Pence Retools State Grant Office
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe state's Office of Federal Grants and Procurement has a new name. Governor Mike Pence has signed an executive order changing it to the Office of State-Based Initiatives. Indiana Gaming Commission Staff Attorney David Johnson will serve as executive director. July 30, 2013
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Among attendees of today's Evansville Rotary Club luncheon, Governor Mike Pence kicked off “Hoosier Solutions Week” and signed Executive Order 13-20, which transforms the existing Office of Federal Grants and Procurement into the Office of State-Based Initiatives (OSBI).
Governor Pence is spending this week talking to Hoosiers across the state about finding Hoosier solutions to the problems caused by Washington, D.C. and the federal government. In 2012, the federal government collected $51.2 billion from Hoosier taxpayers and businesses. This year, forty-nine state departments and agencies will receive almost 20 percent of that money in the form of federal grants, stipends, and programs that often come with expensive, burdensome mandates and regulations that stifle ingenuity, cost Hoosier taxpayers, and hamstring Hoosier businesses.
“I've long held the belief that Hoosiers hold the key to releasing Indiana from federally-created mandates and regulations that undermine state sovereignty and hinder economic growth,” said Governor Pence. “With the assistance of the Office of State-Based Initiatives, Indiana will work to untangle itself from burdensome federal policies, seek to increase state innovation, and ultimately strive to persuade the federal government to return to the principles of federalism.”
The OSBI will be tasked with coordinating with state agencies to perform a cost-benefit analysis on every federal grant opportunity; ensuring each agency has a block grant contingency plan; tracking the costs of federal regulations by studying data, surveying businesses, and talking to Hoosiers; and publishing an annual study of these costs and sharing it with Indiana's Congressional Delegation.
In his speech, Governor Pence said that by quantifying the costs of federal regulations and informing Congress about them, the OSBI “will help, over the long run, reduce federal regulatory burdens on state and local governments, taxpayers and Hoosier businesses.”
Hoosier Solutions Week runs through Thursday, August 1.
Source: The Office of Governor Mike Pence
July 30, 2013
News Release
Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence today named David Johnson as Executive Director of the Office of State-Based Initiatives.
David Johnson, of Carmel, currently serves as a Staff Attorney at the Indiana Gaming Commission. There, he serves as the agency’s ethics officer, crafts agency contracts and rules, and ensures regulatory compliance of occupational and casino license holders in Indiana. Previously, he worked as Assistant Counsel for the Indiana State Senate Majority Caucus, and as a corporate in-house attorney. Johnson earned his undergraduate degree from Wabash College and his law degree from Indiana University McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.
“David Johnson is a principled leader with the skills necessary to drive Indiana’s efforts to reduce federally-created, burdensome mandates and regulations on Hoosiers, their businesses and both state and local governments,” said Governor Pence. “I look forward to working closely with him in the years ahead as we work to promote Hoosier solutions to federal problems here in Indiana.”
Earlier today, Pence signed Executive Order 13-20, which transforms the existing Office of Federal Grants and Procurement into the Office of State-Based Initiatives. More information on this agency’s role can be found here: http://bit.ly/15tEFS2.