By Eric Bradner, Evansville Courier & Press
INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana lawmakers advanced a tentative state budget Tuesday, but they know a state revenue forecast due out Friday could send them back to the negotiating table.
The Republican-led Senate passed a two-year, $28.1 billion budget that slightly boosts education spending but is propped up by federal stimulus dollars on a 32-18 vote. All the Democrats opposed it.
The proposal now goes to a conference committee where Democrats and Republicans will attempt to reach a compromise on their differences and agree to a final budget.
The Democratic-controlled House has agreed with most of the proposed budget, but members have questioned some changes to how the state funds education. They say the Republican budget would drain money from schools in low-income districts.
Democrats also want a one-year budget rather than the traditional two-year spending plan, and say it shouldn't include $45 million for prison expansions.
Gov. Mitch Daniels said he's prepared to agree to nearly any decisions lawmakers make while crafting the budget, but in its current form, it spends too much money.
Daniels has warned that including expected federal stimulus money in the budget will put the state in a worse financial position when the federal money runs out in two years.
In other news
As lawmakers approached a key deadline to advance bills, here's a look at other Statehouse action Tuesday:
Sports board bailout: The Senate agreed to discard a proposal to double the state's alcohol tax to help the struggling organization that runs Indianapolis' professional sports stadiums.
They replaced it with one Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard proposed Monday. That plan gives Indianapolis the option of raising local taxes on admissions, hotels and alcohol. It also allows the Capital Improvement Board to use $8.8 million in sales tax money from an area downtown near the stadiums.
The Indianapolis stadium board bailout is included in a bill that would allow Evansville to divert its food and beverage tax revenue toward paying for a new Downtown arena.
Age discrimination: Legislation to increase the maximum age for age discrimination lawsuits would increase the threshold from 70 to 75 under House Bill 1014, which won passage in the Senate.
Midnight tonight is the deadline for both legislative chambers to pass bills. Starting Thursday, the focus shifts to joint House-Senate "conference committees," where the two sides will attempt to hash out differences and agree on final versions of bills. The session ends April 29.