Budget Battle Lines (Part One)
Although Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and House Speaker Pat Bauer aren’t married, you would think the upcoming debate in the General Assembly over what to do with the state’s budget surplus sounded like a dispute married couples have during hard times.
Do we dip into the savings account now or later to make ends meet, or in this case, the state surplus?
In a speech today to the downtown Rotary Club of Indianapolis, Daniels cautioned against going into the $1.3 billion fund to help address the state’s hard times, saying the state may need the money later because early budget forecasts were off by $1 billion despite best estimates and no one knows how long the current recession will last.
On the other hand, Speaker Bauer would not categorize the money as a surplus, but as a rainy day fund that was created just for this occasion. Bauer noted the state has lost 80,000 jobs since last year and some portion the $1.3 billion should be used for job creation. He said the State can’t dig itself out of a hole, without addressing what created the hole in the first place, job losses.
One other point of contention is likely to be a proposed four percent cut in higher education funding which amounts to about $60 million. The Governor says despite that cut, Indiana colleges and universities will still receive more money than they have in the past. Bauer says such cuts only harm institutions that help created jobs by educating the workforce.
The two also split over K-12 education funding, with Daniels saying schools will need an extra $80 million to reach last year’s level of funding, while Bauer says the Governor isn’t taking into account costs like health care and insurance.
One area where Bauer appears to be making some public movement is on the issue of Kernan-Shepard government reform. Originally he said lawmakers may not have to address the issue, but when asked he said lawmakers will deal with some elements of the plan, but they have their own ideas on how to save the taxpayers money.
Lawmakers convene tomorrow. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold it’s first formal budget hearing on January 13.
