Daniels preparing for scaled-back inauguration
Gov. Mitch Daniels will make a brief inauguration speech Monday after being sworn in for a second term and will be in front of a crowd again Tuesday to give the State of the State address. Daniels said he’s treating the speeches as a pair: Monday’s address is a more poetic outline of his long-term vision for the state, while Tuesday will be a more businesslike speech about the immediate challenges Indiana faces.
Greetings from the Statehouse
As we begin the 2009 session of the Indiana General Assembly, we face historic challenges caused by a struggling economy, the need for essential constituent services and the demands on local and state governments. Even though the news of our finances has been grim, I am optimistic that we will be able to complete our work by the end of April. In particular, I believe we can deliver a budget that will have a positive impact on our state. As a freshman lawmaker, it is truly amazing to face the many interests and concerns across the district and our state. Through these reports, I will strive to give you a personal perspective of my experience and view of the law-making progress.
They’re strapped for cash in Indy
The expectations for the Indiana Legislature, which began meeting Wednesday, are not very high. For all intents and purposes, the state is in the same sorry economic state as its citizens. And like all of us, legislators and Gov. Mitch Daniels will have to scrimp and scrape to put together a two-year budget that is balanced and funds all of the state’s competing needs — public safety, health care, education and transportation, to name the big ones. But like you and me, members of the Indiana General Assembly still have other things to get done as they struggle to pay the bills.
Commission: Hold line on tuition, please
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education hopes state universities refrain from major tuition hikes to offset cuts recommended by Gov. Mitch Daniels in the next state budget. Universities were notified last month that state funds would be cut by 1 percent for the current fiscal year as a result of December’s dismal economic revenue forecast. Bernard Hannon, the commission’s associate commissioner for finance, said colleges are being encouraged to make up the difference by cutting costs rather that adding on to tuition fees. But Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington, whose district includes Indiana University, said universities won’t have much choice, because such a predicament forces schools to make major cuts or increase tuition.
Get moving on making the tax caps permanent
Most Hoosiers have welcomed the property-tax caps put in place by the General Assembly last session. But part of the deal is supposed to be making the caps permanent by putting them in the state constitution. Anything the legislature gives, it can take way – and in tough times like these, lawmakers are more reluctant to talk about limiting a revenue stream. House Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, is already saying the state shouldn’t tackle a tough two-year budget and the constitutional amendment process at the same time. (”Can’t he walk and chew gum?” Gov. Mitch Daniels is said to have remarked.)
Indiana casino revenues fell 8 percent in 2008
Casino executives and an industry spokesman blame the recession and last summer’s $4-a-gallon gasoline prices for sending Indiana casino revenues down sharply last year. Statewide figures released last week by the Indiana Gaming Commission showed revenues at Indiana’s 11 full-service casinos fell 8 percent to about $2.5 billion last year, compared with $2.7 billion in 2007, while admissions fell 6 percent. It marked the first time ever that statewide revenues and attendance for the full-service casinos have fallen from the previous year. When money from slot machines that appeared in June at the state’s two horse racing tracks was added, casino revenues totaled $2.67 billion in 2008. “Obviously the economy has taken a big toll on Indiana casinos,” said Mike Smith, president of the Casino Association of Indiana, the state industry’s trade group. “It’s taken two more casinos to do same amount of business that 11 casinos did.”
