A school funding proposal that critics claim transfers too much money from public to private schools is one of the topics planned for Monday’s Third House session.
Due to pandemic protocols, the Third House Session, sponsored by the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, is held in a virtual format to allow constituents to hear directly from local state lawmakers about pending legislation.
To obtain an invitation for the Zoom session, visit the events calendar of the home page of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce.
Under the school funding proposal, families making double the state’s median income would be eligible for private school vouchers, a program formerly limited to lower-income families. This expansion would take up about a third of House Republicans’ proposed increase in K-12 school funding in the next state budget.
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. board members adopted a formal resolution earlier stating opposition to House Bill 1005 and Senate Bill 413.
After the Indiana House approved a $36.3 billion biennial budget last month, data was released that show both sales and individual income tax revenue in January and February were considerably higher than the December 2020 revenue forecast from the State Budget Agency.
On another revenue issue, Indiana received $56.9 million more than anticipated from the state sales tax in January, while those collections in February were $62.4 million than predicted. State income tax revenue for January was $148.8 million more than analysts were expecting, while February’s income tax collections exceeded predictions by $90.6 million.
State Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, and Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, are expected to discuss what, if anything, should be done with the better-than-expected revenue.
The House-approved budget would increase the cigarette tax from $1 to $1.50. The spending plan also calls for a 10% retail tax on e-cigarettes and e-liquids. But those amounts are far less than the $2 to $3 a pack tax hike that advocates have requested.
In January, Lauer said he did not support a higher cigarette tax at this time because it targets low income Hoosiers during a difficult financial period.
But Walker said he would “entertain the idea” of raising cigarette taxes because smoking is a major contributor to health problems, and taxpayers are subsidizing medical treatment of several smokers.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Farm Bureau has become one of the latest organizations to put its full support into expanding broadband internet coverage to rural areas. Bureau president Randy Kron says there are many uses for broadband in agricultural operations that it has become a necessity, rather than a luxury.
A considerable amount of attention has been given to the Small Business Restart Program over the past few months. If approved, the proposal will enable small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic to apply for recovery funding.
Chamber officials are also expecting an update on a proposal to create new regional development programs. They call for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to work with regions to develop strategies designed to improve quality of place, advance the industry sector development, and grow workforce development initiatives.
