New state budget funds South Shore double-tracking project between Gary and Michigan City

"It's going to move our region into the Chicago commuter radius, and that is a great success for economic development," said House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City.

House Bill 1001 also allocates $35.1 million to construct the Bioscience Innovation Building at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond, a top priority of Lake County lawmakers for nearly a decade.

"It was very much needed," said state Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville. "It will transform the campus, and I look forward to more great things that university is going to do."

The university reported the new building "will provide state-of-the-art instructional and research facilities to further nursing, biological sciences and STEM education."

“We are greatly appreciative of the support provided by legislators across Northwest Indiana and beyond, and especially that of Rep. Hal Slager, who tirelessly championed our building," PNW Chancellor Thomas L. Keon said.  "Every step of the way, he forged forward making his legislative colleagues aware of what this facility means to Northwest Indiana, both educationally and for economic growth and sustainability."

In addition, the General Assembly budgeted funds to address the impact of lead contamination in East Chicago, including $3.5 million the School City of East Chicago would have lost due to students leaving the district and $1.5 million to obtain federal matching grants for environmental cleanup.

State Rep. Earl Harris, Jr., D-East Chicago, said he's glad the school system will be held harmless for its enrollment losses, but he's disappointed the state opted not to pay off the outstanding construction debt on the abandoned Carrie Gosch Elementary School.

"We need to do some work and figure out another way to help the school system to get out of that debt because, basically, the school system is paying for a building that they can't use," Harris said.

Altogether, lawmakers agreed to spend $15.9 billion in the 2018 budget year that begins July 1 and $16.4 billion in 2019.

In both years, Indiana would take in more money than it plans to spend with an estimated 2018 surplus of $79.9 million and 2019 surplus of $119 million.

The state's budget reserve fund would remain near the $1.85 billion mark — equal to nearly 12 percent of annual spending.

"This budget maintains Indiana's track record of fiscal integrity, keeping state spending within our means," said state Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The spending plan boosts funding for elementary and high school education by $345 million over the two-year period, an increase of 1.6 percent for the 2017-18 school year and an additional 1.7 percent in 2018-19.

Much of that money will go toward providing schools a higher basic per-student grant, with the current $5,088 foundation level growing to $5,273 in 2018 (a 3.6 percent increase) and $5,352 in 2019 (1.5 percent).

School funding, which comprises 52 percent of the two-year budget, still follows the child, so corporations with declining enrollment — except East Chicago — will receive fewer state dollars despite the overall increase in education spending.

State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, said the Republican-controlled Legislature could afford to have dedicated significantly more money toward education than just an inflation-level increase.

"We think it was a little stingy," Tallian said.

Other provisions in the 175-page spending plan include $200 million in new money for the Indiana Department of Child Services to respond to Indiana's child abuse crisis, $30 million to improve state police labs, $5 million each for drug abuse and infant mortality prevention services, additional spending on workforce development and a $1,250 increase in the income tax deduction for retired veterans.

The budget was the last of some four dozen measures to win lawmakers' approval Friday before both chambers adjourned "sine die," or for the remainder of the year.

Those proposals, which also now advance to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb for his approval or veto, included House Bill 1004 expanding the state-funded pre-kindergarten pilot program operating in Lake and four other counties to 20 counties total and doubling funding to $22 million a year.

House Enrolled Act 1004 replaces the state's ISTEP standardized exam in the 2018-19 school year with a new test dubbed Indiana's Learning Evaluation Assessment Readiness Network (ILEARN) that supporters expect will consume less classroom time and produce quicker results.

House Bill 1350 substitutes a supplemental wagering tax for the $3 per person casino admission tax starting in 2018, and reduces the local share of some state gaming revenue to match any decline in state gaming tax receipts beginning in 2021.

They also approved the House Bill 1002 infrastructure funding plan that hikes fuel taxes and increases vehicle registration fees to pay for state and local road and bridge improvements.

Lawmakers may reconvene for a one-day session June 20 if needed to make any urgent technical corrections before the July 1 effective date of most new laws, or to override any gubernatorial vetoes.