Legislative Democrats want state government to do more to help Indiana families deal with rising costs.
House and Senate Democrats announced Monday proposals for repealing the state’s 7% sales tax on residential utility bills and increasing state funding for child care programs.
Democratic leaders said families are facing a “cost-of-living crisis” and that they would push for the Republican-dominated Legislature to provide relief for the growing expenses for utilities, medical care, housing and child care.
House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, declared during a speech as legislators returned to the Statehouse for their two-month 2026 session that “Hoosiers are getting nickeled and dimed to death.”
“Our public policy this session should not insult Hoosiers by suggesting that their household budget outlook is their fault,” GiaQuinta said. “If our agenda is rejected this session, you’re suggesting that Hoosiers would be able to achieve their American dream if only they had pinched pennies a little better.”
Democrats targeted the Braun administration’s actions to not enroll any more children into the program for taxpayer-funded child care until at least 2027 and slash the payment rates to day care centers.
They argue the state has enough money to end the waitlist of some 30,000 children for the low-income program and that Indiana’s economy is being hurt because parents can’t join the workforce.
Their push for additional child care funding comes after new projections show that the state’s cash reserves could grow to nearly $5 billion by the middle of 2027 — more than double what was anticipated when the new state budget took effect in July.
But legislative Republicans are also considering whether to go along with tax cuts that President Donald Trump pushed through Congress last year in what was dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
An analysis from Braun’s administration estimates that total state tax breaks on businesses and individuals could top $900 million over the next two years if the Legislature were to conform state tax law with all the federal changes.
Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said the state has the resources to help residents facing a financial squeeze.
“We can get this done,” Yoder said during a news conference. “We can come together and really have a conversation of what is the biggest return on our investment, and we will see those specifically in child care investments, pre-K funding.”
Rep. Carey Hamilton, D-Indianapolis, said many day care centers around Indiana are facing closure because tightened state funding, which she argued would compound the state’s child care shortage.
“This should be an issue we can work together on,” Hamilton said. “That’s critical infrastructure that helps our employers, that helps our families.”