Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana House approved a $46.7 billion state budget proposal Thursday that heavily scales back extracurricular spending and focuses additional funding on expanded school vouchers and inflated Medicaid bills.
Fiscal leaders at the Statehouse have had to craft a two-year budget with tighter margins this session. Lawmakers have less to spend due to slowing growth in state tax revenue and ballooning Medicaid costs—both residual effects of the pandemic.
“It is a vanilla budget focused on investing in a few areas,” bill co-author Rep. Jack Jordan, R-Bremen, said on the House floor Thursday. “I’m thankful for our fiscal restraint in this budget.”
The bill passed 66-27 along party lines.
House Bill 1001, the budget bill, will now move to the Senate for consideration. Both Republican-controlled chambers must come to an agreement on the budget by the end of April or face a special session to do so. And after both chambers pass the budget, it heads to Gov. Mike Braun’s desk.
Bill author Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, said last week that the House Republicans’ plan reflects many of the governor’s priorities included in his submitted budget. However, the caucus scaled back several of Braun’s more ambitious inclusions, especially state tax cuts.
As it stands, the budget includes a 2% annual increase (a total of $540 million) in education funding, fully pays for forecasted Medicaid expenses and includes an influx of support for child services and corrections.
With less revenue growth and higher Medicaid spending, Republicans have had to pull back on one-time investments and only partially fund past priorities. For example, local public health funding, which was a key priority in 2023, stands to receive $50 million less in the proposed budget than it did under the current budget.
Regardless, Thompson said the budget is still one of opportunity, specifically the expansion of school vouchers to all Hoosier families regardless of income.
“It’s the opportunity for Hoosiers to live in a state with an extremely, extremely bright future,” he said. “An opportunity for Hoosiers to be in a state with a structurally balanced budget with healthy reserves.”
Democrats introduced a bevy of amendments Wednesday seeking to fund party priorities including universal pre-K, homebuyer downpayment support and additional Medicaid and public health funding.
Thompson said those amendments were well-intentioned, but with a tight budget, it’s a matter of prioritization.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
It’s really time we quit using the pandemic as an excuse for what we are doing now and into the future.
“Democrats introduced a bevy of amendments Wednesday seeking to fund party priorities including universal pre-K, homebuyer downpayment support and additional Medicaid and public health funding. Thompson said those amendments were well-intentioned, but with a tight budget, it’s a matter of prioritization.“
And the Republican priority was school vouchers for people who don’t need them so they can continue with their “separate but equal” school system. School choice means schools decide who enrolls.