STATEHOUSE UPDATE: HOUSES PASSES BUDGET ON PARTY LINE VOTE
The Indiana State budget cleared its first major hurdle tonight. The House of Representatives passed the $26 billion biennial budget by a vote of 51-49. Democrats said the budget was structurally balanced and provided Hoosiers with $700 million in property tax relief over the next two years. However, Republicans say the budget contained a 24 percent average tax increase and ridiculed the mail rebate Hoosiers would receive in November for the tax credit included in the legislation. Democrats disputed that number saying it was only a 7 percent increase after the tax credit kicked in. The measure now goes to the Senate.
