Published: June 15, 2009 10:24 pm         

House Dems’ budget moves to full chamber

Republicans say it spends too much and could eventually drain state's surplus

INDIANAPOLIS — Democrats who control the Indiana House advanced their version of a new state budget to the full chamber on Monday with little sign that it will gain much if any support from outnumbered Republicans.

The House Ways and Means Committee endorsed the plan on a 15-10 party-line vote after approving several amendments to the one-year spending bill. The changes included provisions that would increase spending for certain items and programs, and tax incentives to help the beleaguered recreational vehicle industry

in northern Indiana.

The committee also added a provision by Rep. Robert Cherry, R-Greenfield, that would make the administration of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels reopen a state school for troubled and needy youth for at least another year.

The administration closed the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s Home east of Indianapolis late last month, in part because of costs. The administration plans to convert the school to a National Guard military academy for high school dropouts next year.

The amendment approved Monday would allow the academy to share the 53-building campus with the children’s home. The House Democrat budget contains $10 million to fund the home for another year.

But Cherry joined the other nine GOP members on Ways and Means in voting against the overall bill. They say it spends about $500 million more in one year than Daniels proposed in the first year of a traditional two-year plan he presented earlier this month.

Rep. Jeff Espich of Uniondale, the fiscal leader for House Republicans, said if funding in the House Democrat budget were carried into a second year at the same funding levels, it would reduce the state’s $1.3 billion surplus to between $100 million to $200 million. That would only be enough to fund state government for a few days.

“I liken this budget to a credit-card budget — spend now and pay later, and paying later will be a tax increase,” Espich said.

House Democrats say their plan would increase state spending on schools by a statewide average of 2 percent or more, and increase operating costs for public colleges and universities as well as student financial aid. They say it would leave a surplus of more than $1 billion by the time it would expire in June 2010.

Democrats dismiss the idea of future tax increases and defend a plan only covering one year, saying there is too much uncertainty about the volatile economy and how much the state might collect in revenue over a two-year period.

“If we have to cut next year, then we will responsibly cut,” said Ways and Means Chairman William Crawford, D-Indianapolis.

Crawford noted that it will take bipartisan support to pass any new budget, since Democrats have a 52-48 majority in the House while Republicans rule the Senate 33-17.

A budget plan did not pass both chambers on the final day of the regular session on April 29, forcing a special session that began on June 11. The current two-year budget expires on June 30, pressuring lawmakers to pass a new plan by then that either meets Daniels’ approval or can be enacted over a veto.

It takes a simple majority in both chambers to override a governor’s veto in Indiana. A Democrat-ruled House and Republican-controlled Senate passed a budget during a contentious special session in 1993 by overriding a veto by then Democratic Gov. Evan Bayh. It happened on June 30, the last day of the fiscal year.

The full Senate met on the first day of this special session, but quickly adjourned until further notice. Members plan to return once the House sends them a budget bill, which could be later this week or early next week.