Randall Head (Taxpayer Friendly)

Watchdog Indiana Home Page Indiana General Assembly & Governor Ratings Legislative Voting Record 11/02/04 Candidate Questionnaire 05/04/04 Candidate Questionnaire 11/05/02 Candidate Questionnaire 05/07/02 Candidate Questionnaire

Address: 5003 Waterbury Court, Logansport, IN 46947
Phone: (574) 722-5542
E-mail: S18@in.gov; rhead10@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.in.gov/legislative/senate_republicans/homepages/s18/index.htm

2011 General Assembly Voting Record
Voted YES on House Bill 1001, which includes among its 16 Taxpayer Friendly state budget provisions no tax increases and an operating surplus in both the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years with a satisfactory reserve balance on June 30, 2013.
Voted NO on House Bill 1002, which is Taxpayer Friendly because (1) charter schools have the potential to help increase the academic growth of lower socioeconomic students, (2) the number of Indiana nonprofit private colleges and universities authorized to create charter schools is limited, (3) the Indianapolis mayor is the only Indiana mayor who may authorize charter schools, (4) conversion from a public school to a charter school is sufficiently stringent, and (5) property taxes are NOT improperly used to support charter schools.
Voted NO on House Bill 1003, which uses state K-12 tuition support money to fund scholarships for nonpublic school students and is Taxpayer UNfriendly because (1) nonpublic private and parochial schools are not equally open to all children, (2) nonpublic school budgets are not approved by a directly elected public body, (3) evidence-based research does not support greater school choice as a means to achieve overall educational improvement, (4) it is very likely unconstitutional, and (5) state tuition support dollars would go to nonpublic schools that are not uniformly distributed throughout the state.
Voted YES on House Bill 1022, which would have implemented a number of Taxpayer Friendly local government provisions related to nepotism and officeholder conflict-of-interest.
Voted YES on House Bill 1074, which provides that school board members selected by election must be elected at November general elections and is Taxpayer Friendly because the greater voter turnout in general elections will make it more difficult for local vested interests to unduly influence school board elections.

2010 General Assembly Voting Record
Voted YES on House Joint Resolution 1, which gives voters statewide the opportunity to amend the Indiana Constitution to (1) make the 1% - 2% - 3% property tax caps permanent and (2) protect homestead property tax deductions from legal challenge.
Voted YES on House Bill 1001, which contains 21 Taxpayer Friendly government ethics reform provisions including a 365-day wait after leaving the General Assembly before a legislator can become a lobbyist or legislative liaison, the reporting of certain expenditures by the legislative liaisons of state agencies and state educational institutions, and a reduction from $100 to $50 in the minimum reportable amount for the total daily gifts given by a registered lobbyist to a legislative person.
Voted YES on House Bill 1086, which contains 7 Taxpayer Friendly provisions including the HJR 1 Constitutional Amendment ballot language.
Voted YES on House Bill 1367, which contains 5 Taxpayer Friendly K-12 education provisions that preserve and protect instructional programs.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 23, which delays the scheduled increase in unemployment insurance premiums for one year until 2011.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 396, which mandates an adjusted six-year average that eliminates the highest value to calculate the base rate for the assessment of agricultural land.

2009 General Assembly Voting Record
Voted YES on Senate Joint Resolution 1, which amended the Indiana Constitution beginning 2012 to include a cap on homestead property tax in 90 counties at 1% of gross assessed value. Until 2020, existing debt service prior to July 1, 2008, is exempted from the 1% homeowner gross assessed value cap in Lake and St. Joseph counties ONLY. The effective constitutional homeowner property tax caps in Lake and St. Joseph counties are 1.88% and 1.52% respectively until the 1% cap takes effect in 2020.
Voted YES on House Bill 1001 SS, the 2009-2011 special session budget bill that (1) provides enough resources for good government AND (2) satisfactorily protects Hoosier working families from state and local tax increases. A YES vote supports a budget that is sufficiently Taxpayer Friendly. A NO vote would have shut down much of state government.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 348 to have a Library Services Plan developed and approved by a Public Library Service Planning Committee (with an "opt out" referendum provision) in every county (except Marion County) to help more effectively use working family dollars currently spent on library services (with the option to equitably replace public library property taxes with a county economic development income tax).
Voted YES on Senate Bill 452 to prohibit employees of a local government unit from serving as elected officials within the same local government unit, move the elections of municipal officers to even-numbered years, move all school board member elections to the November general election in even-numbered years, establish the use of vote centers as an option for all counties, and require a city clerk-treasurer in a third class city to attend fiscal officer training provided by the state board of accounts.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 506 to (1) allow a single County Chief Executive Officer or County Manager, (2) allow the County Council or the Board of County Supervisors to exercise both the fiscal and legislative powers of the county, (3) provide for voter-initiated referendums on county government reorganization, (4) repeal the requirement that political subdivisions must approve local government reorganizations initiated by voters, (5) assign the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations four responsibilities to identify and monitor good local government practices, (6) prohibit County Manager nepotism, (7) repeal unproductive reporting requirements, and (8) continue to elect the County Assessor.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 512 to (1) abolish on January 1, 2013, each township board in every county (other than Marion County) and make the county fiscal body also the fiscal body and legislative body of each township, (2) require a township when formulating an annual budget to consider whether the part of the ending balance in each township fund in excess of 10% of budgeted expenditures should be used instead of imposing additional property taxes for the ensuing year, (3) prohibit a relative of a township officer or employee from being employed by the township in a position that would put the relative in a direct supervisory or subordinate relationship with the officer or employee, (4) require a township trustee's annual report to list separately each expenditure to reimburse the trustee for the trustee's public business use of personal property, (5) require each township office to include the address, phone number, and regular office hours (if any) of the township office in at least one local telephone directory, (6) prohibits a public meeting or a public hearing of a township official or governing body from being held in a private residence, and (7) requires the State Board of Accounts to submit an annual township examination report to the executive director of the Legislative Services Agency and to county councils.
Voted YES on House Bill 1607 to require a referendum before establishing a Northern Indiana Regional Transportation District, which is a new tax-imposing level of Indiana government in Lake, Porter, LaPorte, and St. Joseph counties controlled by a board with unrestricted powers (where most board members have no real connection to the taxpayers' community).

Watchdog Indiana Candidate Questions - November 4, 2008, General Election
1. QUESTION: Do you pledge to vote in 2009 for the exact same version of Senate Joint Resolution 1 that passed in 2008? DID NOT RESPOND. RECORD (www.indystar.com/2008race): The constitution should be amended to do away with property taxes, period. The current caps are a step in the right direction because they lessen our reliance on property tax, but it would be fairer to have one cap for all types of property instead of discriminating against farmers and business owners.
2. QUESTION: Do you wish to make some additional comments about your candidacy? Do you have an E-mail address? Do you have a website? DID NOT RESPOND.

Watchdog Indiana Candidate Questions - May 6, 2008, Primary Election
1. QUESTION: Do you pledge to vote for Senate Joint Resolution 1 in 2009? ANSWER: I will vote for SJR 1 if elected to the Indiana State Senate. I believe that the government should exist to support taxpayers, and not vice versa. The 1, 2, and 3% caps represent the first step in the right direction for Indiana taxpayers. My first preference is to eliminate property taxes altogether, and my second choice is for a property tax cap that is equal for all types of property. The compromise that has been reached is far better than doing nothing, and I will vote for it because it reduces our reliance on property taxes.
2. QUESTION: Do you wish to make some additional comments about your candidacy? ANSWER: I have been a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for over thirteen years in Indiana, and I understand how local government works. In addition to property taxes, my priorities include obtaining longer sentences for child molesters, eliminating loopholes that let criminals slip through the system, reducing waste in government spending, and representing the interests of agriculture and small business. I believe that smaller government is better, that legislators should be held accountable for the money they vote to spend, and that the most important quality a legislator can have is the willingness to listen to his constituents.

This page was last updated on 05/03/11.