Indiana lawmakers have entered the stretch run of the legislative session with some key issues hanging, including passing a new budget during a deep recession and fixing Indiana’s bankrupt unemployment fund.
Some top lawmakers said earlier that accomplishing those priorities might not be possible by the April 29 deadline for adjourning the regular session, forcing a special session. But leaders of the Republican-ruled Senate and Democrat-controlled House now say they’re prepared to negotiate in good faith in hopes of avoiding that.
“The goal is to get out of here on time for a whole lot of reasons, most of which is I think the people of this state expect nothing less,” said Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne.
House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said there shouldn’t be talk about a special session.
“You talk about crossing the goal line in the time available before you have to go to overtime,” he said. “Our focus is to get the job done.”
But they agree that striking deals on the budget and the unemployment fund won’t be easy.
House Democrats approved a one-year budget plan that taps into the state’s reserves, in part to provide funding increases for schools. Senate Republicans passed a two-year budget that spends about $28 billion, plus about $2 billion in federal stimulus money — much of it to increase spending for schools and higher education.
Given the recession and its impact on state revenues, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has said both plans spend too much. He even took Senate Republicans to task for relying on stimulus dollars for ongoing, basic funding increases for schools, saying it could leave the state’s finances vulnerable when the federal money runs out in two years.
A key factor in the budget debate could hinge on a new fiscal forecast due out Friday. Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, has said the Senate Republican budget plan assumes the state will take in $1 billion less over the next two years than was predicted in December.
If the forecast is worse, he said lawmakers might be forced to make cuts in almost all areas of state government, including education. Long said the forecast will dictate the late-session budget negotiations.
Bauer said House Democrats will focus on two primary areas in the final days — adequate funding for schools and creating jobs. One way of doing the latter, he said, is approving bonding authority for building projects. Their budget plan approves more than $700 million in bonding for such projects.
Lawmakers also will try to reach a compromise on fixing the unemployment insurance fund, which has been paying out hundreds of millions of dollars more in benefits than it has been collecting in employer taxes. It has borrowed more than $700 million from the federal government so far to remain solvent.
Senate Republicans have a plan that would increase taxes on employers, cut benefits for most unemployed and tighten eligibility. Democrats favor higher taxes on employers but they don’t want to cut benefits.
A House-Senate conference committee plans to meet publicly for a second time on Monday to discuss the issue further.
A top priority for Daniels and many Republican lawmakers, especially those in the House, is passing a resolution this year that would allow voters to decide in November 2010 whether to put limits on property tax bills into the state constitution.
Bauer wants to wait until next year to consider passing the resolution, saying it will give lawmakers more time to gauge the impact the caps have on local governments and taxpayers.
But Daniels and House Republicans have been adamant about passing the resolution this year so the public will know now that they will get a chance to vote on making them constitutional next year.
The Senate has passed the resolution this session, and House Republicans tried procedural moves on key deadline days Tuesday and Wednesday in an attempt to bring the measure to the House floor for a vote. They were outraged when, on both occasions, Democrats simply adjourned.
House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, accused Bauer of arrogance in not dealing with the resolution. Approving it this year might still be possible, but Bosma said it would take extraordinary steps to make it happen.
“It’s very clear the speaker has stuck a stick in the eyes of taxpayers,” Bosma said. Bauer responded by saying that Republicans were trying to stir up a distraction from more pressing matters.
Daniels issued a statement Thursday saying Bauer was on the wrong side of taxpayers.
“There’s one more inning to this game, and we’ll be back to try again,” Daniels said.
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