Mike Pence, a six-term Indiana congressman from Columbus, will become Indiana's 50th governor on Monday, succeeding fellow Republican Mitch Daniels. Pence will be inaugurated tomorrow in a ceremony at the Statehouse, while this weekend he has been enjoying inaugural activities, among them the Inaugural Ball.
But following his swearing-in on Monday, the real fun will begin as he prepares for his first State of the State address on Jan. 22.
Rather quickly, Pence, and Hoosiers who voted him into office, will begin to find out just where he stands with the Republican-controlled legislature, which is charged this year with writing a new two-year budget.
In particular, Pence's leading campaign promise was to deliver to Indiana taxpayers a 10 percent cut in their personal income tax rates, from 3.4 percent to 3.06 percent, as a boost to residents and businesses. He says the cut would cost the state about $525 million a year, but given the $2 billion surplus, he feels state government can afford it. Indeed, given his popularity with November voters and the fact that Republicans hold supermajorities in both legislative house, it would seem that he has a strong hand going into the new term.
Not so. Republican legislative leaders, who view themselves on equal standing with the governor's office, say it may not be possible for them to grant Pence's wish.
House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, has been pointing out for weeks that the legislature has already cut taxes. The state corporate income tax rate was reduced from 8.5 percent to 6.5 percent and an ongoing phaseout of the inheritance tax is under way. Bosma says Pence's proposed cut may not be in the cards.
That's just one of a number of challenges the new governor will face. Key among them, Pence has accepted the challenge of completing Interstate 69 from Bloomington to Indianapolis. Daniels raised the money through his Major Moves initiative to build Interstate 69 from Evansville to Crane, while planning to use traditional funding to pay for the highway from Crane to Bloomington. From there, it is going to take creative thinking from the Pence administration to get the highway to Indianapolis.
But that is for another day. For today, let the new governor and his family and friends enjoy the celebration. We wish them well.