Politicians in Washington would do well to look at Indiana’s legislature this year as a model of how compromise should work.
We supported Gov. Mike Pence’s efforts for an income tax cut, and while we were in favor of the cut at 10 percent, we also understand the legislature’s caution in phasing in a 5 percent over three years to ensure the state’s progress and economic stability continues.
While negotiations were difficult at times, we agree with the compromise struck and Pence’s statement that coupled with the elimination of the estate tax, this deal was better than the original proposal. And in three years lawmakers can revisit the issue and see if another 5 percent reduction is warranted.
We also applaud efforts to improve education options through bills that reduced cherry picking — the practice of allowing school districts that take transfer students to pick and choose which students they want to educate — as well as bills that should make credit transfers easier for Indiana college students and offer in-state tuition to all veterans attending an Indiana public university.
The General Assembly also overhauled sentencing which should help control prison overcrowding while keeping violent offenders who need to be locked up from skipping out early.
While there was plenty of good, there were also numerous near disasters and a few misses.
Efforts to make schools safer are welcome, but a proposed mandate that all schools have armed personnel would have been a huge overstep and unwarranted removal of local control.
Lawmakers wisely decided at the last moment to punt on the so-called “ag-gag” bill that would make it illegal to photograph or videotape business practices that might “harm a business” at locations such as farms and drilling operations. The bill protected business at the expense the First Amendment and the public.
The mandate that counties enact wheel taxes or have their state road funding frozen was also dropped from the budget bill during final negotiations. We are uncertain why lawmakers, who were clearly seeking tax relief for citizens, had even considered added to that burden, but we’re glad they chose not to.
And, while we support the state’s voucher program overall, we would have preferred lawmakers wait another few years to see the repercussions, both intended and otherwise, before expanding it.
Overall, however, it was a productive time in Indianapolis and a good start to Pence’s first term.