INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mike Pence described a broad vision for Indiana during his second State of the State address as governor Tuesday but left filling in many of the details for carrying out his goals to state legislators.
Pence spent a majority of his address, given in front of a full House chamber at the Indiana Statehouse, reiterating his legislative agenda for the 2014 General Assembly. His hopes of phasing out the business personal property tax, providing vouchers to send low-income children to preschool and moving $400 million of funding set aside in the state budget to expanding highways were given prominent mentions in the speech.
“We’ve made progress in jobs and schools, but with still too many Hoosiers out of work, with our state lagging behind in per capita income and health, and too many kids in underperforming schools, I believe we must remain relentless, bold and ambitious to keep our state moving forward,” Pence said.
While focusing on the big picture, Pence provided direction on two key issues facing the state.
Pence called on Indiana lawmakers to resolve the debate over the proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage this year and asked for civility and respect as the issue is weighed.
In education, Pence said he wants Indiana to write its own academic standards, which is a departure from the state’s previous adoption of the national education standards known as Common Core State Standards that have been supported by President Barack Obama.
“When it comes to setting standards for our schools, let me be clear, Indiana standards will be uncommonly high, and they will be written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers and be among the best in the nation,” Pence said.
Pence also used the speech to explain his decision to not expand Medicaid as other states have done as part of the Affordable Care Act. Instead Pence is requesting the federal government allow the state to use its health savings account-based Healthy Indiana Plan to provide coverage to more Hoosiers. State health officials approximated last week a new capacity for the plan at around 45,000 members.
Pence called the traditional Medicaid model “broken” and a system the state does not need to expand.
“Let me be clear on this point, we will continue to work in good faith with federal officials to expand access to the Healthy Indiana Plan in our state,” Pence said. “I will oppose any expansion of our health insurance system that condemns vulnerable Hoosiers to substandard health care or threatens the fiscal health of our state.”
For Hoosier families, Pence has proposed tying the state’s personal and dependent tax deductions to inflation and improving the adoption process.
Among his education initiatives, Pence proposed giving charter schools more flexibility in managing their budgets. He also touched on the possible creation of a mechanism to protect the compensation of a public school teacher who wants to move to a low-performing school or public charter school.
State Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, said Pence pointed to job creation and the many successes the state has seen. However, Becker said she wished Pence had provided a more detailed plan before asking the General Assembly to phase out the business personal tax in a non-budget year.
“I think there are some areas we still need to work out details,” Becker said. “There’s still a lot of concern about the personal property tax cut and the effect on Hoosiers. I appreciate his comment that he didn’t want to see this shifted to other taxpayers.”
House Minority Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said the governor isn’t focusing on issues important to Hoosiers.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in this state looking around them and thinking about how we can do better that rolls out of bed and says, ‘You know what the secret is? It’s the business personal property tax,’” Pelath said. “I’m fairly certain that’s not what’s on most people’s minds. They know that they need health care. They are worried about what’s going to happen with their job.”
On Pence stressing the need for academic standards specific to Indiana, House Speaker Brian Bosma said legislation will be filed if deemed necessary.
Any legislation dealing with standards is a matter of timing, Senate President Pro Tem David Long said.
“We’re hoping of course that the (Indiana State Board of Education) and the superintendent can put their differences behind them and move forward on this most important issue,” Long said. “We need to have our standards in place.”