INDIANAPOLIS —
The Indiana General Assembly starts its 2013 session today in some unfamiliar but welcome territory: Flush with more than $1 billion in new revenue to spend — plus $2 billion in reserves — while crafting the state’s two-year budget plan.
It’s an envious place to be, following a series of recession-era budget cycles that forced the legislature and outgoing Gov. Mitch Daniels to make some painful cuts in spending on education and other public services.
But don’t expect a spending spree.
While there are already plenty of ideas for how the extra money should be spent — including a call for a 7.5 percent increase for the state’s public universities and a cry from K-12 schools for more dollars — the budget gatekeepers are urging caution.
Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma, of Indianapolis, has been warning his fellow lawmakers that a sputtering economy means the “fiscal fog is thick.”
And a key budget gatekeeper, Senate appropriations chairman Luke Kenley, has vowed to maintain his reputation as a fiscal conservative.
“Lawmakers have worked hard in recent years to put our fiscal house in order, and we must continue down that path in 2013 …” said Kenley, a Noblesville Republican. “We want to continue to stimulate job growth while, at the same time, guarding against future economic instability.”
Meanwhile, the new House Ways and Means chairman, Republican state Rep. Tim Brown of Crawfordsville, has said more money in the state coffers likely means a boost in funding for some programs that suffered past cuts. But without giving much detail, he’s also said they need to be “strategic restorations of what we’ve had to cut in the past.”
The most recent fiscal news is rosier than it’s been in more than five years. The state’s revenue forecast, released in December, predicts state government will receive more than $27.9 billion in taxes and other revenue sources over the next two years. That’s almost $1.3 billion more than the state took in during the past two years.
Much of that increased revenue is coming from the state’s sales and income taxes. There has been a steady decline in gaming revenues, though. The November 2012 monthly revenue report showed Indiana casinos saw eight straight months of declining revenue. It’s a trend not likely to be reversed as more casinos in the neighboring states of Illinois, Michigan and Ohio come on line.
The drop in gaming dollars may prompt Indiana lawmakers to reconsider some of the tight rules they’ve imposed on the state’s casino operations. Republican state Rep. Ed Clere of New Albany has called for his fellow legislators to re-examine the number of gambling licenses it allows and the locations where gambling is allowed.
The legislature has been averse in the past to opening the state up to more gaming. But at a legislative preview conference late last year, the powerful state Senate president David Long, a Fort Wayne Republican, said the legislature needs to do something to reverse the drop in gambling revenues by making Indiana’s casinos more competitive.
One of the budget fights unfolding involves a campaign pledge made by Republican Gov.-elect Mike Pence. His call for a 10-percent cut in personal income tax has met with resistance from legislative leaders of his own party.
If passed, it would mean about a $500 million drop in revenues for the state. And it would come on the heels of two significant revenue cuts made last year by the legislature: a reduction in the corporate income tax rate and a 10-year phase-out of Indiana’s inheritance tax.
Another big budget issue involves the state’s cost of implementing the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. There are some significant unknowns, including how much money the state will be obligated to pay as more Hoosiers are expected to be covered under Medicaid, a joint state and federal program that provides health care for the poor and disabled. The state spent more than $1.4 billion on Medicaid in fiscal year 2012. That amount is expected to rise to $2 billion by 2015.
News
Budget session starts flush with cash
Legislature gets back to work today in unfamiliar territory
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Banks of the Wabash Festival is more than just yearly entertainment
Pioneers think counterintuitively. Where others see widespread apathy, they focus on the possibility for progress. In a way, the 2013 Year of the River celebration began in the 1970s.
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Planning session aims to better Terre Haute
It’s not yet clear what will come of it, but dozens of community leaders spent the whole day Wednesday trying to develop a plan – or collection of plans – to make Terre Haute “a better community.”
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Education funding boost won’t benefit all schools
In the budget bill passed by the General Assembly last month, there is more money allocated for K-12 education over the next two years, but that doesn’t mean every school will get more dollars.
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Park Board renames land around Memorial Stadium
Land surrounding Indiana State University’s Memorial Stadium on Terre Haute’s east side has been designated as Veterans Memorial Park, following a unanimous vote Wednesday from the Terre Haute Park Board.
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Deputy suffers minor injury during incident
A Vigo County Sheriff’s deputy received a minor injury to his hand Tuesday night while subduing a drunken driving suspect who fled behind a North Terre Haute business.
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Man accused of child neglect gets new trial date
An Oct. 15 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute man arrested in November for child neglect after he and his wife allegedly tied up and confined their adopted children in the family home.
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Police find meth labs, arrest Pierson Township man
Police uncovered two active methamphetamine labs in southeastern Vigo County on Monday, leading to the arrest of a Pierson Township man.
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New date set for attempted murder trial
A new trial date has been set for a Terre Haute woman charged with attempted murder.
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Rose-Hulman professor researching ways to make homes storm safe
Tornadoes produce greater uplift forces than hurricanes, which can flatten homes such as in Moore Okla., south of Oklahoma City.
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Group wants to connect downtown Terre Haute with the Wabash River
Fairbanks Park is underutilized.
The Wabash River is peaceful and inviting, but there is some concern about its cleanliness as well as pollution levels. Also, people can’t get on the river unless they have a boat. -
New conservancy district appoints first directors
Members of the first board of directors of a new lake conservancy district were appointed Tuesday by the Vigo County Board of Commissioners.
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Vigo law enforcement signs Triad charter to protect seniors
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined Vigo County law enforcement and community activists Tuesday to sign the county’s first Triad charter, becoming the 22nd Triad in Indiana.
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Wabash Valley Red Cross wraps up Save the Day Campaign
The American Red Cross Wabash Valley Chapter’s 2013 annual meeting concluded the 17th annual Save the Day Campaign, and the results lifted the spirits of all who were involved.
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Some Vigo roads washed out
Spring storms resulted in $250,000 in damages to roads in southern Vigo County, with costs including sand and labor to save homes near river bottoms, said county highway Assistant Superintendent Dan Bennett.
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County Council votes $78K toward rail spur
County officials voted Tuesday night to make good on a 2011 promise to help improve a railroad spur just north of Terre Haute for Menard Inc.
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Spring flooding damages future CSO holding lagoon
Flood waters from the Wabash River have done costly damage to one of the city-owned “lagoons” on former International Paper property.
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Vigo tops state average for IREAD-3 scores
The Vigo County School Corp. exceeded the state average in the percentage of students passing the state’s mandatory Grade 3 reading test, IREAD-3.
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Storms cause minor damage in Valley
Tuesday morning storms in the Wabash Valley caused thousands of Duke Energy customers to lose power.
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Kindergartner diagnosed with MD treated to a day with the fire department
“He’ll just never forget this day,” Stacey Manley said, a little bit tearfully, as she watched her smiling 6-year-old son Carter sitting happily in the captain’s seat of Fire Engine 2.
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Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
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Rose-Hulman projects will promote growth, learning for people with physical challenges
Life changed dramatically for college engineering student Drew Christy on Feb. 22, 2008 when he was involved in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
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‘500’ gas stations being sold to Speedway LLC
After several decades in business, the area’s familiar “500” gasoline stations and convenience stores will soon be missing from the roadsides of Vigo and Sullivan counties.
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Terre Haute woman faces 14 charges
A Terre Haute woman faces 14 criminal counts after her arrest Friday on drug-related charges.
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Two adults injured in ATV accident
Two adults were injured Sunday evening while riding an all-terrain vehicle near Lexington Farms Subdivision off Moyer Drive in southern Vigo County.
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Vigo schools’ medical claims down 4 percent
The Vigo County School Corp.’s medical claims were about $13 million over the last 12 months, down 4 percent from the prior year, said Diane Titchenell, an Anthem account manager that works with the school district.
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2013 Government Directory now available
The 2013 Government Directory is now available.
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Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” -
Boat trip aims to raise awareness about Lewy Body Dementia
In 2013, the Year of the River, it makes sense to link a grand adventure on the Wabash River with a good cause.
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Legislature had little taste for alcohol bills
When it comes to alcohol, the 2013 legislative session may be marked more by what it didn’t do to boost booze sales than what it did.
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