Sen. Rogers troubled by 2011 reform of Indiana school funding formula

Sen. Hume reflects on a difficult 2011 legislative session

Sen. Arnold disappointed by drastic ed reform during 2011 session

Sen. Skinner reflects on tough year for Indiana public educators

End of session: state budget, education reform and other contentious issues approved

The 2011 session of the Indiana General Assembly ended on Friday evening before the midnight deadline. With nearly a hundred bills already delivered to the governor, many more measures were approved on Friday and are now on their way to his office.

State budget:

The General Assembly’s biggest task this year was approving a new two-year budget for the state. Traditionally one of the last bills to gain approval, details on House Enrolled Act 1001 were finalized on Thursday evening and approved on Friday by a vote of 37 to 13 in the Senate.

The two-year budget appropriates $13.8 billion in fiscal year 2012 and $14.2 billion in fiscal year 2013. The budget sets aside enough funds to keep $1 billion in total reserves by July 2013. Democrats argued that the reserve target was more than needed, particularly since the savings will come at the expense of services for disabled and elderly residents as well as job creation programs.

Budget Brief: Republicans release preliminary compromise

The majority caucuses from each chamber have released a preliminary conference committee report on the state’s next biennial budget (House Bill 1001). Lawmakers are expected to meet at 7 p.m. to present the proposal. Indications are that the republicans will push the budget bill through both chambers on Friday.

Click here to review the preliminary conference committee report.

Senate Budget breakdown

The Senate Republican budget plan moved out of the Senate by a vote of 36-14. The Senate version of the budget had a few differences from the House Republican version. The House author has dissented on the Senate’s changes, and the budget bill has been assigned to a conference committee where the differences can be negotiated. The final vote on the bill is expected by the 2011 session deadline at midnight April 29.

The following is a brief summary of budget highlights as the bill left the Senate. For a more comprehensive summary of provisions, please see the bill’s fiscal analysis.

Overall Spending

This proposal spends $13.8B in FY 12 and $14.2B in FY 13, with an ending combined balance of $1.08B in FY 13.

Final negotiations for 2011 legislation

Final negotiations: Many bills approved, other still moving

While more than 70 bills have been approved by both chambers and advanced to the governor for final consideration, negotiations on other legislation will continue through next week. Final versions of each bill must be approved by a majority vote in both chambers by midnight on Friday, April 29.

The following summary highlights issues still before the General Assembly:

State budget: House Bill 1001

The Senate Republicans’ budget plan has cleared the Senate, with several notable changes from the House Republican plan. The plan, contained in House Bill 1001, now must return to the House where the author can concur or dissent on the Senate’s changes. If the author dissents, the bill will go to a conference committee where differences will be negotiated.

The Senate proposal spends $13.8 billion the first year and $14.2 billion the second year, with an ending combined reserve of more than $1 billion at the end of the two-year period. The Senate plan got a unexpected boost as April’s state revenue report indicated state revenue is now projected to be $762 million above earlier projections due to an improved economy. As a result, the Senate budget plan includes $150 million more than the House plan for K-12 education, some of which would fully fund full-day kindergarten statewide, provide top performing teachers with merit pay increases, and provide start-up funding for new charter schools. That funding, however, would only partially restore funding cuts made over the last two years to Indiana’s public schools.

State funding provides a variety of services. This chart shows how funds were appropriated under the most recent state budget, approved in 2009.

Redistricting: Senate Bills 256, 258

Legislation has been approved by the Senate to establish new boundaries for Indiana’s 50 Senate districts, 100 House districts, and nine congressional districts for the next 10 years. Senate Bill (SB) 256 includes the proposed Senate districts put forth by the Senate Republican majority. An amendment offered by Democrats including their proposed maps, which were based on a regional approach with an emphasis on logical boundaries and keeping neighborhoods, towns and other communities together, was rejected along a party line vote earlier in the week. Two other amendments offered by Democrats were also rejected. One would have allowed for the extension of the adoption of new maps to November to allow more time for public input. The third defeated amendment would have allowed the new maps to be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice for compliance under Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Acts of 1965 to ensure that minority voting rights are protected. SB 256 was approved by a vote of 36-13.

In addition, newly drawn congressional districts included in SB 258 gained approval by a vote of 37-12. Both bills now advance to the House for its consideration. The proposed House districts are also included in HB 1601 and the House proposed congressional districts are included in HB 1602. Those bills are scheduled to be heard in the Senate Elections Committee on Monday, April 25.

For more information on the redistricting process and to view the proposed maps, visit www.redistricting.IN.gov.

Private school vouchers: House Bill 1003

A contentious bill that would redirect state funds from a public school to pay for tuition and fees at a private school through a state voucher program has been approved by the Senate by a vote of 28-22. Under HB 1003, vouchers for students in grades 1 through 8 would be limited to $4,500 per school year. The bill also would limit the number of vouchers available to 7,500 the first year, 15,000 the second year, and no cap after that.

In addition, voucher eligibility would be limited to families with certain incomes. For families who qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program (annual income less than $40,800 for a family of four), they could receive a voucher equal to 90 percent of the public school corporation’s per-pupil funding. With a household income of about $61,000, a student could receive a voucher in the amount of 50 percent of the school corporation’s per-pupil funding. Estimates by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency indicate this proposal will likely redirect $92M from public schools over the next two years.

The House must approve Senate changes made to the bill before it can advance to the governor.

Employee organization: House Bill 1203, House Bill 1216

One of several bills introduced this year to change how employees organize through unionization, House Bill 1203 would require all union formation votes to be done by secret ballot. The bill would eliminate the option for employees to organize under the traditional card sign-up process where employees sign authorization cards stating they want a union in their workplace. The bill would allow an employer to engage in a union organization campaign, as long as the involvement did not conflict with the National Labor Relations Act or another federal law or regulation concerning labor relations or labor organizations. The bill was previously approved in House, and approved in the Senate by a vote of 35-13. It has been returned to the house with where Senate amendments must be considered.

Similar language was proposed in a constitutional amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 10, which failed to advance in the House this year. In January, the National Labor Relations Board advised the Attorneys General of Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah that similar constitutional amendments approved in those states, which govern the method by which employees choose union representation, conflict with federal labor law and, therefore, are pre-empted by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The Senate also advanced House Bill 1216, a bill that will raise the threshold for the application of the common construction wage statute from $150,000 to $250,000 for contracts awarded in 2012 and to $350,000 for contracts awarded after December 31, 2012. The bill was amended in the Senate to move language regarding union agreements for public works projects for further study instead of enactment. The bill now urges an interim legislative review on the use of labor agreements on public works projects and job classifications used in a common construction wage determination. The bill was previously approved in the House, approved in the Senate this week by a vote of 27-22, and will now return to the House for consideration of the Senate changes.

Getting to know Senator Jim Arnold– candid thoughts on the legislative process

State Senator Jim Arnold was elected to fulfill the unexpired term for Senate District 8 in March 2007.  A longtime public servant, Arnold retired as the LaPorte County Sheriff on January 1, 2007, after serving 36 years in law enforcement.

How does being a senator compare to your former job as a county sheriff?

When I was a sheriff and worked in law enforcement, I enjoyed the luxury of saying I don’t write the laws, I just enforce them. Now, the buck stops here.  Being sheriff I was on call 24 hours a day and the phone never stopped ringing, and now while the phone starts ringing earlier in the morning it stops around 9 p.m.

Has anything surprised you about your job as state senator?

I knew that after 36 years in county government when I completed my service there the only position I was interested in taking after that was state senator. It seemed like a natural progression to me.

After I became a state senator there were a few things that came to the forefront that I hadn’t realized before I started the job. First of all the amount of reading involved to understand the bills that will affect people’s lives is huge. Secondly, the amount of time it takes to do this job is daunting if you’re doing it right. Very few people understand the time and commitment involved.

77 amendments to go…

There were 77 second reading amendments filed on the state budget bill (HB 1001) in the Senate today. Proposals range from school funding (including vouchers), to sales tax collection for online sales, to food bank funding… to a variety of other issues you may or may not consider budget-related items.

To take a look at the proposals, visit the HB 1001 bill info page and scroll down to “Senate Amendments – Filed.”

A summary of the amended bill will be posted here later… Check back in the Budget Briefs>>