INDIANAPOLIS —
If you had more money in your checking and savings accounts than you thought you were going to have a year ago, would you look for ways to spend it or stash it away in fear of another economic tsunami?
Your answer may depend on how much deprivation you’ve felt in the last few years. If you feel like the great recession pushed you into operating your personal economy a little more efficiently, then you might be happy to keep those dollars sitting in the bank.
But if you’ve feel like you’ve survived all the sacrifice you can take and feel like you cut essentials as well as luxuries from your life, you’re going to see it a different way: Let’s spend some of it.
That’s a somewhat oversimplified explanation of what the Indiana General Assembly faces when it comes back to the Statehouse in January to a situation the budget-making Legislature hasn’t seen in years.
Late last week, state Auditor Tim Berry officially announced in his annual end-of-the-fiscal year report what Gov. Mitch Daniels had already happily revealed: Unlike some neighboring cash-strapped states, Indiana has a structural surplus (the amount of revenue exceeding ongoing expenses) of about $500 million. What’s more, the state’s overall reserves top $2.15 billion.
John Ketzenberger, executive director of the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonpartisan, research organization, said it’s been a long time since the state’s balance sheet looked so robust.
You can expect more crowing about the state’s fiscal health this summer and fall from Republican candidates on the campaign trail (who may forget to credit the $2 billion in federal stimulus funds that Indiana took during fiscal years 2009-11). And some criticism as well, from Democrats who argue the surplus and reserves came with the cost of cuts to essential services to the public (and who may forget to mention the fiscal mess that Daniels inherited when he took office in 2005.)
That’s just talk. The hard part, Ketzenberger said last week, comes in January when the budget-writing session begins. That’s because it’s easier to say to “No” when you don’t have the money to spend than it is to say “No” when you do.
“The new governor and legislators still will certainly have a tough time balancing the budget, but this time it will be in the form of resisting temptation to spend instead of identifying ways to cut expenses,” Ketzenberger told reporters. “There will likely be pent-up demand among many constituents for new or additional spending, and it is harder for policymakers to say no to them when there are surplus funds.”
It’ll be just as hard, Ketzenberger predicted, for legislators to resist the demand for additional tax cuts, above and beyond the “automatic taxpayer refund” that kicked into effect with the surplus and will mean about $100 tax credit for each tax-filing Hoosier next year.
As Ketzenberger warned: A “burp in the economy” could wipe out that surplus and reserves.
Here’s another part of the scenario that may make you feel a little gassy: As Ketzenberger also noted, we’re about to enter a weird period of change in the Statehouse. There will be a new governor in office in January, and at least 40 percent of the General Assembly will be in the first or second terms. Who knows what kind of campaign promises they’ll make or keep.
Maureen Hayden covers the Statehouse for the CNHI newspapers in Indiana. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
State News
Related Photos
-
CNHI statehouse reporter Maureen Hayden
Discussion
Maureen Hayden: State surplus creates temptation to spend, not cut
- State News
-
-
Indiana’s high school grad rate continues upward
Indiana’s reported high school graduation rate continues to improve, moving from 77 percent to more than 88 percent in less than a decade, but there are still significant achievement gaps marked by race and income.
-
Schools chief Ritz on fast learning curve
For many occupants of the Indiana Statehouse, the week after the General Assembly wraps up its final frenzy of work is a quiet one. But not for Glenda Ritz.
-
SLIDESHOW: Governor Otis R. Bowen
Photos from the Indiana State Archives of the late Otis R. Bowen, who served as governor of the state as well as in the Ronald Reagan White House. The Bremen native died Saturday
-
Out of office, Lugar shuns retirement
One year ago, Indiana’s longest serving U.S. senator was rejected by Republican primary voters and forced into an unwelcome retirement from a distinguished political career that spanned 46 years. But at 81, former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar is hardly in a resting mode.
-
Lugar wary of Syria involvement
Former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar has been out of office since early January, but he’s still being sought after for his opinion about foreign policy matters he once helped shape.
-
Judge grants class status to lawsuit again BMV
INDIANAPOLIS — As many as 4 million Indiana drivers could become plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has overcharged for driver’s licenses since 2007.
-
Budget deal includes little funding for criminal code reform
Facing the end-of-session deadline, Indiana legislators moved forward on a bill to overhaul the state’s criminal sentencing laws but left undone the issue of where local communities will get the money to implement it.
-
Legislators closing in on final budget
In his first four months as the chief budget maker in the Indiana House, Republican Rep. Tim Brown hasn’t been surprised by the long hours, multiple demands and intense debate that goes with crafting a $30 billion spending plan.
-
New poll shows voters tepid on Pence tax plan
With just days to go before the deadline for a final budget bill, a new independent poll shows Republican Gov. Mike Pence may not have gotten much mileage for his travels around the state pitching his 10 percent tax cut plan.
-
DOC hopes ‘cold case’ cards lead to solved cases
Indiana state prison officials are using customized playing cards for a deadly serious purpose: To help unlock the mysteries of unsolved murders and persons gone missing.
-
Indiana attorney general says Congress must act on immigration reform
Amidst concerns that the Boston Marathon bombing may derail federal action on comprehensive immigration reform, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller is turning up some collective heat on Congress to move ahead.
-
Disagreements stall criminal code reform bill
Negotiations over the final language in a bill that rewrites Indiana’s criminal code may come down to the last week of the legislative session.
-
Budget forecasters predict bigger drop in gaming revenues
While a gaming bill is still in play in the General Assembly, state budget forecasters are predicting the payoff to the state from legalized gambling will be even lower than they thought.
-
Legislature heads into final stretch
The Indiana General Assembly has slogged its way through hundreds of bills since convening in January but in some critical ways, the real work has just begun.
-
Criminal records bill passes Indiana Senate
Legislation that would allow some people with long-ago arrests and convictions in Indiana to wipe clean their criminal record has moved one step closer to the governor’s desk.
-
Court challenge likely for welfare drug-testing bill
Both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly have passed a bill that ties drug testing to welfare benefits, but if signed into law, the next debate may be on the question: Is it constitutional?
-
Push to roll back ban on in-state tuition for immigrants stops short
House Republicans who wanted to roll back a two-year-old ban on in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants have abandoned their plan to expand a Senate bill covering a much smaller group of students.
-
House committee OKs in-state tuition for some undocumented students
The debate over in-state college tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants is headed for the Indiana House.
-
Legislators working on funding plan for criminal code rewrite
As legislation that overhauls Indiana’s criminal code moves forward, supporters of the bill are working on finding funding for local communities to implement it.
-
Republican super PAC leader backs immigration reform
As the politics of immigration reform heats up in the Statehouse and Congress, a prominent Republican is ramping up his efforts to rid the influence of what he calls anti-immigrant “extremists” in his party.
-
House considers bill to shorten school day
Legislation that would have freed the state’s high-performing schools from the mandatory 180-day school year has been amended in the House with a provision to shorten the school day instead.
-
House committee debates ban on in-state tuition for immigrant children
Two years after banning the children of undocumented immigrants from paying in-state tuition rates at the state’s public universities, Indiana legislators are debating whether to roll back that prohibition.
-
Pence says Senate GOP plan for 3 percent tax cut not enough
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence appears to be still dug in on his demand for a 10 percent income tax cut, despite a “nod” from Senate Republicans willing to give him a smaller slice of what he wants.
-
Conservative coalition supports rollback of immigrant tuition ban
Supporters of a national coalition of conservative clergy, law enforcement and business leaders are calling on Indiana lawmakers to roll back the state’s ban on in-state college tuition for the children of immigrants who came here illegally.
-
Pence’s 'ERASER' bill appears dead
Legislation pushed by Gov. Mike Pence to eliminate licensing requirements for more than a dozen occupations is apparently dead, killed by a lack of support from both Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly.
-
Bill limiting seclusion and restraint to discipline students moves ahead
Legislation aimed at reducing the use of physical restraints and locked isolation rooms to discipline students continues to gain support in the General Assembly.
-
House committee pushes Pence to negotiate Medicaid expansion
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has insisted he won’t expand what he calls the “broken” Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, but some state legislators are encouraging him to do so, even it’s called by another name.
-
Debate over pot penalties not over in Indiana
The politics of pot may keep Indiana lawmakers from rolling back the state’s tough marijuana laws this session, but it won’t eradicate the push for decriminalization.
-
Gun-rights lawmaker wants tougher gun penalty
One of the chief sponsors of legislation that would rewrite the Indiana criminal code wants to amend the bill to add a mandatory five-year prison sentence for using a gun to commit a felony.
-
DOC says criminal code bill will cause spike in prison numbers
A week after Gov. Mike Pence caught lawmakers by surprise with his opposition to a major criminal code reform bill, the state Department of Correction is projecting the bill will blow up the state’s prison population far beyond what the legislature’s non-partisan research agency says it will.
- More State News Headlines
-
Indiana’s high school grad rate continues upward
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Reunited Dad, Son: 'We Just Praise God'
Raw: Aerial View of Moore Tornado Damage
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
Families Begin Returning to Their Homes in Moore
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
Slow Pokes: Acupuncture Helps Sick Turtles
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
Raw: Aussie Zoo Shows Off White Rhino Calf
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Gov. Fallin: Okla. Facing Horrific Disaster
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
Olivia Munn Flaunts Her Bikini Bod
Britney Spears Under Fire Once Again For Being A Bad Mom
Arias Tells Jury What She'd Do if She Gets Life
The all-new Xbox One
RAW: Massive tornado strikes Oklahoma
Nidal Hasan paid $278K while awaiting trial
VIDEO: Teacher reunites mother and son after tornado levels elementary school in Oklahoma City
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
Jennifer Lawrence Gets Naked and Painted Blue as X-Men's Mystique
Pickler's Dance Moves Cause A Stir
Obama to tornado survivors: The country stands beside you
Reporter Cries Over Devastation
