INDIANAPOLIS — We’re in the final weeks of this year’s legislative session at the Indiana Statehouse. One bill lawmakers have been working on all session is the state’s budget – detailing how they’ll spend money over the next two years.
The Senate’s version of the budget passed 40 to 10, basically down party lines, with several Democrats speaking before they voted against it, saying they believed more money should be spent on public and mental health as well as public education.
The Senate’s budget calls for funding Senate Bill 1, which addresses Indiana’s approach to mental health, at $35 million over the next two years.
Lawmakers have not decided how to pay for the bill’s proposed 988 crisis hotline.
Some lawmakers in both chambers have proposed raising the state’s cigarette tax to pay for it. Others want to tack on a small fee to your monthly cell phone bill.
The Senate’s version of the budget also calls for spending $225 million on public health over the next two years. In his budget, Gov. Eric Holcomb requested close to $350 million.
When it comes to education, the Senate’s budget would pay for kids’ text books and school material at $160 million a year.
It also provides money for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library allowing kids to get library books sent to their home, starting when they’re just babies.
The Senate’s proposed budget does not expand the school choice program, which gives Hoosier families vouchers to attend private schools – something the House’s budget supported expanding.
The budget also calls for giving charter schools some of the money from property tax increases, starting next year.
As that amount goes up, the amount charter schools get in grants from the state would go down, until those grants are eliminated.
Many of these details turned out to be sticking points for Democrats, who said more work needed to be done on the budget to get their support.
“We simply don’t go far enough to make critical investment to support the public health and welfare of the residents of our state. And the improvements to the school funding formula are eroded by the property tax sharing language unfortunately,” said Democratic Sen. Eddie Melton.
This will not be the final draft of the budget.
Tuesday, lawmakers will get the state’s revenue forecast – the money the state is predicted to bring in over the next two years. Those numbers could change what lawmakers decide to spend on some of the line items in the budget.