Charging not-for-profits for government services, eliminating certain paper records and trimming how much counties pay to mental-health institutions are among the ways local officials say the cost of government could be reduced.
Businesses with a history of laying off employees would pay more in unemployment insurance costs, and workers in industries where layoffs occur regularly would receive lower benefits under a bill Indiana lawmakers are preparing to take up.
Three weeks into Indiana's legislative session, Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma is touting the hard work being done on major issues. Democratic House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer contends the session is off to a slow start.
State budget director Adam Horst said he misspoke when he told the State Budget Committee last week that Daniels&’ proposal would eliminate Medicaid coverage for hearing aids.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is proposing a new state budget that would cut higher education spending by 3 percent and eliminate optional Medicaid services for adults such as hearing aids, dental and chiropractic coverage and podiatry services.
Neighboring states are plotting to take advantage of what they consider a major economic blunder and lure business away from Illinois.
Indiana's budget director is meeting with lawmakers Thursday during the first House Ways and Means Committee meeting of this year's legislative session.
Indiana lawmakers are returning to the Statehouse Wednesday to begin the 2011 legislative session, which will be dominated by budget, education, redistricting and other issues.
The state reports it took in $137 million more last month than during December 2009, marking a 13 percent increase in revenue collections over last year.
The first ever "Fiscy Awards" will be presented this week to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
When lawmakers open their new session Wednesday, they won't have some of the advantages they had during the last budget-writing debate in 2009. This time around, there will be no $1 billion in federal stimulus money to keep the budget afloat.
The Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning has approved a series of emergency rules that it expects to save a total of $4.1 million over the next six months, but that will make up for only a small portion of the $31.4 million shortfall the agency anticipates for the fiscal year.
As reported in a front-page story in last week’s IBJ, the $250 million public deposit insurance fund has not been tapped in nearly 20 years.
Indiana businesses and the unemployed are both worried about changes that legislators could make to the state's insolvent unemployment insurance program during the upcoming General Assembly.
Elected officials—including Gov. Mitch Daniels—have started eyeing the little-known, $250 million public deposit insurance fund, or PDIF, as a potential way to plug budget gaps next year.
The state Medicaid actuary projected Indiana’s share of the program’s costs will rise by about $1.46 billion this fiscal year, by about $1.84 billion in the 2012 fiscal year and by about $2 billion in the 2013 fiscal year unless some services are cut.
With Republicans firmly in control of the Indiana General Assembly, businesses have a better chance of achieving some of their legislative objectives than they have for years.
Legislature will consider redistricting along with controversial education issues.
Scarce resources promise to vex lawmakers charged with writing a new budget when the Legislature convenes in January.
State lawmakers plan to propose reducing Indiana’s corporate income tax rate next year in a move they say will make the state a more appealing place for businesses to locate.
