Senators Richard Bray (R-Martinsville) and Mike Delph (R-Carmel) have an interesting proposal. They want to adopt a Constitutional Amendment that protects the “Major Moves” trust fund — the $500 million squirreled away with a provision that it’s not supposed to be spent before a certain time. The Senators don’t trust themselves with the money, so they want to take it out of their hands with a Constitutional Amendment. Certainly, their fear is justified. The General Assembly has a habit of reaching for money wherever they can instead of raising taxes when money gets tight.
Senator Vi Simpson (D-Bloomington) characterizes the proposal as “silly.” Simpson is a good Senator and I usually respect her opinion, but, even if there are good policy reasons not to pass this kind of amendment, I wouldn’t go anywhere near as far as calling it silly. A Constitution is supposed to be made up of broad provisions, and I can see not wanting to muck up the Constitution with this kind of particularized legislation. I can also see wanting to demand accountability from the General Assembly and have them take it upon themselves to spend wisely without using the Constitution as a crutch. But, those arguments notwithstanding, I wouldn’t call the proposal silly.
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