From The Indianapolis Star:
Daniels pitches special session budgetEvery school district in Indiana still would see an increase in K-12 funding over the next two years, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced tonight in a brief television address outlining his latest budget proposal.
Daniels spoke for five minutes, giving a brief preview of a detailed budget his administration will present to a bi-partisan legislative committee Tuesday. The Indiana General Assembly is expected to convene in a special legislative session this month to pass a budget before the fiscal year ends June 30.
In a change of course, Daniels tonight proposed spending about $300 million of the state's $1.3 billion surplus.
Throughout the year, Daniels has resisted spending any of the state's savings while House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, and other Democrats have insisted some of the money should be spent to create jobs and prevent cuts in education spending.
Democrats also had adamantly opposed any reduction in education spending, a move Daniels said tonight would not happen.
"Public education, as well as student financial aid, would get a significant increase," he said. "Every school would receive more per student than it did this year."
The governor also said if state revenues exceeded expectations 50 percent of that money would be dedicated to schools while the other half would be placed into state savings.
Daniels' latest budget proposal comes after a new revenue forecast last week projected the state would receive $1 billion less through June 2011 than projections that were released just a month earlier. Indiana's revenues, he noted, are 8 percent below last year.
Still, Daniels used his address to stress that Indiana is in better shape than most other states.
"Despite the terrible national economy, Indiana remains in vastly better shape than most states, and any of our neighbors. We have a billion dollars in reserves and a AAA credit rating," Daniels said. "Everywhere else, any reserves are long gone. They are slashing education by as much as 10 to 15 percent, they're releasing convicts from prison early and worst of all when families are struggling, they're raising taxes."
Under new budget proposal, total state spending would be reduced by 2.5 percent.
"Many good ideas will have to wait," Daniels said. "Across state government, nothing, and I mean nothing, goes up. When your income drops by 8 percent, you can't inrease your spending, on anything."
More specific details on Daniels' budget trims are expected at 1 p.m. Tuesday when his administration will release its specific budget to a panel of state lawmakers. In his speech, the governor also laid down some boundaries for the legislature, which he is expected to call back into a special session June 15.
"As always, I am ready to compromise and cooperate with the legislature, up to a point. I'm willing to see us use about a quarter of our surplus, leaving a billion in reserve, but not a penny less," he said. "If legislators want to spend more on some favorite cause, that's fine as long as they offset it elsewhere. Add a dollar, cut a dollar. And, of course, no gimmicks, and no tax increases."
Read more about this story in tomorrow's Indianapolis Star.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20090601/NEWS0501/90601053/Daniels+pitches+special+session+budget
