| Indiana House of Representatives- 2012-2018 2020-Present
Committees-
Ways and Means
Financial Institutions
Rules and Legislative Procedures
Hometown- Schererville
Occupation- Small-business owner and certified public accountant (retired)
Education- CPA, Butler University
Hal Slager of Schererville was first elected in 2012 as a state representative for the constituents of House District 15, which includes the town of Dyer, St. John and portions of Schererville and Hanover Township located in Lake County. Slager serves on the House Financial Services Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for developing Indiana's two-year state budget.
In 2021, Slager championed a new law to increase the access to pediatric care for Hoosier families who live near Indiana's borders. Due to reimbursement disparities, some children on Medicaid who rely on nearby, out-of-state pediatric hospitals for care were getting turned away. Reimbursement rates will now be adjusted to encourage these hospitals to provide care to Hoosier children. In 2016, Slager authored legislation to help protect rape victims and their children. The law allows a mother whose child was born as a result of rape to file a petition to terminate the parent-child relationship between the child and the alleged perpetrator of the crime.
During Slager's time in office, he has worked on addressing many issues to improve the Northwest Indiana region. He authored legislation outlining the funding and development mechanism for South Shore double tracking and the transit development districts associated with each rail stop. The first-of-its-kind law included funding of $6 million per year and a 30-year state commitment. He also supported Purdue Northwest by advocating for the replacement of an old facility at the Calumet campus and secured $35 million in funding for construction. To protect the Hoosier wetlands, he successfully authored an amendment to establish a professional task force to improve protocols on management of isolated wetlands within the state.
Slager's desire to help his community inspired him to run for a seat with the Schererville Town Council in 2002, where he was elected and served for 10 years. He resolved long-standing drainage issues, expanded wastewater treatment capacity and negotiated incentives for the development of a $100 million shopping center, which has since attracted Whole Foods, Nordstrom Rack and other regional retailers to the area.
In 1997, Slager established Triangle Equities LLC for real estate development and management in residential areas, and later evolved the company to manage commercial and industrial properties. Prior to that he served as a CPA for a local accounting firm and then in corporate accounting for Melvin Simon & Associates where he learned the initial stages of commercial property development. He joined Trico Graphics in late 1983 where he transitioned the company into electronic publishing, design, internet development and marketing. Slager is a 1981 graduate of Butler University with a Bachelor of Science degree and is a retired certified public accountant.
He and his wife, Carol, married in 1982 and are the parents of two sons, Ryan and Colin. |