Independent audit rejected by Republicans

The State Budget Committee met on Wednesday and Republican members twice rejected a motion by State Senator John Broden (D-South Bend) calling for an independent audit of how $320 million was misplaced for over five years. The misplaced funds have sat unaccounted for in a Dept. of Revenue account since FY2007.

Sen. Broden offered two motions during the meeting calling for an independent audit of the matter, saying the audit was needed to restore the public’s faith and credibility in the state’s accounting and budgeting practices.

Video: Senator Broden outlines higher education funding for FY12-13

In the video below, State Senator John Broden (D-South Bend) discusses the relationship between the Indiana General Assembly, the state’s budget and how Indiana’s institutions of higher education are funded.

Budget Brief: The final piece of the Budget Breakdown

The agencies and state operations listed among the “other” designation of the budget include public safety (excluding corrections), economic development, conservation and the environment, transportation, gaming and redistributions to local units.

Transportation: The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is responsible for the maintenance, preservation and construction of the state’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Transportation funding is largely a product of federal and dedicated funds. The 2011 budget appropriated $4.5 billion of primarily dedicated and federal funds in FY12 and FY13. The amount marked a 23 percent decrease from the total combined appropriation for transportation in FY10 and FY11 of $5.9 billion and was the result of significantly lower support from dedicated funds in FY12 and especially FY13.

Budget Committee looks at university tuition increases

The State Budget Committee met on September 8 to hear from Indiana’s public universities on recent tuition increases at their respective institutions. Committee members pressed university presidents and board of trustee members on alternative methods for securing the necessary funding to preserve Indiana’s status as a state that provides high quality, affordable and accessible higher education.

Reductions in state funding for public institutions of higher education have, in part, pushed universities to increase tuition to accommodate operational costs.

• Budget Committee presentation on higher education tuition in Indiana (PDF)>>
• Appendices (PDF) >>
• Ball State presentation to Budget Committee (3MB PDF) >>
• Indiana University presentation to Budget Committee (PDF) >>
• Ivy Tech Community College presentation to Budget Committee (PDF) >>
• Vincennes University presentation to Budget Committee (PDF) >>

Budget Briefs: Indiana Public Retirement System Budget Breakdown

The state presides over seven retirement plans that together make up the Indiana Public Retirement System (IPRS). The IPRS includes more than 480,000 members and serves over 1,200 different public employers.  Overall, Indiana’s pension fund contained net assets of over $25 billion as of August 3, 2011. Member and employer contributions amounted to $1.9 billion in FY11 and the system distributed $3.9 billion to retirees and beneficiaries.

Indiana Public Retirement System Presentation (Aug. 3, 2011)>>

Plans cover the following public employees and officials:

• Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (PERF)
• Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRF)
• 1977 Police and Fire Fund
• Judges’ Retirement Fund
• Excise Police, Gaming agents and Conservation Officers’ Retirement Fund
• Prosecuting Attorneys’ Retirement Fund
• Legislators’ Retirement Fund

Budget Briefs: FSSA Budget Breakdown

Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) is responsible for providing administrative services and funding to meet the needs of citizens that require long term, developmental or rehabilitative care.

As the preferences of those requiring care shift, as federal reform efforts take shape and as the administration continues to focus their budgetary priority on fewer programs, FSSA’s ability to provide appropriate care has become more difficult.

FSSA is broken down into five divisions:

The Division of Family Resources (DFR) is responsible for determining eligibility for Medicaid and managing Indiana’s food stamps (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. DFR also inspects and licenses Indiana’s child care facilities and oversees Headstart, a federal program that provides early education to low-income children.

In the FY12-13 biennium, DFR offset a 77 percent decline in dedicated funds with a 22 and 10 percent increase in general and federal funds respectively as compared to the previous biennium. The division’s total combined FY12-13 appropriation stood at $1.3 billion.

Budget Briefs: Department of Child Services Budget Breakdown

Tasked with protecting Indiana’s children from abuse and neglect and enforcing child support collection, The Department of Child Services (DCS) faces questions whether significant budget cuts and reversions have affected the agency’s ability to perform its duty.

The services provided by the Department of Child Services can be broken into two categories: services for child welfare and enforcement of child support orders.

In the most recent budget, child welfare services are funded via The Family and Children General Fund line item. Those services include:

• Out of home placements of children and in-home services
• Child abuse and neglect investigations
• Juvenile justice operations
• Foster care and family preservation payments

Some programs with individual line items include:

• Adoption Services and Assistance>>
• Healthy Families Indiana>>
• The Independent Living Program>>
• Child Welfare Assistance>>

Budget Briefs: Corrections Budget Breakdown

As Indiana’s prison population increases and the related costs to local and state governments climb, the state has begun looking at how other states have reformed their sentencing structures and reduced offender recidivism.

Funding: Overall, Department of Correction (DOC) appropriations in the 2011 state budget have declined from those made in the previous biennium. In FY2012 and FY2013, DOC was allocated a total $1.44 billion in state and federal funding to run and maintain Indiana’s prisons. That amount represents a $28 million or 1.9 percent decrease from the funding level in FY2010 and FY2011.

Prison population: The state must also contend with a steadily increasing prison population. From 2003 to 2010, Indiana’s prison population increased from 24,230 inmates to 29,370, a 21 percent increase during the seven-year span. Maximum security offenders made up 29 percent of the total prison population in 2010, up from 22 percent in 2005.

Population Management: In dealing with Indiana’s rising prison population, the DOC has pushed to increase internal capacity, reduce admissions and increase releases. To increase capacity, the department has expanded existing prisons by building additional housing units. The department also moved to restructure front-end sentencing to reduce admissions through increased use of the Community Corrections Program. The Community Corrections program has been implemented in 77 counties and diverts low-level offenders from prison to home detention, work release, day reporting and other programs. Finally, by restructuring credit time earned through rehabilitative and education programs, the DOC can increase releases.

Budget Briefs: Medicaid Budget Breakdown

Medicaid is a federal program, jointly administered and funded by the Indiana Families and Social Services Administration and the US Department of Health and Human Services. A projected increase in Medicaid enrollees combined with state and federal budgetary pressures have presented challenges in most states. The federal reimbursement of state Medicaid costs has a significant impact on states’ economies, accounting for nearly 43 percent of all federal funds received by states according to the National Association of State Budget Officers.

State/Federal Relationship: Medicaid is funded by both the state and federal government. Currently in Indiana, the state pays about 34% and the federal government pays about 66% of Medicaid costs. The federal government sets broad eligibility requirements that the states must meet to receive federal funding.  States administer the program and set their own guidelines concerning eligibility, optional services and provider reimbursement rates using federal requirements as a guide.

Background:

• Federal eligibility requirements
• Brief Summary of Medicaid

Budget Briefs: Higher Education Budget Breakdown

A new series in Budget Briefs, the 2011 Budget Breakdown will explain each piece of the Budget Pie Chart from the state’s largest to smallest category of expenditures.

Indiana’s public institutions of higher education absorbed a number of changes this legislative session as a result of the state’s new budget, House Enrolled Act 1001. Public universities saw their overall funding cut even as more Hoosiers attended college.  Performance funding metrics took on an increasingly significant role in determining higher education funding and a number of changes were made to financial aid options offered by the State. For each budget item discussed below, the figures represent appropriations made by the Indiana General Assembly.

Enrollment: Indiana continues to lead the way in increasing the number of Hoosiers attending college. According to the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) report “State Higher Education Finance FY 2010”, between 2005 and 2010, Indiana enjoyed a 20.1% increase in Full Time Equivalent (FTE) enrollment, ranking 9^th among all other states during the period. Indiana experienced the 6^th largest increase in FTE enrollment from 2009-2010 and now is the 12^th largest state in terms of total university enrollment.