Anti-smoking officials say Indiana funding cuts hurt
A decision to cut state funding by 38 percent for programs that help people stop smoking and try to prevent others from starting worries those behind the state's tobacco cessation efforts.
A decision to cut state funding by 38 percent for programs that help people stop smoking and try to prevent others from starting worries those behind the state's tobacco cessation efforts.
The Indiana General Assembly worked into the night Friday to hammer out final details on a two-year, $30 billion budget containing new tax cuts, a modest expansion of school vouchers, new oversight of the $2.8 billion Rockport coal gasification project and a series of other measures.
Indiana taxpayers will see their personal income tax rate reduced by 5 percent over the next four years under a budget plan agreed to Thursday by lawmakers. The plan also repeals the inheritance tax retroactive to Jan. 1.
Indiana's new state budget will include at least a small personal income tax cut, although legislative leaders said Wednesday they weren't certain whether it will be as large as Republican Gov. Mike Pence wants.
While arguing for a 10-percent cut in the state's income tax, Pence also said he would like to see a quicker phase-out of the state's inheritance tax.
House and Senate negotiators will take into account a rosier revenue forecast when they begin meeting Wednesday for the first of a series of meetings that will determine the final shape of Indiana’s next state budget.
Expectations that Indiana will collect $290 million more in taxes have Gov. Mike Pence's team optimistic they can win a $500 million cut in the state's personal income tax this session.
The Indiana Public Retirement System recently issued a request for proposals from international fixed-income managers and received 16 responses by the April 5 deadline. The $27.1 billion retirement system will hire two managers to oversee $900 million.
Indiana's riverboat casino revenues fell 4.4 percent in March, dragged down by declines at two southeastern Indiana venues that faced their first month of head-to-head competition with a Cincinnati casino.
The plan keeps much of the additional education spending that House Republicans added to their budget proposal in February. But the Senate package also includes a $150 million cut to personal income taxes.
The state revenue forecast due out April 16 will influence the next two-year budget and possibly help Gov. Mike Pence sell lawmakers on his proposed 10-percent income-tax cut. Experts predict the numbers won’t be much different from those in the last forecast.
Indiana lawmakers and Gov. Mike Pence drew closer to a budget compromise Thursday with the unveiling of a $30 billion Senate plan that cuts the state income tax by $150 million and establishes a new roads fund.
Local governments and road builders are optimistic that the Indiana Senate’s version of the state budget, set to debut Thursday, will mirror the House’s $500 million increase for road building.
Gambling revenue for 2012 was down more than $110 million from 2010, and year-over-year revenue has tumbled in three consecutive years.
Republicans typically invoke Ronald Reagan's "11th Commandment" when they're fighting within the family, and there's been plenty of infighting recently over Gov. Mike Pence's tax cut at the Statehouse.
The two groups most likely to benefit from changes made by Indiana House Republicans to the state budget asked Thursday that the Senate Appropriations Committee maintain new funding for roads and schools, and maybe find a little more.
Members of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns say they would rather see money poured into road repairs.
A proposed boost in the state's higher education funding is an encouraging step after more than $150 million was cut during the recession, Indiana University's president said Thursday.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is examining the state of higher education funding as it continues Indiana's budget deliberations.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is asking lawmakers not to approve an expansion of gambling despite pressure from new casinos in bordering states.