Hoosiers sent a strongly conservative delegation to the Statehouse this year, and legislators lived up to the name by not going off the deep end.
At times during the four-month session, a few Republican legislators pushed for their wildest dreams. By the time they reached the end early Saturday morning, lawmakers backed away from radical change and settled for cautious moves — mostly in the right direction.
On the issue that drew the most attention, the Legislature approved a modest cut to Indiana’s income tax— a 3 percent reduction starting in 2015, followed by another 2 percent starting in 2017.
When the cuts take full effect, the income tax rate will drop from 3.4 to 3.23 percent. A Hoosier family earning the state’s median income of $48,393 per year will save $114, one estimate said.
New Gov. Mike Pence’ pushed hard to cut the income tax rate by 10 percent. That would have gambled with the state’s future, betting the economy will continue to improve and risking the state government’s sound financial footing. If the state’s treasury keeps growing, there will be time for more tax breaks later.
The Legislature also eliminated Indiana’s inheritance tax immediately, saving taxpayers an estimated $150 million per year, and lowered the financial institutions tax, a break for banks of nearly $20 million per year.
Instead of making a deeper cut in the income tax, lawmakers instead spent some of the state’s surplus money on education and better highways.
How much the legislators helped public schools remains open to debate. Education gets a funding boost of 2 percent in the budget’s first year and 1 percent in the second. It’s not clear how much of that will go to an expansion of vouchers to attend private schools.
Following this year’s theme, voucher expansions did not go overboard. In the original concept, students had to try public schools for a year before getting vouchers to attend private schools. In a sensible modification, a one-year trial won’t be required if the student’s public school is getting a failing grade in state evaluations.
Legislators called for a pause before fully implementing the Common Core State Standards for education — already adopted by 46 states. Some superintendents in our area say they don’t mind a one-year delay for more public hearings. But local superintendents seem to like Common Core. We pay them six figures to know what’s best for students, and it’s significant when nearly all of them agree.
Lawmakers showed good judgment by taking time for more discussion on another school topic. They halted a move to require every school to have at least one employee carrying a gun for protection. Many of those armed guards could have been civilians with limited training. Legislators wisely spent $20 million to help hire school resource officers, trained police officers who do much more than simply provide security.
After failing in previous attempts, legislators passed an overhaul of criminal sentencing rules. Dangerous felons will spend even more time behind bars, and nonviolent criminals will go to community-based programs instead of prisons. Offenders who keep clean records on a long-term basis will get a chance to have their criminal records erased.
In a small step to fight the methamphetamine scourge, lawmakers set an annual limit on purchases of cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in meth. It would be great news if that helps, but police say we really need a rule requiring a prescription to buy the drug.
Lawmakers resisted pleas from casino operators, refusing to let riverboats move onto land or allow table games at the horse track casinos in Anderson and Shelbyville. Casinos did get some tax breaks to help them compete against new rivals in neighboring states.
At the last minute, legislators dropped two divisive ideas — drug tests for welfare recipients and the “ag-gag” bill to outlaw blowing the whistle on harmful practices inside farms and businesses.
Finally, in a decision that spared Hoosiers a bitter fight, legislators steered clear of putting a ban on gay marriage in the state constitution.
The past four months in Indianapolis saw state leaders keep a steady, sensible hand on the wheel. We think that’s what Hoosiers wanted in 2013.