Lesley Stedman Weidenbener, writing for the Louisville Courier Journal, has an article on Indiana’s General Assembly’s Organization Day. She notes that the legislators won’t deal with much substance today, but some legislators commented on the challenges ahead. Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson notes a decrease in revenue and an increase in responsibilities will make things tough. Senate Republicans don’t seem to see much new money for schools whereas House Democrats want to find some.
Another issue likely to cause friction is whether to move beyond the property tax caps already placed into law by enshrining those caps in the state constitution. House Democrats want to see how the tax caps work in practice under state law before stampeding to the Constitution. House Republicans are ready for the stampede.
Also on the agenda will be local government restructuring. State government restructuring does not seem to be on state lawmakers’ radars. Presumably it’s easier to fix someone else’s house.
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