A union challenge to the state’s right-to-work law was definitely expected. The challenge that has been offered, however, lacks in credibility, according to this excerpted editorial that first appeared in the Lafayette Journal & Courier and has been echoed in other circles.

In a federal lawsuit filed in federal court, attorneys for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 argue that the right-to-work law infringes on the unions’ freedom of speech.

How? The right-to-work law, signed into law this year, allows workers to skip paying union dues even if the union bargains for wages and benefits on their behalf. The lawsuit’s contention is that right-to-work limits a union’s ability to build up coffers needed to negotiate beyond the plant floor — namely in Statehouses and other political lobbying settings.

The brief filed last month, according to an Associated Press account, cites the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, which made corporate campaign spending free from many reporting restrictions. Nice try.

The unions, which are scheduled to get a hearing in federal court later this month, are already being called on the strategy by legal experts. And rightly so. The Citizens United decision, whether rightly or wrongly sorted out by the U.S. Supreme Court, was about spending money to boost political speech without many of the past reporting restrictions. It was not about how corporations or organizations raised that money.

Unions faced those potential fundraising limitations before right to work, with union members able to opt out of dues that were beyond those needed for negotiations.

If unions are serious about bringing down Indiana’s right-to-work law, we’re guessing they’ll have to try another approach.

On a somewhat regular basis, a state or national group will release a report that is critical of Indiana’s air quality. Typically, those efforts involve what we will call "creative twists" to the data.

Keith Baugues, assistant commissioner of IDEM’s Office of Air Quality, utilized that same Environmental Protection Agency data and developed a first-of-its-kind study titled States’ View of the Air — 2012. The very good news: All Indiana areas meet the federal standards. What that means is business and industry development can take place throughout the state and not be limited by a lack of air quality attainment.

Baugues worked for EPA for nine years and has authored more than 60 articles on air quality. He joined IDEM in 2010. The comprehensive report covers all 50 states.

Why is this so important? Because the public often has the impression that our air is “dirty” with that opinion coming from the continued tightening of the already very restrictive air quality standards. The “lowering the limbo bar" not only stimulates that faulty thought process but is often very costly with little or no benefit to our environment or public health.

A few highlights and comments below from IDEM, with the full report available online. In addition, the Chamber’s November-December BizVoice magazine published an analysis of Indiana’s environment sub-titled It’s Much Cleaner Than You Might Realize.

Ground-level ozone and airborne particles are two pollutants that pose the greatest threat to human health in this country. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) establishes health standards that all states follow. The standards have become more and more protective in recent years. The data used for the IDEM report comes from air monitors used by state government agencies, including IDEM, and U.S. EPA to do annual assessments on these pollutants under the most current standards.

For each area contained in the report, pollutant concentrations were averaged to determine the average quality of the air that people are breathing. Population density was factored into the grading system to reflect the greater potential for negative public health impacts in areas where many people live and work. The IDEM report also includes information about at-risk groups in all states.

All regions of Indiana meet U.S. EPA’s current ozone standard, as well as U.S. EPA’s annual and daily standards for fine particles. Under the population weighted average used for the States’ View of the Air – 2012 report, areas meeting the federally-based air quality standard are given a C. To earn a C, the area must be better than the standard by up to 10 percent. Those areas that are better by more than 10 but less than 20 percent earn a B, and areas better by more than 20 percent receive an A. All Indiana counties included in the report received Bs and Cs for ozone, and As and Bs for fine particle pollution.

To assess air quality, air monitors are located in urban and rural areas to watch for pollutants. Regulations implemented in recent years have significantly reduced pollutants from industry. Cleaner fuel and engine standards have significantly reduced harmful vehicle emissions, which contribute significantly to the level of pollution that is generated locally.

“Our air is healthy. Hoosiers can be proud that Indiana has made great progress toward cleaner air and achieved the fine particle and ozone standards in all regions of our state,” said IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly. “As government, industry, communities and special interest groups work together to meet future, more stringent air quality standards, it’s important for us to have accurate information about air quality. The States’ View of the Air – 2012 report provides accurate, understandable information.”

The economic development headlines evolve from, in simple terms, “getting new businesses to come to the state.” But the role of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is also heavily focused on helping existing companies grow. It has a variety of initiatives, programs and strategies to accomplish both missions.

Indiana has fared better than most in the job creation game in recent years. What are the secrets to the state’s success? What are the biggest challenges to an even stronger performance? How can your company benefit from the state’s efforts?

Dan Hasler, Indiana’s secretary of commerce since September 2011, will join us to discuss these issues and more during our Policy Issue Conference Call on Friday, May 4 (9 – 10 a.m. EDT). It will be your opportunity to learn about the early impact of right-to-work, the competitive world of business attraction and much more. Your questions and comments are always welcome. This is for Indiana Chamber members only, and you can register online.

Small business owners are confident, but economic growth is not following due to too many regulations and concerns about energy prices. Those are among the results in the latest U.S. Chamber small business survey. More than eight in 10 respondents want Washington to "get out of the way."

Concerns about regulations and energy prices continue to impede growth for small businesses, according to a recent poll commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive between March 27 and April 2, 2012, found that while small business confidence grew in the first quarter of 2012, small businesses continue to lose employees. 30% of small businesses reported laying off employees in the last year.

“This survey confirms that slow gains in economic growth are being undermined by uncertainty over rising gas prices, an onslaught of pending regulations, and stalled pro-growth bills in Congress,”  said Dr. Martin Regalia, the Chamber’s chief economist. “To deliver long-term confidence to small businesses, Washington should act to provide certainty and enact regulatory reform that will boost their ability to grow.”

The poll of 1,339 small business executives found that eight out of ten of small business owners cite higher energy prices as an immediate threat to the success of their business. Concern about gas prices has more than doubled in the last three months, increasing from 10% to 24%. The majority of small businesses (78%) do not think the administration is doing enough to keep prices low, increase domestic sources of energy, or support American job creation. Additionally, three out of four (73%) say the new health care law is an obstacle to hiring new employees.

Overall small businesses see Washington as the problem instead of the solution, with 81% asking Washington to get out of the way and 92% believing the business community is the best entity to lead the economic recovery.

Almost all small business owners (97%) say it is important to vote for a candidate who is a strong supporter of free enterprise; 84% say it is very important. Only 9% of small business owners approve of the job the Democratic Senate Majority is doing on the economy; 87% disapprove. The House Republican majority’s approval rating on handling the economy has increased from 40% approval in January to 46% in April.

“Small business owners are increasingly demanding accountability from members of Congress on how they vote on the issues that impact their operations,” said the Chamber’s Senior Vice President and National Political Director Rob Engstrom. “We’re seeing small businesses unable to hire, or worse, forced to let employees go because of the Senate’s refusal to take up job-creating measures like domestic energy exploration and regulatory reform.”

The survey defined a small business as a company with fewer than 500 employees and annual revenues of less than $25 million.  To read a complete copy of the Q1 Small Business Outlook Survey, please visit: http://www.uschambersmallbusinessnation.com/community/small-business-outlook-survey—march-2012-

The Congressional scoreboard reads 5-2 in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline. But few believe the job-creating project to transport oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast is any closer to its needed U.S. approval.

The House passed (293-127) a federal transportation bill Wednesday that will now go to conference committee. A provision in that legislation would force the administration to approve the pipeline.

It is the fourth time the House has given its approval on the project, expected to create thousands of jobs during the construction phase and help increase energy security in the long term. The Senate has taken three votes, passing it once as part of the payroll tax deal late last year and defeating it twice.

Not to be forgotten is the importance of the transportation bill. The Senate passed a two-year, $109 billion program two weeks ago. It is expected to be the basis for the conference committee negotiations.

The White House has already threatened to veto the highway bill if the Keystone language remains. Both, however, are critical to funding ongoing infrastructure needs and putting people back to work.

In the upcoming BizVoice magazine (available May 3 in print and online), I’ll have a one-on-one interview with Canadian Consul General Roy Norton, who talks about the importance of this project, the critical Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, and other opportunities between the two North American neighbors.

A new study tackles an old but growing challenge: paying for higher education. Authored by Demos, a New York-based research and advocacy firm, the report is titled The Great Cost Shift: How Higher Education Cuts Undermine the Future Middle Class.

The State Science & Technology Institute summarizes below. The full report is available here.

Over the last two decades, the authors highlight a trend of state disinvestment that has shifted the cost of education from state governments to students and their families. The result of this trend is students and their families are paying and/or borrowing significantly more for a college.

According to the report, this long-term trend may threaten the economic health of states due to an insufficient supply of college-educated workers needed to thrive in the 21st economy. The authors contend that the insufficient financial support for students will contribute to low rates of college completion, depriving states of an educated workforce. They also contend that other long-term social costs include decreased social mobility by low- and middle-income students and a diminished middle-class.

Key highlights:

• Compared to the generation that came of age in the 1990s, the current population of young adults is larger in size, more diverse and more apt to enroll in college

• Public institutions absorbed 65.6 percent of the undergraduate enrollment increases that have occurred since 1990

• Real funding per public, full-time equivalent student dropped by 26.1 percent from 1990-1991 to 2009-2010

• After adjusting for inflation, published prices for tuition and fees at public four-year universities more than doubled (rising by approximately 116 percent)

• The real price of two-year colleges climbed by approximately 71 percent

• An increasing percentage of that aid is taking the form of merit-based aid without regard for students’ financial situations

• The volume of outstanding student loan debt has grown by a factor of 4.5 since 1999

The report provides several policy recommendations to reverse the trend, including:

• States must invest in higher education, especially given the projected future growth of student enrollments

• State tax systems must be reformed to ensure that higher education remains a budgetary concern and does not face further budget cuts

• State leaders must prioritize funding for institutions that educate the largest fraction of college students faced with funding decisions

• States must align investments in higher education with the goal of completion

• Financial aid polices must be reoriented back toward need-based aid

• Students need to be steered towards more affordable sources of debt like federal student loan programs 

We announced our endorsement of six-term incumbent Richard Lugar for the U.S. Senate today. The endorsement was made by the Indiana Chamber Congressional Action Committee, the federal political action committee of the Indiana Chamber.

"Senator Lugar has compiled a most impressive pro-economy, pro-jobs voting record throughout his years of service," said Kevin Brinegar, president of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. "His focus on helping grow Indiana businesses and putting Hoosiers back to work is exactly what we need in Washington."

Lugar has been a long-time leader on many energy, national security, foreign policy and agricultural issues, among others. His effort to overcome bureaucratic obstacles and make the Keystone XL pipeline a reality – and create jobs in Indiana and throughout the country – is just one current example of his continued leadership.

"In a time when congressional approval levels are at record lows and partisanship is all too common," Brinegar adds, "Sen. Lugar should be applauded for his ability to reach across the aisle and work with members of both parties. We believe Hoosiers strongly benefit from his expertise and experience."