INDIANAPOLIS (March 15, 2007) - State government has made sweeping advances in its commitment to Buy Indiana, Governor Mitch Daniels said today, and he challenged Indiana's businesses and other public entities to do the same.

The governor today released the 2007 Buy Indiana Progress Report that shows 84 percent of the state's contracting dollars are now going to firms defined as Indiana companies. Before Buy Indiana, an estimated 60 percent of contract dollars were going to Indiana businesses, so the increase represents almost a billion additional dollars spent with companies that employ Hoosier workers and invest in the state.

"First, we had to get state government's act together. Now, we want to get everyone on board," said Daniels, speaking at the Indiana Chapter of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing annual meeting.

The governor is sending a letter to local governments, university presidents and business leaders to challenge them to join state government in spending more dollars with Indiana companies. In the letter, Daniels said, "If we can sensitize Indiana businesses to the Buy Indiana opportunity, the positive economic impact could be truly enormous."

In January 2005, the governor established the Buy Indiana initiative through Executive Order 05-05, setting a goal for state agencies to procure 90 cents of each Hoosier tax dollar from Indiana businesses. The Indiana Department of Administration (IDOA) implemented the initiative which enables anyone to see, for the first time, how state government money is spent. Additionally, IDOA works with over 38,000 companies to ensure that vendors are correctly registered with the state under the Buy Indiana designation. The Indiana General Assembly established the definitions of an Indiana business in state statute in 2005.

One way state government has increased Indiana investments is by awarding contracts previously won by out-of-state firms to Hoosier companies. The report indicates that 88 percent of all state contracts are now made with Indiana companies.

Among report highlights:

• Haverstick Consulting earned the Department of Workforce Development Unemployment Insurance Modernization Project contract, valued at $24 million over three years. Haverstick is headquartered in Carmel. TATA Consulting of India previously had the contract.
• Anthem, MDWise, and MHS, all companies headquartered in Indiana, recently won the multi-year $4 billion FSSA contract for Hoosier Healthwise. These Indiana companies replace California-based Molina, Ohio-based CareSource, and Illinois-based WellCare.
• Infospherix, the company that operates the DNR Reservation system, relocated its call center to Hamilton County. The center, formerly located in Maryland, provides registration services to Indiana and several other states.
• The Café Group, an Indiana company, won the IDOA Cafeteria Food Services contract. The Café Group provides cafeteria services to the Government Center and pays annual rent to the state of $240,000. Café Group replaced Sodexho of France.
• Dixie Chopper was awarded the State's Quantity Purchase Agreement for large and small lawnmowers. The contract is valued at $650,000. Dixie Chopper is headquartered in Coatesville. Previous awards for lawnmowers were made to companies in Arkansas and Illinois.

The full 2007 Buy Indiana Progress Report is available at this link: http://www.in.gov/gov/pdfs/3-9_letter.pdf

The Governor's letter is below:

My first day in office, I signed Executive Order 05-05, committing state government to purchase goods and services from Indiana firms, up to the maximum consistent with getting good prices for the taxpayer's dollar. The little evidence available at the time revealed that as much as 40% of every state procurement dollar, or well over a billion dollars a year, was going to out of state firms.

This was unfortunate for the Indiana economy but also for Hoosier taxpayers, too. More dollars paid to Hoosier firms and Hoosier workers and recirculating in our economy will translate into higher tax revenue as well as more jobs.

After two years, we've made major progress. Today, 84% of state purchasing dollars go to Indiana firms, under definitions established by the General Assembly. We don't yet know how high we can drive this figure-some goods and services are simply not available locally, and we limited our new pricing preference for Indiana firms to a maximum of 5%-but we are trying to reach 90%.

Like state government in years past, you may be paying little attention to where the dollars you spend are going. I'm writing to urge you to join us in keeping more dollars here in the state.

I'm not appealing to any sense of charity or state patriotism, but directly to your self-interest. The more financially strong Indiana businesses are, the lower we can keep everyone's taxes. The success of other Indiana businesses produces more purchasing power and more customers for other Hoosier enterprises.

Just as in state government's Buy Indiana program, we do not suggest that you countenance bad business decisions. But where price and quality are equal or very nearly so, it is simply smart business to keep your spending dollars close to home.

Please avail yourself of the roster of certified businesses we have registered at the Indiana Department of Administration. To access the directory and search for specific products and services, go to http://www.in.gov/idoa/proc/buyindiana.html, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on the "Buy Indiana Directory" link.

The combined purchasing power of Hoosier local governments, schools, and universities runs into the billions of dollars. If we can sensitize Indiana businesses to the Buy Indiana opportunity, the positive economic impact could be truly enormous. Please have a talk with your procurement officials today and join state government in seeing that as many of our combined purchasing dollars as possible wind up in the W-2s of Hoosier workers.

Sincerely,
Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.
Governor
State of Indiana

Media contact: Jane Jankowski, Office of the Governor, 317/232.1622, jjankowski@gov.in.gov
Media contact: Brad Rateike, Office of the Governor, 317/232.1800, brateike@gov.in.gov<

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