By Eric Bradner, Evansville Courier & Press
INDIANAPOLIS - There was little evidence of progress Wednesday as Indiana lawmakers opened bipartisan talks aimed at agreeing on a new state budget before the current spending plan expires in less than a week.
Inside the Statehouse, top budget negotiators from the Democratic-led House insisted on hearing hours of public testimony, mostly from familiar faces who have appeared before lawmakers already this year - a decision that left Republicans who control the Senate frustrated.
Away from the Capitol, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels ratcheted up the pressure as he opened a two-day tour through Southern Indiana to campaign for the GOP version of the budget that keeps spending levels down.
Daniels, speaking Wednesday in Evansville and Terre Haute, drew a quick rebuttal from area lawmakers who said the Senate Republican budget would hurt Southern Indiana schools.
For much of the day, neither the governor nor Democratic and Republican leaders spent any time negotiating, a sluggish start to high-pressure budget talks.
"Time grows very short, and we need to get down to the nitty-gritty of working out these details," said Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Chairman Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield. "I'm just concerned about the path we're headed ... and the amount of time that remains for us to have substantive discussions."
However, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Crawford, the Indianapolis Democrat who chairs the bipartisan panel, disagreed with Republican sentiments that added testimony was of little use.
"We believe very strongly that the public has a right to weigh in before final decisions are made," Crawford said.
Lawmakers headed into closed-door discussions late Wednesday afternoon after the joint House-Senate conference committee's first meeting ended, and they did discuss their differences, if only briefly.
Democrats, who want to spend more on education and boost college student financial aid, brought university presidents and school officials forward to testify.
But Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley of Noblesville, the top-ranking Republican on the committee, said to stay within the parameters that Daniels has said are necessary to prevent him from using his veto power, there's no money left to spend on education.
Crawford said he agreed with Kenley that right now it doesn't appear there is much money available, but he argued for breaking tradition and passing a one-year budget rather than the usual two-year budget.
The House passed a one-year, $14.5 billion budget, and the Senate passed a two-year, $28.5 billion spending plan.
The two sides' biggest difference has been education funding.
Republicans want a slight boost in per-pupil education funding, which could result in some districts gaining and some losing money. Democrats want a budget that keeps all school districts' funding at least up to current levels, regardless of enrollment changes.
Democrats argue that the Republican proposal would unfairly hurt urban and rural schools with declining enrollment - the schools they say need the money most - while benefiting rapidly growing suburban districts where the need is not as great.
Republicans say the funding should follow the child, and there's just not enough money to boost spending on every district in the state where enrollment is decreasing.