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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA look at some features of a budget bill passed by the Indiana General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels tonight:
– Spends about $27.8 billion over the two-year budget cycle.
– Public schools will see an average state funding increase of about 1 percent in the first year and 0.3 percent in the second year. That’s less than House Democrats wanted for schools but $54 million more than Senate Republicans provided in their previous version of the budget.
– Includes a plan to help the struggling
Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board by allowing the city to raise
its hotel tax and possibly other taxes later if the CIB needs more
financial help.
– Includes no limits on charter schools as some Democrats wanted.
– Includes “trigger” mechanism so that if the economy improves and state revenues increase above projections, schools would get a share of the extra cash.
– Restores 1-percent cut in operating expenses for higher education made in the fiscal year that was to end today. Uses federal stimulus dollars to essentially flat-line future higher education operating costs at 2009 levels over next two years, although Ivy Tech would receive an increase because of large spikes in enrollment.
– Includes bonding authority for numerous university building projects.
– Provides 5-percent increase in state financial aid from current levels.
– Includes a pilot program for virtual charter schools, to which Democrats had objected, but allows only 200 students the first year and 500 students the second year. That’s a smaller group of students than the Senate Republicans included in their previous version of a budget.
– Keeps $1 billion in reserves at the end of the budget cycle as Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels required.
– Funds the CHOICE program for home health care services at $48 million per year.
– Includes funding for public television and state tourism promotion.
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