Truitt Recognized by Indiana Association of Cities and Towns

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Representative Truitt was recently recognized for his “unwavering assistance on municipal issues during the 2011 legislative session” by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns (IACT) at their Leadership Conference July 27-28.  

"I am truly honored by IACT's recognition, and I am committed to doing all I can to see that local units of government have the tools needed to operate successfully," said Truitt.  

Rep. Truitt serves on the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.  Prior to session, Rep. Truitt met with IACT staff and members to better understand the complexity of various issues facing Indiana's cities and towns. 

 

“We were very appreciative to have the dialogue we had with Representative Truitt,” said Steve Luecke, the Mayor of South Bend and IACT 1st Vice President.  “Throughout session, the dialogue continued as we worked to get legislation passed which helped local governments streamline our processes and improve efficiencies.”

 

Rep. Truitt authored House Bill (HB) 1309 which contained two of IACT’s legislative initiatives for 2011.  HB 1309 increased the dollar amount threshold for projects in which local governments could use with their own workforce.  This threshold had not been raised in over fifteen years.  In addition, HB 1309 increased the threshold for when political subdivisions must use the bidding process versus the more simplified quote process for government projects.  The act also standardized the threshold for all sizes of cities and towns.

 

Both of these measures ended up passing in House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1004.

 

Rep. Truitt also authored HEA 1311 which was a comprehensive planning and zoning law.  This piece of legislation addressed how funds are managed in relation to tax increment finance districts. 

 

In addition to these pieces of legislation, Rep. Truitt sponsored two Senate bills that were supported by IACT, Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 26 and SEA 32. SEA 26 allows local governments to retain a portion of their levy that would otherwise be reduced due to consolidation or merger, and SEA 32 allows all 92 counties to have the option to use vote centers.

 

Tippecanoe County was one of the three pilot counties where vote centers were implemented. Significant cost savings and greater convenience for voters resulted from this new voting option.       

 

“I certainly appreciate all of the support and assistance that IACT offered last session,” said Rep. Truitt. “I wanted to take the lead on these legislative issues to help our cities and towns conduct their day-to-day business in ways that will better benefit Hoosiers,”