News - February 2012

2011 was another milestone year for BioCrossroads and Indiana’s life sciences industry. More companies were formed and funded; more pharmaceutical and medical device products made their way from Indiana into the global marketplace; more and better data tracked the development of our sector; and more recognition came to our community as a regional hub of America’s life sciences industry – an industry with a $44 billion total impact on Indiana’s economy... [more]

Statement from the Central Indiana Transit Task Force

Last November, the Central Indiana Transit Task Force proposed a significant regional mass transit plan that will connect workers to jobs, revitalize urban neighborhoods and help the region compete for talent and economic investment.

The Task Force called on the Indiana General Assembly to give voters a chance to evaluate the proposal and decide for themselves through a referendum if they wanted to invest in this kind of transit system.  A broad coalition of more than 100 groups, representing civic organizations, neighborhood associations, the business community, organized labor, local elected officials, disability advocates and others joined the call to give local voters this voice.

We knew that the time constraints of a short legislative session would be challenging, but we were encouraged that this groundswell of support would lead to success this year.  Unfortunately, the transit initiative became entangled in collateral issues at the Statehouse, most notably right to work.  With labor issues added to the mix, our bill failed to clear the House Ways & Means committee by one vote, even though the transit portion of the legislation – on its own merits -- would have easily passed the committee with strong bipartisan support.

Given this outcome and the pressing calendar of the short session, it has become clear that the transit initiative won’t pass this year.  To quote Vince Lombardi, "We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time."  Speaker of the House Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem David Long have encouraged us to continue making the case for the transit plan and to bring the issue back for consideration in the 2013 budget session.

In that spirit, we’ll meet with individual legislators over the course of the coming year to answer their questions and secure bipartisan support for the plan.  We'll engage the strong grassroots network that already exists to build even broader community support. And we'll continue gathering feedback to refine the transit plan as necessary to meet the community's needs.

The success of the Super Bowl demonstrated once again that we can do incredible things when the community comes together to pursue a shared goal.  It showed that we know how to take a familiar concept, study the success and failures of others, and put our own unique imprint on the event. 

Finally, the Super Bowl experience reminded us that the disappointment of an initial setback – such as losing our initial attempt to host the game – shouldn’t deter us from pressing on.  We'll take all of those lessons to heart as we plan for the next legislative session.

Task Force Co-chairs

Al Hubbard, E&A Industries
John Neighbours, Faegre Baker Daniels
Robert Palmer, FedEx

Task Force Founding Members

Mark Miles, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership
Scott Miller, Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce
Steve Sullivan, Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors