Though work on the Purple Line and Blue Line bus rapid transit lines will continue, transit system says some other planned route improvements are on hold.
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State lawmakers have $1.5 billion more to work with than expected in the next two-year budget, according to revenue figures released by the Indiana State Budget Agency on Wednesday. But it’s unclear where that money will be directed.
The lackluster economic forecast comes as Indiana lawmakers prepare to return to the Indiana Statehouse on Jan. 9 to craft a two-year budget and consider funding increases to education, public health and workforce development programs.
State fiscal leaders heard some good and bad news about the state budget Monday morning in a highly anticipated revenue forecast that predicted tax receipts for the next two years.
House Speaker Brian Bosma said Thursday that the idea in House Bill 1002—part of a larger proposed retooling of the state's workforce development system—hasn't garnered enough support.
John Ketzenberger, a longtime local journalist who has been credited for stabilizing the institute’s finances, is mum so far on his plans after leaving the post.
Indiana lawmakers in final negotiations over the next two-year state budget got some good news Wednesday about revenue projections for 2018 and 2019.
House Ways and Means Chairman Tim Brown called the $31.4 billion budget an “honest appraisal of the money we have and the spending priorities we have going forward.”
Advocates of constructing a new archives building say the current location, on East 30th Street, is falling into disrepair and that the situation is getting dire.
The long-term forecast was sunnier, with revenue projected to increase 2.9 percent in 2018 and 3.9 percent in 2019.
Legislative leaders have sounded alarm bells over state revenue figures, saying lawmakers will need to take a cautious approach to investing in new programs such as expanding state-funded preschool and raising teacher pay.
The biggest shortfall came from corporate income taxes, which were $16.7 million—or more than 60 percent—below projections.
For the first eight months of fiscal year 2015, Indiana tax revenue is down 1 percent, or about $91 million. Tax receipts have missed expectations in six out of those eight months.
Revenue figures for November released Friday show that Indiana’s general fund brought in slightly more than $1 billion in November.
State tax collections fell below projections in September for the third straight month but remain ahead of revenue for the same period last year.
Sales tax is Indiana’s largest source of revenue. But it is tied to consumer spending, and Americans have become increasingly reluctant to spend as median incomes have remained virtually stagnant over the past 30 years.
The state brought in a total of $1.04 billion in July general fund revenue, a decrease of 0.5 percent from the December 2013 state revenue forecast.
The governor's administration has told state agencies to hold back 4.5 percent of their funding for the current fiscal year despite the state's $2 billion in reserves.
Nearly every state revenue category failed to hit its January target, including sales taxes and personal income taxes — Indiana's two largest revenue sources.
Growing ranks of dropout workers have nagged the economy throughout its recovery, and now Indiana’s budget forecasters feel they can’t ignore the trend. They recently revised their outlook on state revenue downward, partly because so many Hoosiers stopped looking for jobs.
Indiana’s fiscal picture is looking good with about $2 billion in cash reserves and a strong credit rating, but the next few years could leave the state in a fiscal pinch.
