02/28/2008
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NFIB members from across Indiana press their case in the state Capitol. |
If anyone ever doubted the grassroots power of small business, those doubts were put to rest last week when nearly 200 small business owners and their families converged on the Indiana Statehouse for Small Business Day at the Capitol.
On Tuesday, Feb. 19, NFIB/Indiana hosted the event which began at the Indianapolis Sheraton Hotel. First on the agenda was a discussion of the 2008 Legislative Session. Sen. Brandt Hershman and Dennis Kruse along with Rep. Phyllis Pond addressed the group detailing the property tax intensive session of the General Assembly. Sen. Kruse and Rep. Pond also discussed the regulatory climate, speaking to member complaints with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).
The majority of the membership in attendance represented Amish small businesses.
In recent weeks, the NFIB office in Indianapolis has been inundated with calls from Amish members who say they have been targeted by the IDEM. Amish business owners with shops as small as one or two family members say they have been threatened with fines of $25,000 per day. IDEM personnel admit that Amish businesses have been targeted. They contend, however, that these small businesses have been targeted for "outreach," not "enforcement." Some Amish NFIB members have told their legislators and NFIB that they will be forced to leave the state.
The issue with IDEM brought over 160 representatives of Amish small businesses and their families to our event. NFIB staff, field sales representatives and volunteers from the NFIB Leadership Council helped guide the Amish members to and around the statehouse.
And what a sight it was! It was amazing to see a crowd of nearly 200, most of them Amish, trekking to the Statehouse and up the steps into our capitol. All our members had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with their legislators. The culmination of the day was a meeting with Gov. Mitch Daniels at his office in the capitol. The meeting was initially scheduled to be a brief one, but Gov. Daniels continued to take questions for a session that lasted nearly 45 minutes.
Bottom line: NFIB members felt their concerns were heard by their legislators and the governor, and the administration indicated that the concerns of the Amish families will be addressed.
