Southwestern Indiana’s state legislators said Friday they support a planned medical education facility in Downtown Evansville, but they need project details to help them make their case to colleagues.
The medical facility was among a number of topics covered at a legislative preview luncheon presented by the Southwest Indiana Chamber. This year’s event took place at the Evansville Country Club.
Indiana’s annual legislative session began this month.
As proposed, the Downtown medical education facility would include multiple schools and programs: A new campus for the Indiana University School of Medicine Evansville, which is currently housed at the University of Southern Indiana; a high-tech simulation center; and various undergraduate and graduate programs offered by Ivy Tech, the University of Southern Indiana and the University of Evansville.
USI, IU and Ivy Tech are requesting a combined $50 million from the state Legislature to help fund the project.
Rep. Holli Sullivan, R-Evansville, said planners have done a great job envisioning the big picture of the project, but now is the time to focus on details.
“We have the macro vision — we have the huge vision of it right now. But what we have to look at now is the micro vision for the very first time, and really dial in on the details,” Sullivan said.
The unique collaborative nature of the project makes it more challenging to define, Sullivan said, because there’s “no template” for how legislators should proceed.”
“We really need to define exactly what we need on this campus, so that we can articulate that to our colleagues correctly,” said Sullivan, who is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. “We need to understand what’s viable.”
Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, offered similar remarks.
To secure funding, Becker said, project backers will need to be specific about things such as operating costs for the facility.
“We need to know who’s going to be paying for what,” she said.
Rep. Gail Riecken, D-Evansville, said she senses “strong support” for the project among legislatures.
But she said there are no guarantees that the campus will be fully funded because details such as the size of the facility are still in flux.
“Are we talking 170,000 square feet or are we talking 220,000 square feet?” Riecken said.
Land-based casino gambling was among numerous other topics covered during the one-hour luncheon.
Participating legislators said they generally favor a proposal that would allow casinos to operate out of land-based facilities rather than being required to operate over water.
Allowing land-based casinos will help Hoosier casinos remain competitive with facilities in Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio, Becker said.
But Becker also called on the state’s casino industry to reach agreement as a group about the specifics of the change.
“It makes it very difficult in the Legislature to pass something if you don’t have that particular enterprise all agreeing on what needs to happen,” she said.
Riecken, Rep. Tom Washburne, R-Evansville and Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Mount Vernon, all also said they can support land-based gaming.
The issue has interesting dynamics on the state level, Washburne noted, because most legislators do not have a casino in their area. Indiana is home to 13 casinos: six in Southern Indiana, five in Northwest Indiana and two in Central Indiana.
Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, and Rep. Ron Bacon, R-Chandler, didn’t attend Friday’s event.