(Statehouse) – Gov. Mike Braun has unveiled his proposal for a two-year spending plan that in its totality is asking lawmakers to approve a 5-percent cut in spending.
In pure dollars and cents a 5-percent spending cut amounts to roughly $700 million. Along with spending cuts, Braun wants to increase funding for basic public schools, fully fund Medicare, and eliminate taxes on retirement income.
“I want to make sure that we continue what we’ve been doing over the last 20 years,” Braun said. “And I’m going to take a pragmatic, business-minded approach to government.”
When it comes to education, Braun’s plan calls for 2-percent in spending to ensure that teachers get a minimum starting salary of at least $45,000 a year throughout the state. It also removes all remaining limits on eligibility for School Choice vouchers.
On healthcare, the plan sets aside $362 million to eliminate the waitlist for Indiana Child Care Development Fund vouchers, which pay for child care for families making less than 150-percent of the federal poverty line. It also fully funds the state’s Medicaid forecast.
Then there is the matter of property taxes. Braun said at a minimum, he wants caps going forward on how much property taxes can rise in a given year. His previously announced plan would cap property taxes based on employment status whether you are retired or still working.
However, the cuts in state spending will be somewhat of a challenge with the latest revenue forecast predicting that the state will take in less revenue than in recent years. That is on top of expected cuts to federal spending.
“We’re not just looking in one area, we’re looking across the board,” Braun said. ‘We’re going to have each cabinet secretary find where that’s going to be in their own domain and that’s going to be something we flesh out over the next three months.”
Democrats say Braun’s proposals on healthcare spending and investments in education are a good start, through they say it’s “not enough.” They have concerns about Braun’s property tax plan since local school districts depend on property taxes.
Braun’s proposal will now be crafted into a bill that will be first considered by the House Ways and Means Committee. Lawmakers have until early May to get a spending plan approved.
(Story by Network Indiana)
