Moseley votes for HB 1002, calls for more relief

Today, Jan. 28, the Indiana House of Representatives passed House Bill 1002 after rejecting several amendments to provide immediate utility bill relief. The bill aims to lower utility bills throughout the state. State Rep. Chuck Moseley (D-Portage) voted yes on the bill, but issued the following statement urging the supermajority to do more for Hoosiers:

"My office receives hundreds of calls and messages every session and, by and large, most of them this year have been about utilities. Hoosiers need a break, and HB 1002 is a good first step, but I don't think it goes far enough. I supported several amendments to strengthen the bill, none of which were accepted by the Braun supermajority.

"If Braun and his party really cared about helping Hoosiers, they would have accepted our amendments to strengthen this piece of legislation, and they would have taken more time to consider the legislation we put forward this session dealing with utilities. This year, I authored House Bill 1068, which would require an Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) commissioner to be put on the ballot if they want to be retained for another term. This bill is a common-sense approach to fixing Indiana's utility cost problem, and it did not get a hearing in the Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications Committee. If 1002 is the best Braun and his supermajority can do this session, I voted 'yes' to give Hoosiers some relief. It's a shame, though, that they won't do more for you on this issue."