Editor’s note: Republican incumbent John Young is one of four candidates for Indiana House District 47. The district covers the majority of Johnson County and portions of northern and western Shelby County. Where They Stand interviews with two of Young’s opponents, Robb Greene and Scott Strother ran in the Daily Journal on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. The Q&A below includes answers by Young in his own words. It has been edited for length and grammar.
Four candidates are seeking a seat for Indiana House District 47 in the Republican primary May 3: Luke Campbell, Robb Greene, Scott Strother and John Young.
The Daily Journal asked three District 47 candidates questions about their priorities and what voters could expect from them if they are elected. The fourth candidate, Luke Campbell, declined an interview. Here are Young responses.
» Why are you running for office?
I’ve become an effective legislator in my time at the Statehouse. There are certain issues that I believe have, from watching them, become more important than other issues in terms of what state policies and state laws can impact. Amongst the state Republicans, I am one of three attorneys on the Republican House side. The need for attorneys has been very obvious. I am filling a very important role with my background as an attorney. Over the last couple of sessions, I’ve been asked to be more involved in major legislation – agenda legislation that the House passes. That motivates me to run again because I feel that each year I’m accomplishing more and more as a legislator to help citizens in District 47.
» How are you qualified for this position?
My family has always been involved in politics. I have a fair deal of experience dealing with legislative issues (and) especially dealing with local government issues … it gives you a very broad perspective. It’s easy to write a bill and say “OK, I want this to be law,” but a lot of the time it’s more difficult to be able to have the foresight to see how that law is going to be applied. That’s what you think about on a day-to day-basis as an attorney. It is something that is always on my mind.
» What are the top issues facing Indiana?
I always think about the budget and … how the state can remain financially responsible by keeping surpluses. I’ve come to agree (education) is probably the most important matter, or as important of a matter, the state legislature addresses. Dealing with the various education issues that come up, whether it be school choice, vouchers, or the issues we saw play out at the Statehouse this year. There’s a tension there with local control and the state’s responsibility for energy production. That hasn’t had as big of an issue locally here in Franklin, but if you go out to places like Shelby County, there’s been a lot of fights over solar farms.
» What are your top priorities and how do you plan to push legislation that addresses them?
(Probate law is) one area that I have focused on a lot because there’s really no other individuals that have the expertise in dealing with them is probate law, including matters relating to wills, trusts, estates, guardianships and adoptions. The last couple of years, the bills I have carried have been addressing our shortcomings we’ve had with the laws and including little things such as how we can get signatures from people and witnesses for people who may be isolated due to the pandemic. (Department of Child Services) DCS is another area where I have a lot of experience and knowledge. I carried HB 1363, and that was DCS’s agency bill where they needed to make certain changes … to some of the “child in need of services” laws – streamlining some of it, taking out some problematic language that had been in there.
» How do you plan to help your district specifically, and communicate with constituents about what is going on at the Statehouse?
I would be continuing to do what I have done in the past. When we received the recent census data, my district grew by about 7%; areas in my district were some of the fastest growing communities in the state. I certainly would not say I’m responsible for that growth by any means because that was accomplished in a large part by what the local (governments) did. But I do think the policies I have supported and taken an input from my locals … that helps inform my votes. I think the growth of Johnson County and my district speaks for itself … I love taking phone calls at my office. I’ve responded to dozens, if not hundreds, of constituents. I attend numerous board meetings so I think that’s a good way to keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the district. It also gives opportunities for local officials to give me input and ask me any questions they may have.
» How would you address, at the state level, the concerns of parents and teachers about what is being taught in classrooms?
In the schools in my district … I saw a few things that parents had legitimate gripes about, but overall a lot of the things parents were talking about statewide I didn’t see happening in Johnson County schools. If a parent came in asking to see what their child was taught … to my knowledge, the schools would be happy – very happy – to provide you exactly what is being taught. There were other schools, however, in the state that were stonewalling parents. Parents wanting some very basic information that they should be able to get, they were not getting access to it. The types of teaching, or teaching materials or subjects that would make one group of students feel bad about themselves or who they are … that is something I do not think should be taught in our schools. We need educated, informed students so they understand how the government works. We want them to be informed … to that end, our students deserve the best and we are open to teacher pay and retention. They continue to be issues our state needs to address. A few years ago we came up with the pathways program, which is designed to get students in general ready for the workforce if they don’t want to go a post-secondary education route. Some of the things these pathway programs emphasize is having students say they are ready to be a truck driver. That’s a good thing, but I also want to make sure when students are leaving school, they are also going to be adaptable. We need to continue to look at that. What happens if, 20 years from now, that job is gone. That’s when they need to be able to fall back on their education and be able to adapt.
» This year, state lawmakers cut some of the state’s tax revenues due to a bigger-than-expected surplus. What are your thoughts on possibly cutting both business personal property and/or individual income taxes again next year?
I support it. The state has a structural surplus of money; a lot of this is from us receiving COVID relief dollars … Last year, we thought our revenue was going to go way down. When we got our last report, it did not. We’ve fully funded the government, we’ve continued to pay down debt, our reserves are as high as they possibly need to be and we still have too much money. The best thing to do with that money is to return it to the taxpayer. Moving forward, we are going to continue to have those conversations. A big issue locally (was) … the business personal property (BPP) tax cut came out of the bill. The way the BPP tax bill was written the cities and towns would get some relief … but eventually it would drop off. Our BPP tax policy currently is not that great if you look at it being competitive … Because of our good tax policy, Indiana continues to bring new businesses in. We’ve been doing that despite having the BPP we do have in place … We’re going to continue to have a lot of discussions with the locals on how we can do that in a manner that is not going to negatively impact how they are able to operate.
» Is there a bill that you disagreed with during the 2022 legislative session, and what would you have liked to see passed instead?
One bill I did not like this year was they changed the rape law (House Bill 1079). I was the only no vote on that when it came back to the House … because I don’t think there was any problems with our current rape law. The big issue was whether or not you needed to define some form of consent in the law. What the rape law is really tied to is whether or not there’s force used in committing the crime. If force was used, you know there was no consent. The law wasn’t terrible … but I didn’t think it would benefit anybody.
I’ve introduced three (times) now a bill that has to do with a local farm family that had an issue with a railroad. The railroad came through saying “We’re doing routine maintenance, and we’ve seen you have a private crossing on your farm” and essentially told the landowner “You have to pay to keep this open.” That’s a local issue I’ve been fighting for. We have a statute from 1895 that says if a landowner has a piece of property that is landlocked by a railroad, they have a right to a crossing and the railroad shall make the crossing. It would be absurd to think the legislature would grant a property right to a landowner and then at the same time make them pay for that right.
Challenging agency decisions (House Bill 1063). If the Indiana Department of Environmental Management knocks on your door and cites you for a violation, you basically are stuck with that agency decision. You do have the ability to challenge the decision in court, but under the current law, the courts basically defer to agency. This bill would change that and basically give more power to the courts, and make it clear if an agency action is challenged the court would review agency’s decision without any deference to the agency’s opinion on the matter. It’s an area of the law … where the agencies have simply accumulated too much power in some regards. The legislature has given it to them, and we could always take it away.
» Is there anything else you would like to say to the voters?
It’s been a privilege to represent District 47 for the six years I have. I want to continue to be an effective legislator and continue to make a difference at the Statehouse moving forward. I want to keep continuing to be able to, for District 47, have a meaningful seat at the table in the Statehouse and with the House Republicans.
The Young File
Name: John Young
Residence: Franklin
Family: None
Occupation: Lawyer, Young & Young Attorneys at Law
Educational background: Indian Creek High School; I.U. Bloomington; Southern Illinois University School of Law
Past political experience: Incumbent, since 2016; previously ran for seat in 2012, but was not elected
