states for business friendliness because that means we’re going to be attractive to bringing new jobs into the state,” stated Charbonneau.

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Indiana’s Economic Front Looking Positive

There’s good news for Hoosiers on the economic front, according to Fifth District State Senator Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso).

First, Charbonneau points out that Indiana’s real gross domestic product grew at a remarkable rate of 4.6% in 2010. In comparison, other states averaged 2.6 percent GDP improvements. Indiana and Oregon led the nation in durable goods manufacturing with statistically twice the growth of our closest state competitors in that industry. In the Great Lakes region, Michigan had a GDP of 2.9%; Wisconsin 2.5%; and Illinois, 1.9%. Nationwide, only New York and North Dakota experienced GDP growth outpacing that of Indiana.

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State Senator Ed Charbonneau Discusses Criminal Sentencing Procedures

State Senator Ed Charbonneau

Editors note: Recently the Pew Center on the States and the Council of State Government Justice Center released a report on Indiana’s criminal sentencing procedures. WKVI’s Ted Hayes had an opportunity to interview the ranking member of the Senate’s Appropriation Committee this week, and what follows are Fifth District Senator Ed Charbonneau thoughts on the subject:

“One of the challenges of my position is being responsible on the senate side for the school funding formula. I’ve been sitting in on all budget committee hearings recently. These meetings give a preliminary view of what the recommendations, or requests are going to be for the next budget cycle. The Department of Corrections was one of the departments that came to those meetings. Some pretty stunning numbers came from those presenting the DOC’s needs.”

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