State budget starts its journey

“It’s certainly a chance for folks to get creative,” said Chris Ruhl, state budget director.

All but Medicaid and the Department of Corrections either will see their budgets stay the same or have from 6 percent to 8 percent cut if the Indiana state budget proposed by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels becomes law.

That budget was proposed to a committee of four legislators -- a Democrat and Republican from both the House of Representatives and the Senate -- and Ruhl. They voted along party lines, 3-2, to pass the budget back to the governor. This serves as the budget committee’s recommendation to the governor. Daniels will, in turn, present his recommended budget back to legislators, who will have to pass it this legislative session.

Rep. Dennis Avery, D-Evansville, voted against the proposed budget. He said that his priorities would be different. He said he objected, in part, because public radio and television will get no funding with this proposal.

Sen. John Broden, D-South Bend, voted against the proposal, too. He said that cuts had to be made, but objected to the number of them.

“I think this budget may contain a little too much castor oil,” Broden said.

He called the proposal “anti-stimulus” and said that job creation is key at this point. Rep. Peggy Welch, who wasn’t a voting member of the committee, also expressed concerns about cutting off the Life Sciences Initiative from government funding.

Ruhl said the initiative has only cashed one check for $2 million out of the $20 million that it was appropriated the last biennial. He agreed the program was worthwhile, but since it didn’t use the majority of its funds and since it’s a new program, it was quick to hit the chopping block for the proposal.

Rep. Jeffrey Espich, R-Uniondale, said that if any federal aid is received, it would most likely go to infrastructure.

“Infrastructure creates jobs, if nothing else,” Espich said.

The $1.3 billion rainy day fund, despite some Democrats’ protests, wasn’t added to the proposed budget.

The property tax relief package adds to the budget challenges. Legislators don’t want to backtrack on property taxes, but the cuts in revenue require corresponding cuts in spending to make the budget balance.

Many of the projects that are usually part of the general fund are being taken under the wing of the Post War Construction Fund, which takes excise taxes and puts them to work for state capital projects. The Schools for the Deaf and Blind construction projects will be shifted to this fund as well as others.

Espich and Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, voted for the proposal.