Indiana House’s Revised Budget Reveals Priorities

If you want to understand the real priorities of a person or group, take a look at the budget they create. Recently, the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee amended and voted on a revised version of Governor Holcomb’s two-year state budget. Democratic legislators on the committee expressed concerns for the unprecedented increased in the school voucher program and argued passionately for financial allocations to improve public transit, mental health services, food banks, public media and other programs to boost quality of life in Indiana and to develop, attract and retain a skilled workforce—a goal that state agencies repeatedly and deftly articulated throughout the budget session.

Yet, these voices were easily disregarded by the committee’s Republic majority. The bill that passed this committee, down party lines, reduces the Governor’s proposed funding for land conservation (from $25 million to $15 million) and for public health and social services, preferring instead to allocate $500 million for a “deal closing fund” for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), $800 million to state prisons, salary increases for state troopers, and funding for juvenile justice and the state’s courts.

The revised budget bill passed the Indiana House with zero support from Democrats. It moved to the Indiana Senate for review. Follow the bills that matter to you, and contact your elected representatives to share your thoughts on proposed legislation affecting your community.