Eric Holcomb: An open letter to those running to be our next governor

For 20 years, Indiana has been on a roll. While multiple players feed into the success of our state, the chief executive plays a pivotal role in charting the course through choppy and smooth waters, and I’m not just saying that as a Navy man.

Indiana has enjoyed a AAA credit score, the necessary reserves to keep it and balanced budgets. Over the last six years, our gross domestic product has grown more than $150 billion, enabling us to make unprecedented strategic investments in public education, health, safety, infrastructure and quality of place.

Simultaneously, we’ve witnessed Indiana’s ascension to top rankings on many fronts. But, as in life, there is much more to do to keep the momentum tracking onward and upward. As the state’s chief executive, you won’t be able to rely on slogans or empty campaign promises to yield positive results. Instead, your vision and where you want to lead the state must be accompanied by detailed plans that you will implement.

With that in mind, I offer a few key areas and questions to consider.

Protect our pro-growth economic environment: Indiana’s tax code ranks among the top 10 taxpayer- and business-friendly tax codes in the nation. We’ve cut personal and corporate income taxes and eliminated income taxes for active-duty National Guard and Reserve soldiers with a full income-tax exemption when they are mobilized or on duty.

We returned more than $1.5 billion to taxpayers through our Automatic Taxpayer Refund program. We rank as the “best low-tax climate” in the Midwest, third for “low cost of living” and fifth for “low cost of doing business.” We’ve paid off more than 31% of our state debt since 2017, and our pensions are funded and healthy.

The next budget session will focus on how to take Indiana’s economy and the opportunities that come from it to the next level. How will you improve Indiana’s cost, tax and regulatory environment in 2025?

Lean into future focused ecosystems: Indiana has been named the No. 1 state in America for advanced manufacturing and “where to start a business” in 2023.

Companies are investing billions of dollars to convert and transition into new ways of making and shipping their products. Higher education institutions are partnering with the private sector and the federal government to start hydrogen, microelectronic and biotech hubs to reshore key industries to Indiana. Community foundations, philanthropic organizations and professional associations have deep institutional knowledge that’s proven over time to be the X factor.

For example, this year, the Lilly Endowment Inc. contributed $250 million, a record amount, to target blight and the arts in local communities while working hand in hand with the state’s READI program.

State government has long been a critical partner to discover the next big breakthrough right here in Indiana. What are your new ideas to fuel key industry and institute advancements?

Seed venture capital: Entrepreneurs and startups need access to capital to scale. Our very own Elevate Ventures has been ranked the most active venture capital firm and venture development organization in the Great Lakes Region. We created a $250 million Next Level Fund to further target investments in business growth.

We are supporting high school innovation competitions through Innovate WithIN and awarding grants to replace aging manufacturing equipment through our successful Manufacturing Readiness Grant program. In what new ways would you support small businesses and encourage entrepreneurship throughout the state?

Lead on raising wages: Indiana’s income growth has outpaced that of all our neighboring states, and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. continues to recruit businesses that pay wages higher than state and national averages.

This year, the IEDC’s job wages are averaging $37.76 an hour. That’s 12% higher than the U.S. average, 34% higher than the state average, and 79% higher than the local county average. What is your strategy to continue bringing high-paying jobs to Indiana?

Develop supply chain superiority: In 2022, the IEDC secured more than $22.2 billion in committed capital investment. In 2023, the state secured more than $28 billion in committed capital investment, including $20.6 billion via foreign direct investment. We’re home to more than 1,050 foreign-owned business establishments representing 40 countries and territories, 300 of which are Japanese. Indiana’s foreign-owned business establishments support our growing $91.5 billion/$56.5 billion import/export relationships globally.

Over the last seven years, I’ve led 13 trips covering 22 countries, sharing Indiana’s success story with longtime partners and new global markets. Knowing relationships are paramount to keeping and attracting business to the Heartland, what is your plan to secure the next big investment from Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, etc.?

Target investments in public education: Since 2017, Indiana has increased education funding by $1.8 billion, placing us among the top three states for portion of our budget devoted to public education. I set a goal to pay Indiana teachers an average salary of $60,000, and each budget year we are approaching the goal. It’s important for the next chief executive to take this momentum and hit the finish line.

We eliminated textbook fees, so parents no longer carry the burden of a hidden tax. We’ve established multiple vocational career pathways, shifted to teaching the science of reading and added third-grade reading coaches to improve reading proficiency. What new K-12 initiatives would you champion to ensure our Hoosier kids are on track for success?

Require adult workforce training: Indiana’s private-sector workforce is at an all-time high, with a 3.5% unemployment rate and 5,000 fewer Hoosiers on unemployment than at the same time in 2017. We have almost 100,000 available jobs statewide, and because of the work we’ve done to skill up our workforce, there are Hoosiers ready to fill them. To better serve Hoosiers looking to enter the workforce, we launched “One Stop to Start,” a statewide campaign to help connect employees with employers.

Since 2017, our Workforce Readiness Grants and Employer Training Grants have successfully skilled up 60,000 Hoosiers. How will you continue to dedicate resources to skilling up the next generation of Hoosiers that are replacing the retiring baby boomer workforce?

Offer more early learning and child care options: Recognizing early learning is foundational to success, Indiana has expanded our quality, capacity and eligibility for the Childcare Development Fund and our On My Way Pre-K programs. We’ve increased funding to child care providers, created a $25 million employer-sponsored child care initiative to help Hoosier businesses expand child care for their employees, passed a child care tax credit for employers with fewer than 100 employees and created an online child care finder service. How would you prioritize Hoosier families who are burdened with the high cost of quality child care?

Make higher education even more affordable: Indiana remains in the top five nationally for college tuition assistance, including now automatically enrolling every financially eligible seventh-grader into our 21st Century Scholarship program. More than 44,500 of our high school students graduate with dual credits, and more than 800 graduate with an associate degree.

We offer programs that provide students with valuable experience in trades and careers before they graduate high school. What will you advocate for to set high school graduates up for success in whatever path they choose to pursue?

Public health: In 2023, we increased by 1,500% our state’s public health financial commitment to county governments after 140 years of the same approach. With the increased funding, we can support programs like infant health, childhood lead screening, chronic disease prevention, trauma and injury prevention, and much more.

We are building a better foundation for Hoosier mental health by investing more than $250 million in the statewide Indiana Recovery Network. This network consists of more than 60 recovery-based organizations, the 988 crisis line, mobile crisis teams and crisis stabilization units. We are also providing $50 million in grants to local entities to address the justice-involved population and for regional health care facilities to be used to help incarcerated individuals.

In 2018, we expanded Medicaid coverage to treat Hoosiers with substance use disorders. Since then, we’ve worked to multiply addiction treatment options, increasing the availability of residential treatment beds 385% and launching the Treatment Atlas as a tool to help individuals find quality care that meets their needs.

Indiana is expected to receive more than $925 million over an 18-year period as part of the national opioid settlements, positioning both the state and our communities to make significant strides in the years to come. How would you continue to make Hoosier health a top priority for years to come?

Child safety: Child safety has been of great importance since Day One. My administration has aimed to create an environment where our littlest Hoosiers can learn and grow, and we owe it to our kids to give them the opportunity for a successful, healthy and bright future.

Starting with the health of our babies and mothers, My Healthy Baby provides guidance and support throughout and after pregnancy for both mom and baby. This is a boots-on-the-ground local effort active in all 92 counties to decrease our infant mortality rate, currently at 6.7%. Since we all can agree that one death is one too many, in what ways will you work to lower that percentage?

Public safety: In 2023, I signed into law the single biggest pay raise for Indiana’s law enforcement personnel, including our state and capitol police, as well as our conservation, gambling and excise officers. This salary hike has significantly helped recruit new officers, but more work needs to be done to reach full staffing levels.

We are supporting law enforcement through funding new training facilities and state labs that will have the capacity and space to meet caseload demands. In what new ways will you seek to support those in uniform and increase their ranks?

Public infrastructure: In 2017, I proudly signed into law a historic, 20-year, fully cash-funded $60 billion infrastructure program that led to Indiana’s being ranked No. 1 in the nation for infrastructure by CNBC. As governor, I renegotiated the Indiana Toll Road lease for an additional $1 billion. Our roads, rail and ports go hand in glove when it comes to connecting to international markets, including two new commuter rail projects that will attract new business and residents.

Future state leaders will need to support changes and growth to our state’s infrastructure as Indiana grows and remains a tourism destination. Leaning into our namesake as the Crossroads of America, what new projects will you pursue to support growth?

Invest in quality-of-place initiatives: From 2010 to 2020, we grew at a 4.7% rate, higher than that of our neighbors. In 2022, we welcomed 19,000 Hoosiers by choice.

Our $500 million READI Round 1 program was designed to attract talent and increase quality of life. The first round attracted $12.1 billion in outside funding, with more than $4 billion devoted to housing infrastructure, and our $500 million READI Round 2 is projected to add $8 billion more. Additionally, we created a state-backed revolving loan to help local governments invest in new housing projects.

Six years ago, Indiana focused on connecting unserved broadband internet customers to bridge the digital divide by investing $189 million in state dollars. With $428 million in matching funding along with the soon-to-be-deployed federal $868 million program, more than $1.4 billion will be invested in community connections.

Those investments, along with the $180 million we allocated for local community trail projects, have connected our cities and towns like never before. Knowing we need to attract and keep students in state, what new creative projects will you champion to help local governments improve their quality of place, as people prioritize where they want to live over where they work?

Maintain an aggressive Hoosier hospitality offense: Indiana has built a reputation of being there for our friends. In 2022, when evacuees coming from Afghanistan needed a haven, the Indiana National Guard housed more than 7,200 of our allies at Camp Atterbury. When Putin invaded Ukraine, Hoosiers stepped up to assist refugees to Slovakia, and the Ukrainian Olympic wrestling team was sent to practice in Hammond. And when Hamas invaded Israel in 2023, Indiana was quick to express our support. Will your administration look inward, outward or both when it comes to our friends in need?

Every governor wants to achieve what others have not: For me, we passed bills to appoint the superintendent of public instruction, create a hate crimes statute and allow Sunday sales of alcohol, and we signed Indiana’s first state compact with the state’s first and only federally recognized tribe—the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. Are there any initiatives that have been pushed but not succeeded to date that you will lead?

During my time as governor, I’ve had the unique opportunity to act in ways that feel very personal to me. My administration has prioritized Hoosiers from all walks of life who might not have anything in common except that they call Indiana home.

Beginning on April 9, Hoosiers will begin voting that will eventually pick the next leader to set the tone, tempo and trajectory of our state. You will be forced to deal with the agendas of others and unforeseen challenges. Ultimately, you’ll be hired with the responsibility to enlarge Indiana’s “opportunity pie” by helping more Hoosiers experience upward mobility.

If Hoosiers are informed and know your answers to the above questions before you’re sworn into office, not only will you have the makings of your first budget and agenda, but more important, it will help you stay focused on the priorities of being the next leader of our great state.•

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Holcomb, a Republican, is serving his second term as Indiana governor.