INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is calling legislators back to the Statehouse next week to resume work on a new state budget, and legislative leaders are already meeting to lay the budget groundwork.
Daniels told a bipartisan group of lawmakers Tuesday that the special legislative session would begin June 11. The Republican governor said he hopes that gives lawmakers plenty of time to agree on a spending plan before the current budget expires on June 30.
“Let’s get on with it,” Daniels said.
A special joint budget committee heard a budget pitch from Daniels Tuesday and listened to administration officials detail his proposal. Democrats, who peppered Daniels with questions, said they would comb through the two-year budget and could have more questions when the group meets again Thursday.
Daniels’ budget proposal would rely heavily on federal stimulus money to give more cash to public schools and to fund $450 million in higher education capital projects. Daniels had previously warned against tapping the state’s $1.3 billion reserves, but said he’s willing to do so now as long as $1 billion is left in the bank. And two prison expansions that Daniels wanted were dropped after Democrats who control the House said education should be a bigger priority than prisons.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said he appreciated the olive branches Daniels offered to lawmakers.
“I feel like you’ve gone more than half way to meet us,” Kenley said.
House Ways and Means Chairman William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, said the governor’s proposal still needs work.
“We’re closer in the sense that the governor has agreed we can use some of the reserve. We’re closer in the sense he’s agreed we can do some capital projects to stimulate job growth,” Crawford said. “We still have not worked out the details of exactly how that’s going to work and what projects we’re going to do in prioritizing our spending. We’re going to have to work out some things.”
Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, asked Daniels why he changed his mind about using the state’s reserves after lawmakers struggled in the regular session to cobble together a budget that didn’t touch that cash for fear of a veto.
“It’s a little troubling to me that now it looks like we can live with a billion dollars,” Pelath said.
Daniels said a new revenue forecast that came out last month was far more accurate than April estimates, so he now feels more comfortable reaching into the piggy bank. But he said he was serious about leaving $1 billion tucked away.
“A billion means a billion,” he told the committee. “It’s not a starting point for negotiation.”
Daniels’ budget proposal would use federal stimulus money plus a slight increase in state spending to give public schools an average 2 percent funding increase in each of the next two years.
Rep. Terry Goodin, D-Austin, said he was worried about propping up school spending with one-time stimulus money.
“In 2011, that all disappears,” he said.
Budget director Chris Ruhl said that school funding data released Tuesday also shows school districts the amount they would get not counting stimulus money, giving them an idea of what they can expect in future years.
Daniels said his budget would give every Indiana school district at least the same amount as they currently get on a per-student basis.
But Democrats were quick to note that not every district will get more money. Urban districts with declining enrollments would see a drop. Ruhl said some schools could see up to a 10 percent cut, while fast-growing districts would see gains of up to 13 percent.
Under Daniels’ proposal, overall state general fund spending would be 2.5 percent below the current budget. Many state agencies would see cuts, and higher education operating costs would drop 4 percent. The budget would spend $27.5 billion from the state’s general fund over the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years, but when stimulus money is factored in it would spend $28.5 billion.
Daniels’ budget left out one item that lawmakers and the governor himself had previously requested: a plan to fix Indianapolis’ cash-strapped Capital Improvement Board, which runs the city’s convention center and sports stadiums. Daniels administration officials say that issue will eventually be included in the budget, but it won’t be presented to lawmakers until Thursday, when Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is expected to be at the Statehouse to help lobby for the plan.
Indiana Legislature
Related Photos
Discussion
Legislature’s special session to start Monday
- Indiana Legislature
-
-
Bill would ease college credit transfers
Indiana college students worried about whether their credit hours will transfer to another university may get some relief if a proposed higher-education bill passes.
-
Indiana joins right-to-work ranks, governor signs bill
Indiana has become the first Rust Belt state to enact the contentious right-to-work labor law prohibiting labor contracts that require workers to pay union representation fees.
-
Indiana Senate approves right-to-work bill
Indiana’s Senate has passed right-to-work legislation, placing the state on the verge of becoming the Rust Belt’s first to enact the contentious labor law.
-
Democrats skip Indiana Senate right-to-work hearing
Democratic senators are boycotting an Indiana Senate hearing on the contentious right-to-work bill.
-
Indiana legislators OK tougher sex-trafficking law
A bill to toughen Indiana’s penalties for sex trafficking is on its way to Gov. Mitch Daniels for him to sign into law ahead of next weekend’s Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
-
Senate bill to help Vigo agency
Legislation drafted to help a local nonprofit passed out of the Indiana State Senate with unanimous support Monday, and is now bound for the House of Representatives.
-
Indiana right-to-work foes object to vote’s speed
Opponents of Indiana’s right-to-work bill say Republicans are trying to shut off public debate by rushing the matter through the Legislature within the next week.
-
Lawmakers move ahead with welfare drug-testing
Indiana lawmakers are pushing forward on legislation that would cut off cash assistance to welfare recipients who fail drug tests.
-
Indiana House approves right-to-work bill
Indiana’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives cleared the way Wednesday to become the first right-to-work state in a traditionally union-heavy Rust Belt increasingly targeted by non-union foes.
-
Indiana panel backs teaching cursive writing mandate
Indiana’s public schools would be required to teach cursive writing and largely prohibited from starting their school years until late August under bill approved by a legislative committee.
-
UPDATE: Indiana House opens debate on right-to-work vote
Indiana’s House of Representatives is debating the divisive right-to-work measure before possibly clearing the final hurdle.
-
Hearing on bill eliminating some licensing abruptly canceled
Union protesters haven’t been able to stop a controversial labor bill in the Indiana Statehouse, but hairdressers may have killed a piece of legislation they loathe.
-
Indiana House eyes another $5M for state fair victims
Indiana’s House Ways and Means chairman is pushing for $5 million more for victims of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse and $80 million to pay for full-day kindergarten.
-
GOP rejects House Dems’ vote on RTW referendum
Indiana House Democrats walked off the floor Monday after losing an effort to put a right-to-work measure aimed at unions before voters, possibly resuming an off-and-on boycott strategy aimed at derailing the measure for the second straight year.
-
Indiana House Dems end third right-to-work boycott
Indiana House Democrats have returned to work after a boycott over divisive right-to-work legislation by moving to strike down the measure.
-
Indiana House Dems may end boycott Monday
House Democrats who have been boycotting the session to block a contentious right-to-work bill could return Monday to begin debating the measure, although disagreement over whether a statewide referendum on the issue would be constitutional might delay a vote.
-
Labor workers protest Chamber’s right-to-work stance
About 60 union workers, representing seven different unions, protested this morning in front of the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce while the organization held an educational meeting on right-to-work legislation before the Indiana General Assembly.
-
Indiana Democrats continue right-to-work boycott
Indiana legislative leaders today did not appear to be moving toward a resolution of the standstill caused by most House Democrats’ boycott over the contentious right-to-work bill.
-
Call for RTW referendum stirs pot
When Republican State Rep. Rich McClain filed a bill last week that called for a referendum vote on the controversial right-to-work issue, he had no idea it might be unconstitutional.
-
Indiana House votes for $1,000 fines for missing members
When Indiana House Democrats fled the state last year to stall action on a contentious labor bill, Republicans waited two weeks before docking the missing members’ expense checks.
This time around, they’re not so patient. -
Democrats plan legal challenge to Indiana House fines
Indiana House Democrats say they’ll go to court to challenge the $1,000-a-day fines they face for their legislative boycott over the right-to-work bill.
-
Grubb, four other Indiana democrats on House floor for labor bill debate
Indiana House Democrats who failed to show up this morning for a quorum call were hit with a $1,000-a-day fine, but five of their colleagues escaped the punishment.
-
Indiana Democrats show no signs of ending boycott
Most Indiana House Democrats aren’t showing signs of ending their boycott over the right-to-work bill despite threats of $1,000-a-day fines.
-
Bray announces he will not seek re-election to Senate District 37
State Sen. Richard Bray, R-Martinsville, announced today he will not seek re-election for Senate District 37, which includes areas of Owen, Putnam, Morgan, Clay, Johnson and Monroe counties.
-
Bill requiring Indiana stage inspections advances
All outdoor stages in Indiana would have to pass inspections before any performances under a bill approved by a state Senate committee.
-
Indiana panel backs bill on right to resist police
An Indiana Senate committee has endorsed a proposal giving state residents limited rights to resist police officers trying to enter their homes.
-
Indiana lawmakers consider fines on access violators
Government officials could face fines of up to $500 for blatantly violating Indiana’s public access laws under a proposal that would impose personal penalties for such actions for the first time since the laws were adopted 35 years ago.
-
MAUREEN HAYDEN: Let’s be clear on right-to-work’s effects, if that’s even possible
Ball State University economist Michael Hicks describes himself as a fiscal conservative and admirer of much of what Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has done in his seven years in office.
But last week, Hicks released a research study that isn’t going over well with Daniels’ allies in the Statehouse pushing a contentious piece of legislation known as the right-to-work bill. -
UPDATE: Indiana Democrats: Voters should decide right-to-work
Indiana House Democrats want voters to decide the fate of a right-to-work bill or else they’ll continue stall tactics designed to derail the contentious legislation, the House minority leader said today.
-
Indiana county leaders worried over 911 funding
Indiana county officials who are scrambling to find enough money to pay for 911 emergency services say they aren’t confident of help from lawmakers who might be leery of allowing increased cellphone fees during an election year.
- More Indiana Legislature Headlines
-
Bill would ease college credit transfers
Raw Video: Kim Jong Il Statue Unveiled
Authorities: Houston Found Underwater in Tub
Raw Video: Houston Body Flown From L.A. to N.J.
Raw Video: Hearse Arrives at N.J. Funeral Home
Arm Wrestler Not Guilty Plea in Wife's Death
Trial Opens for Ala. Man in Bride's Diving Death
Baltimore's 'Crime Stopper' Is a Basketball Star
First Person: Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
Obama's New Budget: The Winners and Losers
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
Bacteria Keep Swimmers Off Some Fla. Beaches
Police: Houston Found Under Water, Unconscious
Gregoire: Marriage Equality Is Right for Wash.
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
Coroner: Don't Know Houston's Cause of Death Yet
Sandusky Can See Grandkids, Have Local Jury
Attempted Bomb Attack Stopped in Georgia
Israeli Diplomats Targeted in India, Georgia
And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is...
Raw Video: Israeli Embassy Car Attacked
Sports Illustrated Cover Leaked
Kate Upton MLB 2K12 Commercial
Olympic Swimmer Proposes on Podium After Big Win
Whitney Houston Funeral Arrangements Set
Scarlett Johansson's Bikini P-D-A
Man Allegedly Drowns Wife While Scuba Diving
The 'Celebrity Apprentice' Cast Meets Donald Trump
Wash. becomes 7th state to okay same-sex marriage
Romijn's 60 Pound Weight Loss
Kissing contest heats up
Hugh Hefner's Son Arrested
Jacqueline Kennedy's personal papers released
Did Tyler Perry Have a Secret Wedding?
Iran denies Israeli embassy bombings
'Bachelor' Free Falls into the Ocean
Facebook Parenting: Father Posts Video Responding to Daughter's Post
Bobby Brown on Houston's Death
