O'Bannon Announces Relief for Taxpayers in his State of the State Address
Gov. Frank O'Bannon denounced any new taxes in his State of the State Address Tuesday. He also promised that state agencies, including Ball State, shouldn't expect additional funding either.
Still, the governor's speech Tuesday presented a much rosier picture than a year ago, when he proposed both tax increases and more budget cuts.
The state is still buried in an $850 million budget deficit, but O'Bannon said Tuesday, his "Energize Indiana" proposal will help fix this fiscal dilemma.
"Mark this day, because today is the beginning of a revitalized economy in Indiana. It is a day we embrace tradition but resolve to make it better," O'Bannon said.
According to the Associated Press, his plan would free up almost $900 million in tobacco money and invest those and other dollars in business research, job training and schools.
About $35 million of that money will go to scholarships for low-income students.
"Energize Indiana will, in short, live up to its name," O'Bannon said.
O'Bannon's speech was interrupted about 12 times for applause, but critics emerged afterwards. Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, said the speech focused too much on the past, the Associated Press reported.
Jeff Linder, Ball State's vice president of governmental relations, said he was surprised O'Bannon didn't go into more specifics.
"I like Frank O'Bannon a lot, but what surprised me is how he didn't say very much," Linder said. "I thought there would be more detail."
O'Bannon left most of the details for his budget proposal. In his proposal, O'Bannon decreases universities' base spending about $40 million.
He also recommended $12.8 million, about 25 percent of what is usually recommended, for building repairs.
"We will live within our means, so we are proposing no new taxes. Frankly, this means that some services will be cut. Some pain will be inflicted," O'Bannon said. "But these steps, as difficult as they are, are necessary to ensure we meet the bottom line for the next two years."
Even with the "difficult" steps, Muncie Senator Allie Craycraft, D-Selma, said he was unsure how O'Bannon could fund his initiatives and eschew new taxes.
Craycraft serves on the Senate's finance committee, which will draft the Senate's version of Indiana's two-year budget.
"In light of the fact where we are fiscally, he probably did as well as he could do," Craycraft said. "I think we have to look ahead. I think we must put our hands to the plow...and turn this thing around, and I think we can do it."
According to the AP, O'Bannon's plan has also been questioned in the House. Some members in both parties have criticized its central plank - borrowing against future tobacco payments for a lesser, lump-sum up front.
''It is the duty of the governor to propose and the duty of the Legislature to dispose,'' House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend told the AP. ''The art of legislation is compromise.''
According to the AP, Bauer said the economic-development plan is so multifaceted that several committees in his chamber must review its parts - including the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee.
Rep. Tiny Adams, D-Muncie, serves on the Ways and Means Committee. Due to an illness, however, he couldn't comment on the plan or the address.
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