Republicans in the Indiana House of Representatives will focus on the state budget, education, ethics and public safety next year.
House Speaker Brian C. Bosma, R-Indianapolis, and other Republican leaders revealed those four points of their 2015 agenda last week.
Although all House seats are up for election in two weeks, Republicans seem certain to retain their strong grip on the Legislature. The Republican agenda for Indiana is likely to be the only set of goals that matters.
House Republicans said the foundation of their plan involves “passing an honestly balanced budget that does not increase taxes on Hoosiers or place unsustainable financial burdens on future generations.”
In recent years Republicans have kept the state’s financial house in good order, with steady taxes and budget surpluses. However, they have achieved that partly by shifting costs to local and county governments, forcing some counties to raise taxes.
Next year, Republicans need to remember that a tax increase takes dollars out of Hoosiers’ pockets no matter whether it is a state or local tax.
Over half of the state’s budget goes to Indiana’s education system. House Republicans pledged “to increase this funding while fixing the funding formula, reducing overhead, focusing dollars on the classroom and providing hard-working teachers with a tax credit.”
“I have had many teachers across Indiana tell me that the distribution of school funds is unfair — we will fix this,” Bosma pledged. Judging by what some local school administrators have told us, a move toward fairness would help most rural school districts in northeast Indiana.
Bosma is proposing a tax credit for teachers who spend their own money on classroom supplies — an idea championed by state Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn.
Recent scandals in state government are leading Bosma to put a new emphasis on ethics. He is promising to strengthen disclosure laws and increase transparency in government.
“This is not a Republican or Democrat issue — this is an issue that our entire institution must get behind because public confidence is indispensable to faith in democracy,” Bosma said last week.
Finally, Bosma pledged to tackle some sorry statistics about Hoosiers’ safety and well-being.
“Currently, the state is tied for the third-highest amount of police deaths, Indiana is ranked as having the fifth-highest infant mortality rate, and the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence turned away 1,743 victims due to lack of space at their shelters,” Republicans said in a news release.
Statistics like those cast a stain on the state’s shiny achievements in job growth and budget stability. To improve them, House Republicans said they will be working with local communities, “strategically investing funds” and working with the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Bosma said the coalition will be his “charity initiative” for 2015.