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Request a DemoOur 12 questions as Indiana lawmakers race to the 2023 legislative session end
Indiana lawmakers will wrap up the 2023 legislative session sometime this week, likely passing dozens of bills in the final days. That includes the $43 billion budget, which will dictate how tax dollars are spent over the next two years.
It’s typically a rapid, chaotic and confusing end to session as lawmakers throw out some rules, insert language from dead bills into others and convene at seemingly random times throughout the day. State Affairs has a live blog on the proceedings as Sine Die draws near.
Here are some of the questions we’ll be watching in the final hours.
1. What will lawmakers do with a surprise $1.5 billion?
Lawmakers drafted their biennial budget plans based on a December budget forecast. But during the updated April budget forecast last week, legislators found out the state would be generating an additional unexpected $1.5 billion worth of revenue over the next couple of years. In some ways, that makes lawmakers’ jobs more complicated as they decide how to spend the money when finalizing the two-year state budget.
2. How much will mental health be funded?
Senate Republicans' landmark bill would reform the delivery of mental health services in Indiana. Since January, though, everyone has questioned how to pay for services that could cost as much as $130.6 million per year. Some wanted an increased tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products; others suggested an additional surcharge on cell phone bills. Well, when $1.5 billion lands in your lap, maybe you don't need either. The question remains, though: Will lawmakers fully fund mental health?
3. Will lawmakers make any big changes to lower health care costs?
Republican leaders in both chambers made reducing health care costs a priority at the start of the legislative session. But so far, none of the priority health care cost-cutting bills have crossed the finish line. Lawmakers appear to be in agreement when it comes to limiting physician noncompetes, but other questions remain. For example, will lawmakers fine hospitals that charge higher amounts?
4. Is the budgeted amount for public health going to change?
The House and Senate are on the same page when it comes to funding public health — almost. Both set aside $225 million in their respective budgets. That means Gov. Eric Holcomb likely won’t get the full dollar amount he requested for public health and trauma care improvements.
The House also included an additional $9 million for trauma care system improvements, which was missing from the Senate proposal. Will it be added back into the final version?
5. Will Hoosiers receive any property tax relief?
We’re all but certain there won’t be any property tax relief coming from the state for the bills you’re paying this year, despite unprecedented increases. But lawmakers in both chambers seem open to providing some kind of relief in future years.
It’s unclear what that would look like. The House voted to temporarily lower property tax caps under House Bill 1499, while the Senate chose to instead temporarily increase deductions for homeowners. Both would result in property tax relief for homeowners, but the House’s plan would impact local government revenues, while the Senate’s plan would shift the burden to other taxpayers.
6. How quickly can Hoosiers expect more income tax cuts?
One key difference between the House and Senate budget plans centered on how quickly to cut Hoosiers’ income taxes. Last legislative session, lawmakers enacted a series of tax cuts that would take effect every year through 2029, lowering the tax rate from 3.23% to 2.9% over time. The Senate voted to keep that plan intact. House Republicans, however, still want to speed up that timeline.
7. Will lawmakers expand the school choice voucher program?
One of the major remaining sticking points between the House and Senate budget proposals is whether to expand school choice vouchers. House Republicans’ budget plan expanded the program to families making 400% of the income required to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, while the Senate passed a budget that maintained the status quo.
8. Will teachers be required to notify parents about their children’s pronouns?
Both chambers passed a version of House Bill 1608, which prohibits schools from teaching human sexuality to those in pre-K to third grade. It also requires teachers to tell parents if their child wants to use a different name or pronoun. The House author has yet to formally decide whether to sign off with some changes made to the bill in the Senate, which means the bill is currently in limbo.
UPDATE April 25, 2023: House Bill 1608 passed the House 63-28 on Tuesday and is headed to Holcomb's desk.
9. Who will pay for free textbooks and curriculum materials?
Months ago, Holcomb said it was time to offer free textbooks and curriculum materials to K-12 students. Both the House and Senate budgets followed through on the promise. But while the Senate proposed using state money to pay for the materials, the House sought to place that burden on local schools.
10. Will language banning “harmful material” make it across the finish line after years of failed attempts by the Senate?
The Senate barely met a deadline this year to pass a bill restricting schools from offering books in the library that may contain “harmful” materials. Opponents view it as a book-banning bill that will further limit the teaching of race and gender identity. The House did not vote on the bill, which killed it this year. But the last week of the legislative session can sometimes breathe new life into dead bills by moving similar language into other legislation being debated by conference committees. House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, last week did not rule out the possibility of reviving the language.
11. Will traditional public schools have to share property taxes with charter schools?
Public schools could have to divert some of their future property tax dollars to charter schools, depending on what agreement Senate and House Republicans reach regarding charter school funding in the budget. House Republicans chose to increase state funding for such schools in their budget, while the Senate decided to instead require public schools to share future property tax dollars.
12. So, when will the legislative session actually end?
Good question! Some years the session ends late at night because lawmakers remain in deep disagreement on something. This year seems to be going … smoothly? Maybe it’s the surprise $1.5 billion, maybe it’s the spring weather, who knows. Whatever it is, we will be there to cover Sine Die — whether it ends Wednesday, Friday or somewhere in between.
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Contact Kaitlin Lange on Twitter @kaitlin_lange or at [email protected].
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Header image: In the last week of the legislative session, Indiana lawmakers are still answering several big questions. (Credit: Kaitlin Lange)
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Here’s how to vote in Indiana’s primary election
Thousands of Hoosier voters will head to the polls Tuesday, May 7, for Indiana’s primary election. This year’s ballot includes a competitive contest for governor, as well as dozens of state and federal legislative races and a few school referenda. The primary will decide which candidates will represent their respective parties in the Nov. 5 …
$15B in 72 hours: ‘Our economy is on fire,’ says Commerce chief
A banner week for investment within Indiana has capped off the state’s biggest financial quarter in recent history, as three major companies agreed to deals estimated to bring in billions of dollars.
The state has long advertised itself as business-friendly, and its chief executive appeared thrilled by the week’s news.
“This is about $15 billion in about 72 hours,” Gov. Eric Holcomb told reporters on Friday. “This used to take four years to achieve.”
One announced project, an $11 billion Amazon Web Services data center in north-central Indiana, is the biggest single investment in the state’s history.
Google also broke ground on a $2 billion data center near Fort Wayne, while Toyota announced a $1.4 billion investment in its Princeton plant.
“Our economy is on fire,” Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg said.
His agency, the Indiana Economic Development Corp., negotiated the deals. The state is offering millions of dollars in tax incentives in order to create some 1,500 new jobs.
“These industries bring generational change for families, putting more money in their pockets and allowing them the opportunity to have a better quality of life on their own,” Rosenberg said.
The projects
Amazon’s new data center will be built near New Carlisle. It’s expected to bring in at least 1,000 new jobs in the artificial intelligence and cloud storage sectors. No timetable for completion of the project was given.
According to Amazon, the company has invested $21.5 billion in Indiana since 2010, creating 26,000 full- and part-time jobs.
Google’s new data center will hire up to 200 new workers, the tech giant said, “in the coming years.”
Toyota will build a new assembly line that will assemble battery-operated SUVs by the end of 2025. It expects to add up to 340 new jobs to the plant, which Toyota said now employs more than 7,500.
The company has spent $8 billion on the Princeton plant since breaking ground in 1996, Toyota said.
The new projects’ figures represent early estimates and could change as they move forward.
Incentives aren’t the only factor
Rosenberg praised the Indiana General Assembly for passing legislation that allows the state to offer sales tax exemptions as a lure for new businesses. Both Amazon and Google will receive such boosts, and the Amazon project could receive up to $100 million in additional credits based on various incentives.
But Rosenberg stressed tax breaks are only part of the equation as the state looks to compete internationally.
“We don’t have to have the highest offer because we bring the university partners, the state and local governments, utilities — everyone around the table to make sure that company has what they need,” he said.
The Google project, for example, includes partnerships with Ivy Tech Community College on a new job training program and Indiana Michigan Power to bring clean energy resources to the local grid.
Recruiting new industries
Rosenberg said tech recruitment has been a particular focus for the IEDC, as Indiana is looking to provide an “ecosystem” for these companies to thrive off one another. The state’s semiconductor facilities will provide the materials needed for these new data centers, he noted.
Recruiting new business takes anywhere between six months to several years. Zoning, road construction, utilities and more need to be worked out ahead of time.
The IEDC has been on a hot streak, Rosenberg said. During the agency’s first 11 years, it secured just under $50 billion in new projects. It has now pulled in more than $71 billion since the beginning of 2022.
In the first four months of 2024, $20.68 billion has been pledged to projects in Indiana — the most for a quarter since IEDC’s founding in 2005.
‘Strong partners for the Indiana economy’
“The key is that these investments represent long-lasting and continued commitment to being strong partners for the Indiana economy,” said Andrew Butters, an associate professor of business economics and public policy at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
Large companies came out of the pandemic looking to reorient their supply chains, Butters said, and some states have reaped the benefits of projects that might have previously moved overseas.
Indiana has been able to compete by selling its location, workforce, labor force participation in addition to offering incentives, Butters said.
“I would not be shocked to see more of these as the state attempts to transition toward more high-tech and high-skill industries,” Butters said.
Contact Rory Appleton on X at @roryehappleton or email him at [email protected].
6 races to watch in the Indiana primary election
The first openly competitive contest for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in a generation will end with Tuesday’s primary election, as will crowded races for several open congressional seats.
The primary won’t officially decide any political race — only the Nov. 5 general election can do that. But Republicans hold major advantages in statewide and many district-level contests, and who secures which nominations will go a long way toward deciding who may lead the state in the years to come.
>> Related: How does voting by political party work in Indiana?
Here are six key primary contests to watch on election night.
Governor
The race to be Indiana’s next chief executive has been perhaps the most noteworthy of the election cycle, with six Republicans bringing a variety of experience and outsider credentials to the competition.
Sen. Mike Braun has led in the polls from day one, including running up a 34 percentage-point lead in an April State Affairs/Howey Politics Indiana survey.
The other five candidates are: Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, former Attorney General Curtis Hill, Indianapolis mom Jamie Reitenour and two former state secretaries of commerce in Brad Chambers and Eric Doden.
The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary will face Democrat and former state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick, who will advance for her party unopposed.
Republican candidates spent tens of millions of dollars in an attempt to stand out in their crowded pack. The primary race also featured four televised debates, including a chaotic final display on April 24.
U.S. Senate
Two Democrats are vying for the chance to replace Braun in the U.S. Senate: Former state Rep. Marc Carmichael and Valerie McCray, a clinical psychologist.
Carmichael has outspent McCray in the race by a margin of nearly $63,000 to $15,000.
Both are attempting to become the state’s first Democratic senator since Joe Donnelly’s election in 2012.
Rep. Jim Banks is running unopposed in the Republican primary.
3rd Congressional District
Banks’ entry into the Senate race leaves his seat in Congress open, and a bevy of Republicans are seeking to replace him: Grant Bucher, Wendy Davis, Mike Felker, Jon Kenworthy, Tim Smith, Marlin A. Stutzman, Eric Whalen and Andy Zay.
State Affairs has identified Stutzman, a former congressman; Smith, a self-funding former Fort Wayne mayoral candidate; and Davis, a former Allen County judge, as candidates to watch in the crowded race.
Kiley Adolph and Phil Goss are running against one another in the Democratic primary.
5th Congressional District
After initially deciding against another run, Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz reversed course to seek re-election in 2024.
Eight other Republicans are running against Spartz: Raju Chinthala, Max Engling, Chuck Goodrich, Mark Hurt, Patrick Malayter, Matthew Peiffer, L.D. Powell and Larry L. Savage Jr.
Goodrich, a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, has spent more than $2 million on TV ads as he seeks to unseat Spartz, according to AdImpact.
Two Democrats, Ryan Pfenninger and Deborah A. Pickett, are on the ballot.
6th Congressional District
Seven Republicans are attempting to replace retiring Rep. Greg Pence: Jamison E. Carrier, Darin Childress, Bill Frazier, John Jacob, state Sen. Jeff Raatz, Jefferson Shreve and state Rep. Mike Speedy.
Shreve, who ran unsuccessfully for Indianapolis mayor in 2023, has spent nearly $4 million — predominantly through TV advertising — in his bid.
Cynthia Wirth, whom Pence defeated by 35 percentage points in 2022, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
8th Congressional District
Republican Rep. Larry Bucshon is also retiring, and a dozen candidates in both parties are seeking to fill his seat.
On the Republican side, former Rep. John Hostettler, state Sen. Mark Messmer, former President Donald Trump White House staff member Dominick Kavanaugh and frequent Bucshon primary challenger Richard Moss are each making a push.
Fellow Republicans Jim Case, Jeremy Heath, Luke Misner and Kristi Risk are also running but trail the above pack in campaign spending.
Four Democrats are also seeking a nomination: Erik Hurt, Peter FH Priest II, Edward Upton Sein and Michael Talarzyk.
Contact Rory Appleton on X at @roryehappleton or email him at [email protected].
State Republicans keep spending to protect House incumbents in primary
House Speaker Todd Huston expressed confidence Tuesday that Republican House members will prevail over challengers in next week’s primary. Nineteen of the 63 House Republicans seeking reelection this year are facing primary races. Those challenges have been lower-key than two years ago when about two dozen candidates seized on COVID-19 discontent and other issues in …