Budget for the People blocked

Indiana House District 32 legislative update from Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn

Dear neighbor,

This week, the House advanced the two-year, $46 billion state budget proposal, which now heads to the Senate for their consideration. We presented our own proposal for the budget, "A Budget for the People." The Majority rejected including any of our ideas in the budget bill during the second reading amendment process to help working Hoosiers get ahead.

Our state budget proposal had one purpose in mind: to help our people. It’s the inherent purpose of state government to help Hoosiers and improve their quality of life. That purpose extends to how we spend our money. It’s taxpayers' money and it should be spent on programs they want. The state is simply the holder of the purse strings. Our budget proposal would have provided balanced tax relief, supported K-12 public education, bolstered public heath and lowered health care costs.

Instead of passing a budget that truly benefits Hoosiers, the Majority passed a vanilla budget that does very little. When we drill down to the foundation of their budget, it’s not solid by any means. It’s not sound because so many cornerstones, essential programs for Hoosiers, are absent or underfunded. I voted no on the final version of the budget as it does little to help working Hoosiers get ahead.

Here’s a snapshot of what was included in our budget proposal, “A Budget for the People”:

• Protecting Medicaid:

  • Eliminating the waitlists for the 11,000 seniors and children with disabilities who are on waitlists for Medicaid programs and services.

  • Providing an additional $300 million to cushion Hoosiers on Medicaid from potential federal cuts.

• Supporting our Children:

  • Fully funding public education with a 2% increase for all public schools instead of splitting the money with private schools and charters.

  • Increasing teacher pay from a starting salary of $45,000 to $60,000 and providing opportunities for bonuses.

  • Expanding pre-K eligibility to nearly every Hoosier 4- and 5-year-old.

  • Fully funding Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which ships free, age-appropriate books directly to children’s homes regardless of income or location. I appreciate Gov. Braun's response to advocacy about this by calling on First Lady Maureen Braun to form a public-private partnership to fund this program.

• Creating Balanced Tax Relief:

  • Keeping more money in Hoosiers' pockets by increasing the income tax credit from 10% to 12%.

  • Increasing the renter’s deduction from $3,000 to $4,000.

• Improving Public Health:

  • Fully funding Health First Indiana, a bipartisan-led initiative to boost local public health funding for programs like prenatal screenings, safe sleep education, smoking cessation and lead poisoning screenings.

• Growing Quality of Life:

  • Protecting our public land and boosting tourism by funding trails and land preservation with $55 million.

  • Increasing funding for organizations that support our veterans, like the American Legion, with an additional $1.6 million.

  • Creating a low-interest first-time homebuyer program.

• Protecting Your Tax Dollars

  • Creating more government oversight, accountability and transparency when it comes to executive agency spending.

  • Creating a Federal Shortfall Fund to protect programs and services like public education, the National Guard, health care, road construction, agriculture and veterans’ services from federal funding cuts.

Here are some worrisome inclusions in the Majority budget that’s headed to the Senate:

• No relief from rising property taxes.

• No provisions to expand pre-K or access to child care.

• Cuts to the scholarships college students receive.

• Diverting $1.3 billion from public schools to pay for private school vouchers for wealthy families.

• Traditional public schools would only get a 1.3% increase since funding would be shared with the voucher program and charter schools. Many school districts would receive cuts.

• Zero funding for the College Success Program (CSP), which benefits Indiana’s minority and low-income college students.

• Elimination of the Indiana Commission for Women and the Commission of Race and Gender Fairness ($500,000 of their allocation pays for court interpreters for non-English speakers).

• Free reign for agency officials to make additional cuts to public services like Medicaid and services for seniors or children with disabilities.

• A cut of $50 million to the Health First Indiana Program.

• Zero funding to continue Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

• Increasing the amount virtual charter schools receive from 85% to 100%, putting Hoosiers’ hard-earned dollars at risk. Two virtual charters were sued by the state to recoup $154 million, and the trial is still ongoing.

Our budget would have helped Hoosiers during these uncertain times. From education to public health, we can do more to grow the quality of life in our state. The Majority’s opposition to these proposals was a vote against Hoosiers.

As always, please reach out to my office at h32@iga.in.gov with any questions, concerns, or feedback.

In service,