House Republican
Second Reading Amendments
To HB 1001 (Budget Bill)

 

Restore the Homestead Credit (Rep. Eric Turner) - Revise statute to apply the Homestead Credit to all levies.

  • The Governor recently announced that the state has been overpaying the Property Homestead Tax Credit since 1985. HB 1001 captures the property tax relief homeowners have enjoyed for 17 years. Homeowners would then be deprived of a portion of the planned property tax relief promised last year by HEA 1001ss. HEA 1001ss was intended to give homeowners tax cuts on average of over 16% in 2003 and 12.8% thereafter. If recalculated to account for the Homestead Credit error, the estimated savings to homeowners are only 11.3% in 2003 and 7.3% thereafter.
  • House Republicans contend that we must not renege on our promise to homeowners and must restore the savings promised in return for an increase in the sales tax. The savings to homeowners and cost to the budget is projected to be $280 million over the biennium.

Protect TRF Pension Stabilization Fund (PSF) (Rep. Larry Buell) - Remove provision that allows the PSF to be used to pay current teacher pension obligations in FY2004 and FY2005.

  • HB 1001 takes money from the Teachers Retirement Pension Stabilization Fund in the amount of $380 million, to pad the budget.
  • House Republicans are concerned that using these monies to plug the deficit relieves the pressure to invoke real fiscal discipline.

Greater General Government Cuts to Spur Economic Development (Rep. Jeff Espich) - Call for a cut of $120 million to general government and Corrections to fund economic development bills in the House Republican Right Track Indiana legislative agenda.

  • HB 1001 does not address economic development. It does not focus on creating jobs. HB 1001 also does not go far enough to eliminate spending in general government and Corrections.
  • This House Republican amendment calls for a more balanced approach in cuts to Medicaid and Corrections while focusing on the need for greater economic development.


House Republican Fiscal Responsibility Plan (Rep. Brian Bosma) - Combines two of the Right Track Indiana bills that called for greater fiscal restraint in the budget process.

  • HB 1001 does not restore fiscal integrity to the state budget. This budget goes above and beyond what the Governor had called for in spending and leaves a surplus of approximately $670 million - more than double what the Governor had requested.

  • House Republicans call for a 99% appropriation limit to prevent a recurrence of the major budget deficit problems the state is now facing. This amendment also would create a Government Efficiency Task Force to conduct an independent review of all state government operations and programs and identify opportunities for efficiency improvements and cost savings (based on the Grace Commission of the 1980s).

Protect Road Funding (Rep. Sue Scholer) - Remove the $35 million annual appropriation from the State Highway Fund for State Police and increase the General Fund appropriations by the same amount.

  • HB 1001 diverts $35 million from the state highway dollars, used for road improvements and construction, to pay to the State Police. This breaks a promise made to all Hoosiers last year when a 1-cent per gallon tax increase was passed. This was to be applied to the State Highway Fund.
  • House Republicans would eliminate this "shell game" and restore monies to the State Highway Fund.

Restore Gaming Revenue Sharing for Non-Casino Counties (Rep. Bill Friend) - Removes provisions which divert revenue sharing monies to the General Fund.

  • HB 1001 takes $66 million from non-casino counties that were promised a share of gaming revenues. This puts pressure on these counties to raise property taxes further.
  • House Republicans would restore this amount to non-gaming counties.

Protect the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (TMSA) Fund (Rep. Tim Brown) - Removes provisions that transfer $200 million from the TMSA Fund to the General Fund.

  • HB 1001 transfers $200 million from the TMSA Fund and makes these monies more accessible for future government spending. This diminishes the reserves to cover future health care costs.
  • The House Republican amendment restores this money to the TMSA.

Eliminate the Inequity in the School Funding Formula Revisions (Rep. Jeff Thompson) - Eliminate the minimum guarantee of 1.75% and the maximum spending cap of 3.0% funding provided for each school corporation.

  • HB 1001 creates an inequity in the school funding formula by setting a minimum guarantee for some school corporations and setting a cap on the increases in funding for others. This formula jeopardizes school corporations that are growing at an accelerated rate and subsidizes school corporations that are losing students rapidly.
  • House Republicans would eliminate this inequity and would restore the elements of the school formula which ensures that the "dollars follow the student".