2014 Legislative Preview Shows Promise for the Coming Year

On Friday morning, the Duneland Chamber of Commerce and the Northwest Indiana Forum partnered together to present this year’s legislative preview. The event took place at the Forum Auditorium at 9am with networking and followed with a recap of the enacted legislation of 2012 and 2013 by Kevin Brinegar, President of the Indiana State Chamber.

Brinegar presented on key topics such as taxes, local government reform, and environmental policy. 2014 will see the kickoff of a water resource plan.

“We want to make sure that no community in the state is economically inhibited because of a shortage of water,” said Brinegar.

2014 may also see developments in infrastructure and alternative energy across the state.

A member at the event said, “We want our plans to be simple and fair so that the people of Indiana can understand what to expect.”

After the presentation, event attendees were invited to ask questions about legislation. Topics that arose included electric cars, gay marriage, and U.S. Highway 30.

“The Duneland Chamber of Commerce is excited to partner with The Northwest Indiana Forum to present this year’s legislative preview.  Our organization strives to participate in events to help our members stay educated on the issues that face the national, state and local economy.  Many of these issues can have a profound effect on small businesses.  Topics ranging from taxation to the environment will have an impact on us all.  We have sincere gratitude to all of the sponsors for making this event free for our members to attend,”  Heather Ennis, Executive Director of the Duneland Chamber of Commerce, said.

Ennis concluded the preview by encouraging Chamber and Forum members to stay in touch with the legislators and senators of the state to keep informed about legislative happenings.

Sponsors for the event were: Porter Regional Hospital, Franciscan St. Anthony Health, LaPorte Savings Bank, BusINess, Teachers Credit Union, Absolute Apparel, BMO Harris Bank, Kramer and Leonard, HMS Westside, Lakeside Wealth Management Group