Indiana's budget picture is slowly taking shape, but the big questions about tax collections, tax cuts and how much will be spent on education remain to be seen.
Members of the State Budget Committee spent a second day Wednesday hearing from the State Budget Agency about how state department heads crafted their biennial budget requests and from the department chiefs themselves on what they would need over the next two years.
Lawmakers expect to get an updated tax collection forecast next month and another in April, shortly before they wrap up their legislative session, that should tell them how much money they have to work with. Legislators will also wait to see what priorities Gov.-elect Mike Pence spends on in his first budget, including a proposal to cut the state's personal income tax.
This week's meetings gave lawmakers an opportunity to talk with state agency leaders, but the hard questions are likely to come later, after the legislative session begins and once an actual budget has been submitted for consideration. Members of the budget committee also pointed out that the agencies make up very little of the state's overall spending picture.
"The general services of state government are a small portion of the state budget. The lion's share is still K-12, higher education, Medicaid and the social services," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Tim Brown, Crawfordsville Republican, said Wednesday. "I think it's just a starting a point, so we'll go forward and see how April and December look."
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The State Budget Agency ordered most other departments to work up "baseline" proposals that amounted to roughly 3 percent less than what lawmakers afforded them last year. In many cases, the agency heads offered a broadly positive picture with a handful of requests for increased spending.
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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/indiana/budget-writing-ind-lawmakers-hear-from-agencies/article_bdcce3ca-52e9-5ca8-b9f5-7188be329095.html
Members of the State Budget Committee spent a second day Wednesday hearing from the State Budget Agency about how state department heads crafted their biennial budget requests and from the department chiefs themselves on what they would need over the next two years.
Lawmakers expect to get an updated tax collection forecast next month and another in April, shortly before they wrap up their legislative session, that should tell them how much money they have to work with. Legislators will also wait to see what priorities Gov.-elect Mike Pence spends on in his first budget, including a proposal to cut the state's personal income tax.
This week's meetings gave lawmakers an opportunity to talk with state agency leaders, but the hard questions are likely to come later, after the legislative session begins and once an actual budget has been submitted for consideration. Members of the budget committee also pointed out that the agencies make up very little of the state's overall spending picture.
"The general services of state government are a small portion of the state budget. The lion's share is still K-12, higher education, Medicaid and the social services," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Tim Brown, Crawfordsville Republican, said Wednesday. "I think it's just a starting a point, so we'll go forward and see how April and December look."
...
The State Budget Agency ordered most other departments to work up "baseline" proposals that amounted to roughly 3 percent less than what lawmakers afforded them last year. In many cases, the agency heads offered a broadly positive picture with a handful of requests for increased spending.
...
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/indiana/budget-writing-ind-lawmakers-hear-from-agencies/article_bdcce3ca-52e9-5ca8-b9f5-7188be329095.html
