Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, listens to budget testimony in the House on Feb. 20, 2024. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
House lawmakers voted in favor of the state’s next two-year budget on Thursday ahead of a deadline after just over 30 minutes of discussion. Democrats unanimously opposed the measure, which advanced on a 66-28 vote.
The proposal now moves to the Senate.
Rep. Jeff Thompson, the chief budget architect for House Republicans, summarized the bill as one providing “opportunity.”
“It’s opportunity for parents to make the choice for the best place for their children to attend school; it’s the opportunity for Hoosiers to live in a state with an extremely, extremely bright future,” said Thompson, R-Lizton.
But Democrats countered by calling it a budget of “missed opportunities.”
“There are some opportunities,” said Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis. “… there’s a lot more missed opportunities with this proposed budget.”
Budget details
With just over $46 billion, the two-year budget expands school vouchers to all Hoosiers, including those making more than $220,000 annually for a family of four. Though the K-12 budget line includes a 2% increase each year, critics note that the amount for traditional schools will be closer to 1.3%.
Republicans also opted to increase scholarship accounts and increased reimbursements for virtual students up to 100%, rather than 85%, comparable to corporations with brick-and-mortar facilities.
“There’s a different philosophy going on here: do we fund schools, or do we fund students? If parents make certain choices next school year, there’ll be a lot of money — a lot of money — going to (public) schools).”
But both public education and waitlists were areas where Porter and other Democrats said they believed more funds should be spent.
Other provisions in the budget bill:
Doubles the income tax deduction for low-income seniors
Provides sales tax exemption for feminine hygiene products and adult diapers
Flat funding for higher education
Increases funding for secured school safety grants
The first draft of the budget can be a bit like Christmas morning for school runs, which detail school funding for the next two years, said House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta.
“This year, schools around Indiana are getting coal in their stockings,” said GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne.
One local school would see a 1.4% increase in the first year followed by 0.5% the next, GiaQuinta said.
“This is unacceptable to me when the other side of the aisle has spent the past several years talking about how bad inflation is … The expansion of the private school voucher program to become universal isn’t about true choice. It’s about letting private schools choose their students on public dollars.”
In committee and on the floor, Democrats also warned of incoming cuts from the federal government, which provides significant funds to both education and Medicaid.
“We have a lot of people that are hurting, and we have many more people that are going to be hurt,” said Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis. “Because we know this, we can take the position to sit and wait until people are hurt and maybe try to help them, or we can go back and plan so that people are not hurt as bad.”
The Republican proposal also doubled the earned income tax credit for the poorest Hoosiers and trimmed a public health program from $150 million annually to $100 million. Medicaid, though funded to projected expenses, will not get a boost to eliminate waitlists for waiver services.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.