Gary councilors push for standing committee to track state bills after House Bill 1001 language on airport appointments

Councilmembers at the Gary Common Council meeting on Feb. 18 discussed forming a standing committee to monitor Indiana General Assembly legislation after provisions in House Bill 1,001 affecting the Gary/Chicago International Airport drew alarm.

The proposal, urged by Councilman Darren Washington, follows language in House Bill 1,001 that Washington said would reduce the mayor’s appointments to the airport board from four to one and add representatives from neighboring municipalities. “What this legislation does is that it reduces the mayor’s appointments from 4 appointments to 1 appointment,” Washington said during the meeting.

The nut graf: councilors said the change would alter local control over an asset that sits inside a tax-increment financing district and argued the council should better track state bills that affect municipal authority. Council President Lori Latham and others backed Washington’s suggestion to create a council-level legislative committee to receive presentations from legislators and monitor bills through the session.

Council members said such a committee would host presentations from state legislators and administration staff so the public and council could see bills and ask questions. Latham called the idea “visionary” and said the council’s attorney will review the council rules to determine how to establish the committee. “It is visionary, and it is also strategic. Attorney Williams is going to check the rules to see what we would have to do to establish that as a committee of this council,” Latham said.

Several councilors framed the measure as a defensive step against what they described as repeated legislative actions targeting Gary. Councilman Whittington said, “The reality is the city of Gary is under attack. Plain and simple.” Washington and others asked for a formal mechanism to log and present bills so the council and public could track language changes between House and Senate versions and in conference committees.

Members of the public at the meeting reinforced the council’s concerns. John Allen, who signed up for public comment, cited pages of the bill and urged the council to protect the city’s fiscal interests: “That’s a lot of money and there’s a lot of taxpayer money for outside forces to control. That’s the reverse of taxation without representation,” he said.

No formal action to create the committee was recorded at the meeting; President Latham asked the council’s attorney to research the procedural steps required to form it. The meeting record shows the council and administration agreed to pursue transparency and collaboration on state-level matters that affect Gary.

Ending: Councilmembers asked residents to follow the council’s outreach and said the proposed committee would aim to make state legislation more visible to the public. Attorney Renzo Molina and other staff were asked to assist with the rules review so the item can be considered at a future meeting.