INDIANAPOLIS
— Senate Republicans are filling in their side of the state's budget
picture and the resulting image looks a lot like the spending plans
previously adopted by the Republican-controlled House and recommended by
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.
The revised version of House Bill 1001
approved Thursday by the Senate Appropriations Committee maintains the
$34.6 billion, two-year spending total endorsed by the House, but
changes to some appropriations to better reflect Senate GOP priorities.
For example, the Senate budget boosts tuition support for elementary
and high school students by $535 million, to $14.9 billion for the
2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, an increase of $74 million compared to
the House budget and $103 million more than Holcomb sought.
That new money is not specifically earmarked for teacher pay hikes,
since Senate Republicans believe that would infringe on local control of
education spending decisions and impede the collective bargaining
process.
Instead, the Senate budget increases to $90 million the two-year
allocation for Teacher Appreciation Grants, up from $60 million in the
current budget, and requires all teachers rated "effective" or "highly
effective" to receive a grant, with at least one-third of each
district's total grant distribution reserved for teachers with less than
five years experience.
"What I hear is that we have a hard time keeping new teachers, and so
what I heard from members is that they wanted to do something for newer
teachers," said state Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Bremen, the Appropriations
Committee chairman.
School districts statewide also collectively would have an additional
$140 million to spend on any need, as the Senate budget, similar to the
House and governor, proposes using state reserve funds to bring a
teacher pension account to fully-funded status, and thereby reduce the
contribution rate that school corporations annually pay on behalf of
their employees.
Lawmakers in both chambers are urging school districts to use that
extra money to increase teacher wages, and the Senate budget actually
mandates that local school boards hold a public hearing for specifying
how they plan to spend the funds.
Other Senate budget highlights include:
- $30.5 million over two years for school safety grants, an increase
of $12.5 million from the current budget, but $7.5 million less than the
House spending plan.
- A $104 million reduction in additional Indiana Department of Child Services funding compared to the House. Though $105 million in reserved gas tax revenue would be available to DCS, if needed.
- Full-funding for the state's Medicaid
obligations ($5 billion), financial aid programs ($761.5 million),
South Shore Line expansion contributions ($12 million) and the
governor's new infant mortality prevention programs ($6.6 million)
- $11.6 million for deferred maintenance at Indiana University
Northwest, Purdue University Northwest and other regional university
campuses.
- $800,000 to fund the local share of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study of sand replenishment on eroded Lake Michigan beaches, particularly in Porter County.
The budget legislation, which is expected to pass the full Senate on
Tuesday, almost certainly will be altered again in light of the revised
state revenue forecast that's due to be released Wednesday.
Mishler said he anticipates the updated revenue data either will show
similar or slightly less in projected tax receipts than the December
forecast, so he budgeted for the state to end the two-year period with
$2.2 billion in reserves, or 12.5 percent of annual spending — about
$300 million more than the House proposed keeping in reserve.
"I believe the budget the Senate put forward today is a strong
reflection of what is important to Hoosiers," Mishler said. "We have a
balanced budget, we support our teachers and our students, and we
maintain strong reserves and improve child protection."
State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, the top Democrat on the
committee, suggested that Mishler's plan stashes too much cash in the
state's bank accounts at the expense of schools, teachers, retired
teachers and other critical programs for Hoosiers.
"I think they've got too much money still in reserves. We're at 12.5%
instead of 11. So we could still free up money," Tallian said.
The House budget had the state ending the two-year budget period on
June 30, 2021, with 11.2% of annual spending held in reserve.
Ultimately, a House-Senate conference committee will hash out a
compromise budget proposal over the next two weeks that must be
re-approved by both chambers to advance to the governor to be signed
into law.