INDIANAPOLIS — Abortion has become the biggest issue in this special session, but the governor called this special session of the legislature to provide financial relief to Hoosiers.
How that money gets in your pocket is still up for much debate.
The House Ways and Means committee gutted Senate Bill 2 Tuesday morning. The committee replaced it with the language of House Bill 1001, which provides a $225 refund to taxpayers and about $56 million in services to women and children.
Before changing the bill, committee members questioned the Senate bill author about the effectiveness of $45 million dollars in the proposed Hoosier Families First Fund.
"Would you agree that this is simply inadequate, what you call 'seed money,' that this is not adequate to achieve anything of substance?" asked Rep. Ed Delaney.
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"I think it provides a basis for us to get started, to identify those programs that are most needed in the state of Indiana," said Sen. Travis Holdman, the sponsor of SB2. "But once again, Rep. Delaney, I don't believe that all the women who give birth to babies are in need of any or all of these services. There may be some folks that are covered by insurance, or they're financially able to cover those costs themselves that they wouldn't need state support for that."
So the original language is gone from SB2 is gone. Senate Bill 3 would temporarily cap the gas tax and suspend utilities sales tax for six months.
That's how the Senate wanted to provide financial relief, but that bill may not even get a hearing in the House.
Meanwhile, a Senate committee will take up HB 1001. We'll see Wednesday if senators are willing to go along with the tax refund idea.
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