Braun trumpets first-year success in State of the State speech; addresses affordability

Gov. Mike Braun delivered a State of the State speech Wednesday night that was heavy on achievements, light on new goals and with a few football callouts.

“With our strong business environment, it’s not surprising that another organization has noticed that Indiana is open for business: the Chicago Bears,” he said. “We are working hard to bring the Chicago Bears to the Hoosier State.”

But most of the address focused on affordability for Hoosiers — from electric bills and rent to property taxes and child care.

“Affordability is our highest priority,” Braun told General Assembly members gathered in the Indiana House chamber.

“Together,” he continued, “we can make Indiana the state where your dollar goes further, where opportunity abounds for all who are willing to work hard, and where every Hoosier worker can build the life they deserve.”

Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) called it a good speech.

“He talked about some of the highlights and the really good story that Indiana has to tell,” he said.

Braun didn’t mention the bitter December redistricting battle that has strained some relationships in the Statehouse. Braun specifically said Bray and other Senate Republicans who opposed redistricting should lose their seats.

“There’s lots of hard things that happen in this place,” Bray said after Braun’s speech. “We are going to continue to come to work and do good work for Hoosiers, and look forward to working with the governor for that and with the House as well.”

Democrats pointed to numerous ways that Republicans are now hopping on the affordability bandwagon, giving examples of bills that the Democratic caucuses have offered in recent years but that Republicans rejected.

“If Statehouse Republicans wanted to lower costs, they would have already done that by now,” said House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (Fort Wayne). “They’ve been in charge for the past 20 years, and Gov. Braun is catching up to the fact that Hoosiers are struggling.”

Backing these bills

Braun didn’t unveil a typical legislative agenda for his office, instead simply announcing support for several bills already moving through the legislative process.

For instance, he said he supports Republican Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler’s (R-Noblesville) bill to protect Hoosiers from unnecessary utility rate hikes.

While on the topic of energy, Braun issued a full-throated declaration of support for data centers. The behemoth centers have roiled numerous Indiana communities with Hoosiers concerned about electricity and water usage.

“AI is going to be key to the jobs and wages of the future, but data centers can’t stick Hoosiers with the power bill,” Braun said. “Companies that want big power in Indiana should pay their own way.”

That goal isn’t fully codified but rather an informal policy in negotiations for state support.

He specifically hailed Amazon building a $1.5 billion data center in northwest Indiana, saying “they’re going to pay for every cent of their power needs, and then some.”

Moving to homeownership, Braun said he supports a bill from GOP Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart, to remove government hurdles and make it easier for Hoosiers to chase the American dream of owning a home.

“Home prices have surged because we aren’t building enough, and unnecessary regulations are driving up costs,” he said.

He also announced support for bills to limit cellphone use in schools; ensure that parents have veto power over their kids’ creating social media accounts; curb homelessness in public spaces and a constitutional change to make it easier to hold accused criminals in jail pre-trial.

Braun said affordable child care is needed to grow the Indiana economy and help Hoosiers get better jobs. But that specific priority item will have to wait a year.

“I look forward to digging in during the budget session (in 2027) on what we can do to invest in lowering child care costs,” he said. “I would like to see a program where businesses have skin in the game to help grow child care programs.”

But under his watch, the administration has cut reimbursement rates and capped child care vouchers for low-income parents. That has led to waitlists and day care centers closing around the state.

Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder, of Bloomington, said child care deserts are spreading and parents are on waitlists for years.

“Costs are higher. Workers are leaving jobs they want because care does not exist. That did not happen by accident. It happened because child care was treated as an afterthought,” she said. “Child care is not an option, it’s an economic infrastructure.”

But GOP House Speaker Todd Huston (Fishers) pushed back, saying Republicans have passed measures to improve child are options, such as deregulation and tax credits for businesses to get involved.

“The best thing we can do is help support more supply and the government’s not going to be the best avenue to do that,” Huston said. “The best avenue to do that is reduce the regulations and let a lot of these folks that used to provide child care provide child care without having the burden of of all these government regulations that just do nothing but drive up costs.”

Kudos to Indiana

Braun also took time to list key accomplishments for his administration during his first year in office.

He reminded Hoosiers that he pushed a property tax bill that will save taxpayers $1.5 billion over the next three years. He has no plans for more property tax changes this year.

Braun pointed to cuts in state government that are making state agencies leaner and more efficient. He specifically applauded Indiana’s Medicaid program for finding $465 million in savings.

These savings have come through increased eligibility checks, tightened regulations and cuts to some programs.

“We’re continuing to deliver high-quality essential services that Hoosiers rely on, while you keep more of your money — because it’s not ours, it’s yours,” Braun said.

The education front also provided key highlights, with increased reading scores, a record-high graduation rate and new school accountability grades coming soon.

Braun also noted that Indiana’s real GDP is growing faster than the national rate and listed a string of big jobs announcements from recent months.

“Project after project, industry after industry, the story is the same: Indiana is the Midwest’s growth engine for more jobs and bigger paychecks,” he said.

Additionally, the governor listed public safety wins and efforts at retraining Hoosier workers.

Lawmakers gave two standing ovations for law enforcement and also included a “Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers” chant at one point.

Braun ended the speech with a nod to the Indiana Hoosiers playing for the national college football championship on Monday night.

“My administration has people from up and down the state. We have Butler fans, Notre Dame fans, Purdue fans … but on Monday I expect to see all of them wearing cream and crimson. Go Hoosiers!”

He also said a 9-year-old from Shoals, Jack Gibson, asked whether the governor could delay the start of school on Tuesday morning so he could stay up late and watch the Hoosiers win on Monday.

“I like the sound of that,” Braun said. “I’ll leave it up to each school district to decide, but I think that sounds like a good idea.”