The Brown County Voter
January 2025
The League of Women Voters of Brown County is a nonpartisan civic organization that encourages informed and active participation in government. The League works to increase understanding of major public policy issues through education and advocacy. Membership is open to all regardless of gender.
We never support or oppose any political party or candidate.
Educate • Advocate • Empower • Reform
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Just a Note
By Shari Frank LWVBC Board President
Happy New Year LWVBC Members and friends! I hope you are off to a good start for 2025 and staying warm in this snowy cold front.
It looks like it will be a busy four months with our Indiana Legislators. Many bills and changes are in the works. Please join us for Zoom Legislative Updates scheduled for Saturdays, 9:30 am to 11:00 am: January 25th , Feb 15th , March 8th and April 19th .
Indiana LWV advocates have identified some bills to keep an eye on, and some to take action to express your opinion to legislators on favoring or opposing proposals on Education, Energy, Natural Resources and more.
In Brown County, The County Election Board announced plans to pursue Vote Centers for future elections. Initial proposals include five Vote Center locations for Election Day Voting, to replace the eleven precinct poll locations currently in use. An advantage is voters would be able to vote in any Vote Center rather than being restricted to their assigned precinct. What are your thoughts on the possible change? What voting equipment do you think should be the primary method used for Voting in Brown County? Hand-marked paper ballots or the Freedom Vote (FV) Electronic Marking Devices?
- Hand-marked paper ballots are currently the primary method of voting. The voter fills in the ovals next to their choices, then puts their ballot into a scanner to be counted and tallied.
- Freedom Vote machines are available as a secondary method of voting. Voters electronically select ballot choices, then get a printed paper ballot receipt. The printed ballot is then put in a scanner to be counted and tallied. These machines have assistive devices such as large-print, and audio to read the ballot and provide voice selection for vision impaired. Freedom Vote machines will continue to be available to provide accessibility for voters who want or need the help.
- Should we continue to have hand-marked paper ballots as the primary method of voting with Freedom Vote machines optional – or, should voters be required to use the Freedom Vote machines?
The method of voting is one of many questions to be addressed as the County Election Board moves to explore Vote Centers. The Election Board is on the County Commissioners agenda at 6 pm January 22nd, since a first step in considering Vote Centers in Indiana requires County Commissioner and Council approval to move forward. The Election Board has scheduled meetings on the 2nd Tuesdays of the month at 2 pm in the County Office building Salmon Room. Meetings are open to the public so feel free to attend. If you are interested in helping follow this and other election issues, consider joining our Voter Services Committee. Email if interested to browncountylwv@gmail.com and be sure to look for my Letter to the Editor in next week's edition of the Brown County Democrat.
In addition to the bills listed elsewhere in this newsletter, a particular bill we want to bring to your attention:
- House Bill 1233 - Local government reorganization : Provides that on January 1, 2027, in all counties except Marion County, the following occur: (1) Township government is dissolved. (2) The county executive assumes the powers and duties of township trustees with regard to fire protection and emergency services (fire services). (3) An elected county trustee assumes the powers and duties of township trustees regarding township assistance. Specifies that, on January 1, 2027, the following occur: (1) All fire protection districts and fire protection territories are dissolved. (2) Fire services are provided in accordance with a county fire protection and emergency medical services plan (county plan). (3) The county emergency management director is responsible for the day to day operations of administering the county plan. Provides that all incorporated towns with a population of less than 1,000 are required: (1) to report not later than November 1, 2025, and every November 1 every four years thereafter as to the services provided to residents, and operating costs; and (2) to be dissolved by the county legislative body if the town's operating costs exceed the expenditures for delivery of services to residents.
This seems to have huge change implications for Brown County in a pretty short time period. We’ll try to learn more and would appreciate your thoughts sent to browncountylwv@gmail.com
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An Invitation (or two)
From Sunny Leerkamp, LWVBC Vice President
I would like to invite anyone interested to join in a study of the book Dignity by Donna Hicks, Ph.D. I have had a lot of conflicted feelings after the most recent election and I've engaged in conversations with family, friends and acquaintances who feel much as I do - not knowing how to meaningfully engage in conversations with individuals of differing views. Our DEI Group has studied a little bit about this when the group first started, but this book seems to take a deeper dive into who we are as individuals and how to make connections. Her "New Model of Dignity" states: "Dignity is an internal state of peace that comes with the recognition and acceptance of the value and vulnerability of all living things." Take a look at the website at dignity.us to get a broader grasp of the principles this approach is founded upon. Then let me know if you would like to join the conversation by zoom on the third Monday in February, which is the 17th, at 7:00 PM to begin our dive into what I hope will be a constructive and uplifting exercise. If you are able to come, please be prepared to discuss the first 48 pages of the book.
The entire membership is also invited to our League Retreat on March 1st from 1:00 - 3:00 at my home (6447 Cougar Drive, Nineveh) where will be discussing possible reorganization of the leadership model, revisions needed to the Board handbook, topics/speaker for the Annual Meeting on April 28th, and ideas for attracting more individuals to participate in our forums and legislative updates, along with any other ideas to grow and fund our footprint in Brown County.
| Upcoming Events of Note
January 20: City of Bloomington Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration at The Buskirk Chumley. This event is free, with general admission seating. This year’s theme is “A Necessary Renaissance in Social Justice: Telling the Stories to Ignite Change,” featuring keynote speaker Keith A. Beauchamp. Click Here for More Info
January 25, February 15, March 8: Legislative Updates, 9:30-11:00am on Zoom. Featuring State legislators representing Monroe and Brown Counties are invited to these public meetings while the legislature is in session. Legislators give a brief report for 5-10 minutes, then take questions from the public. Click here to register.
February 1: PACEs Program Outcome & Steps Forward, Noon - 1:30pm at the Brown County Public Library. Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences Initiative (PACEs) is a grant program that provided community education and mental health services to Brown County children and adults, regardless of ability to pay, between July 2022 and December 2024. Everyone is welcome to come and learn about the program, its impact, and what is being done to continue the work. Pizza and refreshments served. Registration requested here.
February 12: League Day at the Statehouse
February 17: Dignity Book Discussion, As mentioned in her letter above, take a look at the website at dignity.us to get a broader grasp of the principles this approach is founded upon. Then let Sunny Leerkamp know if you would like to join the conversation by zoom on the third Monday in February, which is the 17th, at 7:00 PM
February 22: Community Health Fair, 10am - 2pm at the Brown County YMCA. Services will include: Dental, Vision, Hearing and general health screening. A Health Care Navigator will help connect people with health care services and Brown Countians for Quality Health Care will offer financial assistance to those in need of health care.
March 1 : Brown County League Retreat , 1:00 - 3:00 at Sunny Leerkamp's home (6447 Cougar Drive, Nineveh). We will discuss possible reorganization of the club's leadership model, revisions needed to the Board handbook, topics/speaker for the Annual Meeting on April 28th, and ideas for attracting more individuals to participate in our forums and legislative updates, along with any other ideas to grow and fund our footprint in Brown County.
March 27 : LWVBC Janet Kramer Memorial Scholarship , Deadline for submissions.
April 28: LWVBC Annual Meeting and Dinner, Save the Date! Details forthcoming.
| League Day at the Statehouse
Join us for League Day at the Statehouse on Wednesday, February 12th. Click here to learn more and register.
Tentative Schedule
09:30 am Registration Desk Opens in State Library
11:30 am Lunch (included in registration)
11:45 am Whitney Downard, Indiana Capital Chronicle, Medicaid in Indiana
12:30 pm Table Discussions
Table 1 - Education - Indiana Coalition for Public Education
Table 2 - Medicaid - Whitney Downard, Indiana Capital Chronicle
Table 3 - Elections - Julia Vaughn, Director, Common Cause Indiana
Table 4 - Water Resources - Speaker TBD
1:30 pm Adjourn for Legislator Meetings
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2025 Bill Tracking
The General Assembly hit the ground running on Monday for a busy second week of the legislative session. There were numerous committee hearings throughout the week. Additionally, more bills were filed as new legislation was introduced, including most of this session’s priority bills. All four caucuses have officially released their key agendas for this session:
We're highlighting some bills important to membership, below. You can always access the full League of Women Voters bill track here.
Natural Resources
Environmental issues to watch in this year's IGA include water use management, energy and data center demands, and PFAS controls.
- HB 1245, authored by Rep. Dave Hall (R-Norman) and co-authored by Reps. Steve Bartels (R-Eckerty), Jim Lucas (R-Seymour), and Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) would allow some counties to add a $1 surcharge to the entrance fees charged at DNR properties to go towards emergency services. This is needed for counties like Brown, Jackson, Crawford and others with significant State Parks, State Forests and Recreation Areas as thousands of residents who travel into these counties to enjoy DNR properties do not currently contribute to the tax revenue which funds EMS and public safety. The $1 surcharge would not apply to passholders, only those paying the entry fee. The Indiana Forest Alliance supports this legislation and believes it is very important to address the shortfalls in funding that result to rural counties when large acreages of their land are withdrawn from the property tax rolls. When the state ignores these impacts to counties, their resistance to more public land only grows. This bill will be heard before the House Committee on Natural Resources on Wed. Jan. 22 at 8:30 a.m. in Room 156 (basement level) of the Indiana Statehouse. A livestream of this committee will be available at this link.
- HB 1447, also authored by Rep. Hall, and co-authored by Reps. Kyle Miller (D-Fort Wayne) and Robb Greene (R-Shelbyville) will require the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to set aside 10% of each State Forest to return to the old growth condition in tracts of at least 500 acres when possible. While 10% may not sound like a lot, the 16,000 acres that would be protected far surpasses the current 4,000 acres of State Forest set aside from logging.
- SB 4 establishes a permitting process for moving water from one part of the state to another.
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SB 256 creates a two year task force to study water regulation and establishes a moratorium on Wabash River pipeline projects.
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SB 28 manages agricultural use of water.
Education
We have serious concerns with the following bills:
- SB 143: Parental rights to direct the upbringing of their child.
- SB 235: DEI prohibitions: State agencies and educational institutions.
- SB 257: Civic education. Prohibits teaching certain concepts.
- SB 287: Partisan school boards. Candidates must be nominated by party.
- Please take action! Reach out immediately to your state senator and members of the Senate Elections Committee (see committee roster HERE – scroll down on the page) to urge them to vote “NO” on SB 287. Don’t forget to use these talking points to help customize your messaging.
- HB 1002: Expansive omni-bill.
- HB 1041: Prohibits transgender women from playing on university women’s sports teams.
- HB 1136: School corporation reorganization. Closes public schools and transition operation to Charter.
- HB 1173: Ban on university practices.
- HB 1195: Pornographic material.
- HB 1229: Local government finance. Abolishes property taxes for schools.
- HB 1230: School board elections. Party affiliation required.
- Please take action! Reach out now with your state representative to urge them to vote “NO” on HB 1230. Also, start targeting communication asking for a “NO” vote from members of the House Elections & Apportionment Committee (see committee roster HERE – scroll down on the page).
- HB 1231: Display of the Ten Commandments.
- HB 1326: Student and teaching scholarships. Opens vouchers to all.
- HB 1348: Nonaccredited nonpublic school’s diploma is legally equal to and must be recognized without prejudice as the same as a public school accredited diploma.
- HB 1394: Schools have the authority to deny enrollment to unlawful immigrant.
Elections
Election related issues we're tracking include the following:
- SB137: Voter registration. Oppose. Requires BMV to notify Indiana Election Division (IED) if a person uses temporary credentials when conducting BMV transactions and applying to vote.
- SB 201 and HB 1029 : Closed Primaries. Oppose. Requires a party declaration to vote in Primary Elections.
- SB 228 : PAC contributions to a school board candidate cannot to exceed $5000. Support.
- SB 284 : Early Voting. Oppose. Reduces the number of days for early voting to 7 days before the general election. Currently 28 days.
- SB 287 : School Board Matters. Oppose. Requires candidates for school board to be nominated in the same manner as candidates for all other elected offices are nominated.
- HB 1230 : School Board Elections. Oppose. Requires school board candidate to affiliate with a party or indicate independent on the ballot.
- SB 200 : Straight ticket voting. Support. Eliminates straight ticket voting.
- SB 302 : Absentee Ballots. Support. Allows absentee ballots to be processed before 6 pm on election day.
- SJR 21 : Term Limits for Members of Congress. Oppose. Proposes an Article V Constitutional Convention to introduce Congressional term limits.
Women's Health
The State League is following about 40 bills on abortion, tax-free hygiene products, contraception, lactation rooms, maternal health, paid leave, postpartum care, LGBTQ+, medical education/practice, Medicaid, and other issues. Highlights for your consideration include:
- HB 1148 : Confidentiality of birth and stillbirth. Support.
- HB 1299 : Funding for breast cancer research. Support.
- SB 2 : Medicaid Matters. Oppose. This bill removes healthcare from at least 250,000 Hoosiers who currently have coverage. It removes health care from beneficiaries after 36 months usage in a lifetime. It adds complexity and cost to the Medicaid system through work requirements and costs to healthcare overall through cutting provider reimbursement for care.
With special thanks to LWVIN Advocates: Nannett Polk, Kristina Lindborg, Cheryl Chapman, Liz Solberg, and Pam Locker
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Update: Health Access & Privacy Advocates
By Pam Raider, LWVBC Secretary, Health Committee Co-Chair
As representatives of the health care committee, Cathy Rountree and I attended the HAPA (Health Access and Privacy Advocates) zoom meeting of which our League is a dues paying member. The group is actively following bills in at least three categories: Women’s health, Reproductive health and Contraception, and LGBTQ issues. I was very pleased to learn that the LWVIN website (lwvin.org) now has an excellent Bill Track 50 which makes this so much easier. HAPA is one of several groups reporting in to the LWVIN tracker with info about various bills and recommendations for and opposed. In the meeting, we heard from a breast cancer survivor who told us about HB 1299. Turns out Indiana gives no funding to any kind of cancer research. HB 1299 would help fund breast cancer research with tobacco fund money not spoken for; this bill passed out of committee with bi partisan support. The LGBTQ advocate told us about SB 235 which will limit DEI. Cathy gave us a lengthy report on SB 2 – which will cap the number of people who can be on HIP (Indiana’s expanded Medicaid program). Currently there are over 700,000 (possibly an undercount) recipients on the program; this bill would cut that down to 500,000 total recipients and cap services received to 36 months over a person’s lifetime. Incidentally, it was written by national group out of Florida (Foundation for Government Accountability) who feels too many people on Medicaid. If bill passes it could push people to ER rooms thereby stressing rural hospitals especially financially. We heard from a Planned Parenthood advocate about SB 521 and SB 522 which relate to pregnancy and childbirth concerns and two bills SB 171 and SB 245 which relate to abortion medication drugs. Bills that get out of committee must be heard by February 17th which is the half way point. The HAPA group will be meeting more often now that statehouse is in session. Our next meeting by zoom is 1/24/25. | Upcoming Government Meetings
Source Links: County and Town
Did you know? You can sign up to receive meeting agendas, alerts government job postings and more here. The County Government calendar can be accessed here.
| | Brown County Election Board (all meetings in the Salmon Room)
February 11, 2:00 pm
March 11, 2:00 pm
Brown County Commissioners (all meetings in the Salmon Room)
January 22, 6:00 pm
February 5, 2:00 pm
February 19, 6:00 pm | | Brown County Council (all meetings in the Salmon Room)
January 21, 5:30 pm
February 17, 5:30 pm
Town of Nashville Council
February 20, 6:30 pm
March 20, 6:30 pm | | | Diversity Calendar
Source: https://www.diversityresources.com/diversity-calendar-2025/
January is a month to celebrate the diverse ways in which we communicate and connect with each other. From recognizing the importance of Braille for the visually impaired to honoring cultural and religious celebrations, this month is about understanding and appreciating the various forms of expression that enrich our world.
January 20 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Honors the civil rights leader and his contributions to equality.
January 27 – International Day of Commemoration in Memory of Victims of the Holocaust
Remembers the victims of the Holocaust and promotes Holocaust education.
February is dedicated to celebrating Black History Month, a time to honor the contributions, achievements, and rich history of Black Americans. This month also includes significant events that promote harmony and awareness across various cultural and health-related spectrums.
February 1 – UN: World Interfaith Harmony Week
Promotes harmony between all people regardless of their faith.
February 2 – Pagan and Wiccan: Imbolc
Celebrates the beginning of spring and the goddess Brigid.
February 4 – World Cancer Day
Raises awareness of cancer prevention, detection, and treatment.
February 17 – Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day)
Honors the birthday of George Washington, the first U.S. President.
February 26 – Hindu: Maha Shivaratri
A major Hindu festival celebrating Lord Shiva. | LWVBC Meeting Schedule
LWVBC business meetings are held virtually the second Monday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 10, 6:00 pm via Zoom. League Members, Friends, and the public are welcome to join the meeting. To participate in the meeting and receive the Zoom link, contact League President Shari Frank at browncountylwv@gmail.com.
The deadline for submission of articles for the February newsletter is 5:00 pm Friday, February 14. The Brown County VOTER is published monthly. Please send your articles and/or suggestions to LWVBC at browncountylwv@gmail.com.
| Here’s How to Contact Your State, Federal, Local Legislators
A list is provided below of the legislators who serve Brown County. For contact information on other state representatives and state senators, go to https://iga.in.gov/information/find-legislators. For information about your Congressional Representative, go to https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.
For information on your County Representatives and meetings for Boards, County Commissioners and County Council:
| | Brown County Circuit Court Clerk
Pearletta Banks
Phone: 812-988-5510
Brown County Council
Gary Huett (President)
David Redding (Vice-President)
Darren Byrd
Jim Kemp
Joel Kirby
Scott Rudd
Judy Swift-Powdrill
CountyCouncil@browncounty-in.us
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