Two-year budget heads to full House

INDIANAPOLIS — An amended version of Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s proposed biennium budget is being sent to the full House of Representatives for a vote.

State Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City), who represents Jay and Randolph counties and part of Delaware County, joined House Ways and Means Committee Republicans in amending House Bill 1001, which would appropriate $35 billion for Indiana’s biennium budget, in a late afternoon committee meeting Thursday.

About half of the budget funds Indiana education with an additional $93.9 and $284.1 million planned to be appropriated for schools in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 schools years, respectively, which would result in a total 3.8% increase from the current budget.

House Democrats criticized the bill for not allocating any money directly to increasing teacher pay, a priority in Holcomb’s proposal. Committee chairman Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville) said that it is up to local school boards to decide what to do with the increase in funding, which could be used to raise wages.

The bill would also increase state aid to private schools by about $66 million in the next two school years.

“We fund the students. … The money follows the students,” Prescott said, noting that percentage of funding divvied between public and private schools roughly matches the latest student enrollment count.

The bill as amended also lists an additional $250 million to expand rural broadband internet access, an increase from Holcomb’s recommended $100 million.

“One thing I was really advocating for in our committee was additional rural broadband funding,” Prescott said. He noted some towers are already being upgraded in Jay County, with download speeds increasing to 100 megabits per second and upload speeds increasing to 10 to 15 megabits per second.

Another proponent that deviates from Holcomb’s recommendation is increasing the state tax on cigarettes. The governor recommended a $1 hike, which was later cut in half by the House committee to an increase of 50 cents.

Prescott said Brown advocated for rolling back the tax increase so cigarettes can be sold at a lower price than in neighboring states.

Money raised from that tax will be deposited into the general fund and is planned to go toward paying for Medicaid services, Prescott said.

The bill will now go to the full House for a vote, which has until Feb. 22 to pass the budget and send it to the state Senate. It will be subject to House amendments in the coming weeks, but Prescott said he doesn’t anticipate the bill changing much before it gets to the Senate.

He expects it could change, however, after the April revenue forecast, but by then decisions will be in a joint conference committee made up of members of the House and Senate.

House Bill 1001 is expected to first be referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle) is a member. Holdman represents parts of northeast Indiana including Jay County.



To the Senate

A pair of bills authored by Holdman passed out of Senate committees Thursday.

Senate Bill 380, which passed 11-1 out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, would reorganize new courts and judges in Hamilton, Decatur, Hancock, Huntington, Knox, Lake and Delaware counties.

Senate Bill 405, which passed 7-0 out of the Senate Local Government Committee, would allow Indianapolis legislative bodies to establish a wastewater facility improvement district.



To the House

A pair of bills authored by Holdman were passed unanimously by the Senate this week and were referred to the House of Representatives for a potential vote.

Senate Bill 275, first introduced by Sen. Eddie Melton (D-Gary), would allow counties to establish a property tax amnesty program.

Senate Bill 400, also authored by Sens. Chris Garten (R-Charlestown) and Michael Crider (R-Greenfield), would require Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles to electronically process liens by the summer of 2022 and ownership titles by the summer of 2023.