Dant Chesser's Digest

Monthly Update for April

Apr 09, 2025

Welcome to Dant Chesser’s Digest, my monthly newsletter, where I will provide legislative and community updates for you as your state representative for House District 71. Please reach out to my office at h71@iga.in.gov if you have any questions or concerns.

Congrats to the Jeff High School Boys’ Basketball Team!

Extending a big congratulations to our Jeff High Red Devils boys’ basketball team for winning the 4A state championship! On March 29, our boys’ team won in an overtime thriller 67-66. They beat the defending state champs, Fishers High School, who were undefeated with a 43-game winning streak.

On Tuesday, the Red Devils visited the Indiana Statehouse. It was my privilege to present Coach Wilkerson and the team with a House Resolution honoring their place in history. They were applauded by both the Indiana House and the Indiana Senate.

You can read the House Resolution at this link.

Rep. Dant Chesser, Rep. Clere, Rep. Engleman and Rep. Payne Presenting the Resolution to the Jeff High Red Devils.

REMINDER: Join Me for My Town Hall Tomorrow

With close to three weeks left, the 2025 legislative session is winding down. I want to keep my community updated on what’s happening at the Statehouse. We’ll talk about the Senate bills that have moved through the House and the bills the House has successfully passed—including my Medigap legislation.

The town hall will take place Thursday, April 10, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Community Action of Southern Indiana (201 E. 15th Street, Jeffersonville). As an elected official, I serve you—the people. Everyone in District 71 is invited to the town hall regardless of political party or affiliation.

I hope you will attend, share your concerns and learn about bills moving through the Statehouse. Please feel free to spread the word and share the graphic below. If you have any questions about the event, please reach out to h71@iga.in.gov.

Advocating for Affordability

I’d like to share the recently released affordability report for Clark and Floyd counites, completed by Indiana University Southeast and the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana.

The challenges outlined in this report reflect the cost-of-living increases many Hoosiers are concerned about. It is my goal to continue our community’s upward trajectory, but also to ensure everyone has the opportunity to benefit from it. We need businesses to continue moving to our area to provide jobs that pay a livable wage. We need to increase access to housing and build quality homes and apartments. We need affordable child care.

At the Statehouse, I’m supporting initiatives that keep your earnings in your pocket. My caucus and I are proposing multiple plans for property tax relief: saving money for seniors by limiting their bill increase to 1% per year, promoting home ownership by creating a first-time homebuyer down payment grant program, and increasing the renter’s deduction from $3,000 to $5,000. I've written before about my Medigap bill, HEA 1226, which could save seniors hundreds of dollars on Medicare Supplement insurance. I also supported a bill that makes our foster families eligible for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which helps cover the cost of child care.

People are experiencing a lot of financial stress, and I’m working to alleviate that stress at the Statehouse. If there’s anything my office can help you with, please reach out to h71@iga.in.gov.

Flood Resources

Recent rains have caused flash floods in our area, leading to an emergency declaration by the federal government. For those and their families who have been affected by flooding, here are some resources:

Flood Safety Tips from the National Weather Service: https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood

Red Cross Shelters in Southern Indiana:

First Capitol Church, 305 Oliver Street, Corydon, IN 47112 (Opens at 6 p.m.)
Salvation Army, 331 East Main Street, Madison, IN 47250
If you need assistance call 1-800 RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Clark County Emergency Management:

812-406-0086, extension 5.

My Thoughts on Partisan School Board Elections

On March 31, the House passed Senate Bill 287 with a vote of 54 to 40. The bill makes Indiana’s school board elections partisan, requiring candidates to run as Democrat, Republican, Independent or with a blank space next to their name. Since the bill changed in the House, it heads back to the Senate for a concurrence or dissent vote.

When I was elected to this position, no one asked me to bring more politics into our community. I’m disappointed we took this vote in March. The vast majority of our parents, teachers and school board members in Clark and Floyd Counties do not want partisan school boards, nor do the majority of Hoosiers around the state. Watch the committee hearing on this bill here to see for yourself the testimony against this proposal.

Our public schools are excellent community unifiers. After the Jeffersonville High School boys basketball team won the state championship, close to 500 people welcomed our players home in the middle of the night. The next day, Facebook and other social media platforms were filled with love, pride and support. I would hate for this bill, which inserts politics into schools, to jeopardize that sense of community.

It’s about putting our kids and their futures before any party ideology or agenda. Our classrooms, where our children learn, shouldn’t be used for political posturing. Inviting politics into our elections will create more division, further dividing our communities. It’s about serving our kids, not about serving a party.

Session’s Almost Over: Here’s What Still Needs to Cross the Finish Line

The 2025 legislative session is supposed to end on April 29th. With about three weeks left, we’re working to get our legislation to the governor’s desk. Here’s an update on some of the bigger bills that have yet to pass:

House Bill 1001 “The State Budget”: Since the budget’s been in the Senate, it’s received multiple hearings in the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The Senate has yet to make any changes to the budget or vote on the bill in committee.

Senate Bill 1 “Property Tax Relief”: SB 1 is the Statehouse majority’s plan for property tax relief. It’s received three hearings in the House Ways and Means Committee. In the first hearing, the committee heard roughly 5 hours of public testimony, and in the second hearing, the House Republicans announced their plan to completely change the bill. The House majority recently unveiled their property tax relief plan, which would provide an average of $192 to homeowners and cut the revenue for local governments by $938 million. Clark County would lose $43.4 million in the next three years. SB 1 heads to the House floor for consideration.

House Bill 1008 “Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission”: Authored by the House Speaker, this bill is a priority for the House majority. HB 1008 would create a commission to study the possibility of Indiana absorbing 33 Illinois counties. The bill received a committee hearing on April 2, and heads to the Senate floor for consideration.