“Eli Lilly we see as a pink-washer because they are contributing to breast cancer through their selling of rBGH and then they also manufacturer breast cancer treatment drugs and a drug they claim prevents breast cancer so they’re really profiting…there’s a full cycle of profits here that seems really unfair to us.”

But Lilly spokespeople say the research they’ve done after buying the drug from the world’s largest seed company, Monsanto, shows the drug is safe.  They assert there’s no difference between milk sold from cows given the hormone and those that are not.  Dennis Erpelding says drug effects were tested in order to gain FDA approval.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewed the data.  International organizations, such as the World Health Organizations, the FAO, their scientific expert bodies, have reviewed the data, and all these scientific organizations have established that the compound can be and is used safely for dairy cow milk production.

The hormone is banned in Europe, Japan and Canada.  Companies including Wal-Mart and Kroger have also pledged that their store brands will stop buying from suppliers that use the drug.

“It’s been a rigorous, busy and public transparent process and I want to express my gratitude for the efforts, the hard work, the commitment that the judicial qualifications commission, each one of those members, put forward.”

David was one of three finalists for the job.  There were speculations Governor Daniels would select a woman, since none currently sit on the state’s highest court.  Daniels said that may have been a consideration in a tie breaker, but he felt Judge David was clearly the best nominee.  Daniels pointed particularly to his military service and time spend working in the business sector, as an attorney for Mayflower Transit Corporation, as traits that distinguished David as his final selection.

Governor Mitch Daniels with about 50 supporters of constitutional property tax caps, in Beech Grove, IN

About 50 supporters rallying for a yes vote on the property tax cap referendum that will appear on the November election ballot were on the south side of Indianapolis today making their case for why those caps should be placed in the state constitution. 

Question one on the November ballot will ask voters whether they want to put current property tax caps in the state constitution. 

Those caps don’t completely set in stone the dollar amount a property owner pays on his or her taxes, since property assessments used to calculate the tax bills can rise and fall.  Also, lawmakers allowed for referendums that let local governments and schools go above the caps. 

But Governor Mitch Daniels says the key is that they’ll need voters approval.

“When local spending units want to raise more money, they have to get the people’s permission to do it.  It’s no longer the case that they can simply raise it at their own discretion and that’s the way it should be.”

The property tax caps became law in 2008, despite opposition from groups that said it would limit funding flexibility for government programs.  Now opponents, most notably the Indiana Farm Bureau and state Chamber of Commerce say they won’t actively campaign against the measure. 

A report released today by the non-partisan Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute shows major challenges for the next budget session of the Indiana General Assembly. 

After examining the state’s year end financial closeout, there’s at least one thing Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute director John Ketzenburger says is clear: tough choices lie ahead for the General Assembly as they put together the next biennial budget. 

Indiana’s tax revenue fell six point nine percent over the last two fiscal years, putting the state’s revenue collections at about the same level as they were in 2005. 

 The institute report shows the state at a structural deficit going into the 2012-2013 budget, but credits Governor Mitch Daniel’s spending cuts for mitigating the problem for this year. 

It also shows Indiana’s recent property tax changes have meant less funding flexibility during the recession and calls federal stimulus money a bridge across the worst of the revenue losses.