Indiana

Budget Fails, 27-71! Special Session On the Way

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

Indiana lawmakers will be back here sooner than they think.  Lawmakers failed to pass a budget tonight, ensuring a special session will be called.  The budget failed by a vote of 27-71.  

The budget plan would have spent $28 billion over the next two years with funds for K-12 education, higher education and higher ed capital improvement projects.  State Representative Bill Crawford said it was not the budget he wanted but the budget he had to accept.  Governor Mitch Daniels was adamant that lawmakers be as frugal as possible and keep the state reserves at about $1.4 billion.  House Republican Leader Brian Bosma said the budget did not protect taxpayers and called it a recipe for a major tax increase because it relied on federal stimulus dollars which would not be there in two years.

Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City) said Republicans were disenginuos because they never intended to vote for the budget.  He said increases in spending are the result of federal economic stimulus dollars, not state spending.  He also accused Governor Mitch Daniels of negotiating in bad faith.  Pelath added if lawmakers go into special session, it won’t be because of Democrats.

Anticipated revenue forecasts expect Indiana to take in nearly $200 million less than on top of the already near $830 million in lost revenue over the next two years.

There had been some question earlier as to whether there were enough votes for the budget to pass as State Representatives Charlie Brown and Vernon Smith said they would not vote for the budget unless their community of Gary got a casino.  There had also been discussion that the rest of members of the Legislative Black Caucus agreed as a group to take the same position.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on April 30, 2009 (boomark / email).