Democrats call for independent audit of misplaced funds

Released Dec. 8, 2011

Senator John Broden (D-South Bend) and Representative Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City) held a joint news conference today requesting that the State Budget Committee direct an independent audit into the recent discovery of $320 million in unaccounted for state funds. Sen. Broden and Rep. Pelath say an independent audit is needed to restore creditability in the state’s accounting and budgeting practices and to ensure to the public that a similar error won’t happen again.

Sen. Broden and Rep. Pelath were joined by Sen. Tim Skinner (D-Terre Haute), Rep. William Crawford (D-Indianapolis) and  Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis)  on a letter to the Republican leaders of the State Budget Committee asking that the matter be added to the agenda of the Committee’s next meeting, Wednesday , December 14.

Copy of the letter sent to Rep. Jeff Espich (R-Uniondale) and Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville):

http://www.in.gov/legislative/senate_democrats/files/blog/Budget.Committee.Ltr.12.8.11.pdf

For more information on Sen. Broden, his legislative agenda or other State Senate business call 1-800-382-9467 or visit www.SenateDemocrats.IN.gov.

###

AUDIO AVAILABLE:

SENATOR JOHN BRODEN’S OPENING STATEMENT:

Download: Broden.OpeningStementMisplacedMoneyMediaCall.12811.MP3

SEN. BRODEN: “Certainly there may be an ongoing role for the auditor’s office….”

Download: Broden.AuditorsComments.12911.MP3

(00:50)

Senate Democratic Leader calls for investigation in misplaced state funds

Released Dec. 6, 2011

Sen. Simpson says $300M oversight more than accounting error, harmful to children and families

INDIANAPOLIS— Indiana Senate Democratic Leader Vi Simpson (D-Ellettsville) released the following statement in response to Governor Daniels’ announcement earlier today that $300 million in funds had not been transferred from a Department of Revenue account to the state’s General Fund, an error that has existed since 2007.

“Public school funding was cut by $300 million in this past budget over the previous appropriation. What a coincidence! The Governor suddenly found $300 million in misplaced state dollars.

“This wasn’t just an accounting error. Children got hurt by this, families have suffered. And it all could have been avoided.

“The first question we should be asking is, How did this happen?

“Was this incompetence or were the people of Indiana intentionally misled? The budget was based on the numbers reported by the Budget Agency. Was the Budget Agency asleep at the wheel? How can we trust checking account balances in the future?

“The citizens of the state deserve answers.

“In general, a lot of important services were cut in the last state budget; one of the most important was public education.

“The budget cuts have meant thousands of laid off teachers and support staff, overcrowded classrooms, and cuts to extracurricular activities. We’ve lost a whole year of educational opportunities for our children because of this misplaced money.

“The Legislature should begin an investigation immediately to determine how this ‘mistake’ occurred and how the people of Indiana can be assured that this will never happen again.”

For more information on Sen. Simpson, her legislative agenda or other State Senate business call 1-800-382-9467 or visit www.SenateDemocrats.IN.gov.

###

AUDIO AVAILABLE:

 SEN. SIMPSON: “In general, there were a lot of important services cut in this last budget…”

Download: Simpson.CutsPublicSchools.12611.MP3

SEN. SIMPSON: “The most recent budget cuts to public schools amounted to $300 million dollars…”

Download: Simpson.MisplacedFunds.12611.MP3

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.

No news is… no news. A report from the State Budget Committee meeting

No news on state program cuts

The State Budget Committee met on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at the Statehouse. Despite “Fiscal Year 2010 Close-Out” on the agenda, no new information on state program cuts was presented by the State Budget Agency. Instead, committee members were presented with a series of graphs illustrating the overall status of Indiana’s state finances.

No further details on program cuts were available to legislators or the public. The State Budget Agency rests on information provided by agencies in response to Senate Democrat Leader Vi Simpson’s June 1 request. Read more from the June 1 announcement>>.

Only 10 of 62 responses answered all five of Simpson’s requested items. Some agency letters left all of the questions unanswered, including the primary information sought by legislators and the public -  “A list of your agency’s implemented and proposed cuts and withheld distributions for FY 2010 and 2011 by program.” Read the agency responses>>

The call for transparency in state spending continues. Read more about the Indiana Open Government Initiative>>

Timing just right: Move forward on capital projects, create jobs

Also on the agenda were state projects awaiting final funding approval, including a small number of university capital projects. Democrats on the committee pushed to get more capital projects at state universities underway as soon as possible, saying the projects would create as many as 2,000 jobs and push as much as $100 million in personal earnings into local economies.

Open Government Initiative announced

On Monday, August 16, members of the Senate Democratic Caucus announced the Indiana Open Government Initiative, a plan to improve transparency in state government budgeting and spending.

Senate Democrats will introduce legislation during the 2011 legislative session that pushes for more accountability to foster better budgeting practices, safeguard taxpayers, promote good jobs and improve efficiency. 

The legislative proposal will include the following:

1. One stop online public access to track taxpayer dollars in state budgets, spending and contracts.

2. Corporate accountability for state economic development incentives.

3. Restrict “Pay to play” for fair competition in awarding state contracts.

Share your ideas

Also announced under the initiative is an online forum where Hoosiers can submit their own ideas for increasing transparency in Indiana state government. Ideas submitted on the initiative website will be considered for inclusion in the final legislative package.

Watch Senate Democrat Leader Vi Simpson’s video inviting you to contribute to the plan>

Background

Thirty-two states allow residents to access detailed information about government expenditures online. Open government initiatives can save millions of taxpayer dollars through more efficient government operations, more competitive contracting bids and lower risk of fraud. Transparency also allows states to track how well subsidies and tax incentives deliver results and to reinvest dollars from underperforming programs into more successful ones.

Background on Senate Democrats’ work for transparency >

More support for Senate Democrats’ Open Government Initiative

Support for the Senate Democrats’ Open Government Initiative is spreading, with House Speaker Pat Bauer, the Hoosier State Press Association, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette and the South Bend Tribune recently weighing in on the issue.

The Open Government Initiative, announced by Senate Democrat Leader Vi Simpson earlier this month, will call for greater transparency in state government and will be proposed during the 2011 legislative session. Read more from the June 1 announcement >>

In the most recent show of support, several Republican state senators have asked Gov. Mitch Daniels to create a website where the public can access budget and spending information. Simpson said she was pleased to hear that there will be Republican support for the Democrats’ initiative, which includes a website but will be much more far-reaching.

LISTEN to Simpson’s full audio statement>> or select comments from June 24:

A new website alone, without legislative mandate, does not mean a change in attitude. And it won’t by itself break through the culture of secrecy that has been eminating from this current administration.

LISTEN to the audio clip>>

Simpson said the Democrats believe that legislative action is absolutely necessary.

To make government more open and more accessible to the public it is going to require more than posting budget figures and agency totals. We also want to shine the light on what programs have been cut within the individual departments and how much those programs have been cut, some have been eliminated…

LISTEN to the audio clip>>

Through a series of requests, Simpson has already begun the process of gathering this information and plans to post the information online.

We’ll be doing our part to make the information available to the public and practice the principles of open government, which we believe in very strongly… We’ll be doing that whether the governor decides to cooperate or not.

LISTEN to the audio clip>>

Simpson calls for transparency; cites executive branch culture of secrecy

Senate Democrat Leader Vi Simpson announced in a media availability today that Senate Democrats plan to introduce legislation to enhance transparency in state government budgeting and spending.

Citing a culture of secrecy within the executive branch, Simpson said there is a critical need for transparency. Specifically, Simpson says she is shocked by the lack of public information available on program cuts and on the use of taxpayer money for economic development incentives.

The governor refers to Indiana as the island of prosperity. We’re the island of secrets. - Senate Democrat Leader Vi Simpson

LISTEN: Simpson says, “It is really a matter of trust…”

Download: Simpson.MediaAvailMatteroftrust.6110.MP3

In her statements to the press, Simpson outlined previous requests dating back to January asking for a comprehensive list of cuts made to state services and programs. The State Budget Agency has indicated that a comprehensive list of cuts does not exist.

Today Simpson sent letters to the head of each state agency asking for a list of the agency’s implemented and proposed cuts by program, the methodology used to determine how the cuts are made, implementation dates of all budget cuts and personnel layoffs, expected reversions by program, and the estimated impact of cuts on people served by each program. State agencies were ordered to cut 10% in FY2010 and were notified in April that the governor wants 15% budget reversions from each agency’s budget in FY2011.

Simpson: State money should be spent on services, not health care challenge

Senate Democrat Leader Vi Simpson (D-Ellettsville) released the following statement in response to the Indiana Attorney General’s announcement that the state will be joining a legal challenge to the recently passed national health care law.

“This comes at a time when the state is in the position of making some very serious budget cuts for public schools and for our universities. Even yesterday there was an announcement made that we are going to cut further services to foster children with special needs. There is great irony during this time in our state’s history that we are going to be wasting taxpayer dollars on a lawsuit that most legal authorities believe is pretty hopeless and some have even called it frivolous. We need that money to provide services to people and to educate our children.

“If the Attorney General wants to do something important for the people of Indiana, it seems like he ought to be spending his time and his resources on collecting the $200 million that we are owed from IBM and the contract that they had with the state to provide FSSA services. They failed in providing those services and the contract is null and void, therefore they should repay all of the money that has been paid to them. The Attorney General should be pursuing that, which would be a real asset for the taxpayers of the state instead of wasting time and resources on this.

“I would ask the Attorney General, which parts of the health care plan do you really want to do away with? Is it the expansion of healthcare access for 700,000 people in Indiana or is it the regulation of insurance companies that you object to?”

Listen to the full audio of Senator Simpson’s statement:

Listen to an audio clip of her statement regarding the state’s fiscal condition:

Listen to an audio clip of her statement regarding the IBM contract: