skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

A Bill to Eliminate Indiana Sales Tax on Low-Income Energy Assistance

play audio
Play

Thursday, February 2, 2012   

INDIANAPOLIS - Federal heating assistance for low-income Hoosiers would be exempt from the 7 percent sales tax next season under a bill which passed the state House unanimously and is poised for action in the Senate.

Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, author of House Bill 1141, says taxing the funds doesn't make sense.

"We're taxing tax dollars, because (under) the LIHEAP program - it's called the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program - tax dollars from the feds are sent back to the states and they are distributed through our Community Action program."

Indiana received $27 million less in LIHEAP funds than the year before, Welch says, adding that the number-one call to 211 in Indiana is from people needing help paying utility bills. She says more families are eligible for assistance than the LIHEAP program has funds to cover.

Not taxing the benefit will stretch the help for those who need it the most, says Ed Gerardot, director of the Indiana Community Action Association, which has member agencies that verify eligibility for LIHEAP recipients.

"What it really would do would be allow everyone who receives the benefit to get 7 percent more fuel than if it wasn't taxed."

The tax has been waived in the past, Gerardot says, but legislators concerned over the lack of revenue two years ago reinstated it.

Paul Chase, AARP Indiana associate state director, says many older low-income Hoosiers will try to save money by adjusting their thermostat.

"Older individuals are at increased risk of illness or death due to exposure to extreme cold or heat. And yet, each year, there's far too many low-income individuals who subject themselves to those risks."

Not all of the LIHEAP money goes to help offset heat bills, Chase says. Some of it is used for weatherization programs to better insulate homes and make them more energy efficient.

The text of HB 1141 is online at in.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021