With 55 members—37 of who are NFIB members, too—the voice of small business is growing at the Statehouse.
NFIB/Indiana’s presence in the Indiana Statehouse continues to be strong. After November’s election, and Indiana Senate Republican caucus to replace Jim Banks, who won election to Congress, NFIB members now benefit from 55 members in its non-partisan Small Business Caucus, including actual NFIB members who are serving in the Statehouse. That’s not including Governor-elect Eric Holcomb, who is also member.
In 2013, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Indiana General Assembly formed the state’s first ever Small Business Caucus. Since then the group has become a model for state and federal officials interested more in solving problems than in partisan wrangling.
Indiana’s economy depends overwhelmingly on small business. More than 90 percent of all employers are, in fact, classified as pass-through companies, typically sole proprietorships, partnerships and other small operations. For years, though, policy experts and the business news media were lopsidedly focused on what was happening on Wall Street and the corporate sector. That’s still a problem in Washington, where there seems to be bipartisan consensus on tax reform that would benefit big corporations but exclude small businesses.
In Indiana, however, the focus is expanding. Based on its early work, the Small Business Caucus promises to accelerate that trend. Chaired by reps Terri Austin (D-Anderson), the group is virtually free of the bitter politics that dominates the news today. Voters in both parties and independents should be proud that their representatives are working together, constructively and respectfully, and they’re doing so without regard for partisan advantage.
“The Small Business Caucus is a quiet but major development from which productive reforms will come,” says NFIB/Indiana State Director Barbara Quandt Underwood. “It points the way, too, for the rest of the Legislature and especially for Congress. The parties may never agree on certain issues, but everyone agrees on the need to protect and encourage small business. Our leaders in Washington would be wise to copy the model being formed in Indiana.
Here, a list of Small Business Caucus members:
Representative Sharon Negele
Representative Doug Gutwein
Representative Julie Olthoff
Representative Jim Pressel
Representative Bill Friend
Representative Don Lehe
Representative Sheila Klinker
Representative Kevin Mahan
Representative Greg Beumer
Representative Terri Austin
Representative Heath Van Natter
Representative Greg Steuerwald
Representative Bruce Borders
Representative Bob Heaton
Representative Wes Culver
Representative Dennis Zent
Representative Cindy Ziemke
Representative Richard Hamm
Representative Peggy Mayfield
Representative Jeff Ellington
Representative Mike Braun
Representative Randy Frye
Representative Jim Lucas
Representative Ron Bacon
Representative Martin Carbaugh
Representative Dave Ober
Senator Ryan Mishler
Senator Jean Leising
Senator Erin Houchin
Senator Dennis Kruse
Senator Tim Lanane
Senator Eric Bassler
Senator Phil Boots
Senator Liz Brown
Senator Mark Messmer
Senator Rick Niemeyer
Senator Andy Zay
