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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Ind. Gov't. - Governor's ability to cut budget challenged

Lesley Stedman Weidenbener reports today in the Louisville Courier Journal:

INDIANAPOLIS – Some Democrats want to limit Gov. Mitch Daniels' ability to cut funding that lawmakers designate for universities, public broadcasting or grants and give him authority only over spending within his departments.

Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington, is seeking to remove language from the state budget that gives the governor wide latitude to "withhold allotments of any or all appropriations."

That language has been included in budgets for decades, and Daniels used it this year to cut more than $700 million in spending to cope with declining revenues.

"Without the tool, and a governor willing to use it, Indiana would be broke today like 40-some other states," said Jane Jankowski, Daniels' press secretary.

But Simpson, who was on the Appropriations Committee before taking her current post, said Daniels has abused the authority, cutting funds to groups that depended on the money to make ends meet.

His cuts included funding for local tourism grants, public broadcasting, employee raises, and university operating funds and building projects.

Simpson said she believes those cuts were more about philosophy than fiscal responsibility, something she believes is inappropriate.

"We can still give him some flexibility if he wants to make cuts in the agencies that are responsible to him in the executive branch," she said. "It's a whole other thing to make arbitrary cuts with no warning to agencies outside of the state governor which are dependent and relying on the appropriations we made."

The language also makes the budget bill simply a recommendation rather than a "real document," she said.

Simpson's caucus plans to make the language a key issue as lawmakers begin negotiations on the final budget. Fiscal leaders are scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. today for a conference committee on House Bill 1001, which includes the budget. * * *

Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said the cuts the governor made this year are precisely the reason the language exists. Without it, lawmakers would have to come into special session to adjust the budget anytime revenues are down, he said.

"We do have a citizen legislature" that works only a few months each year, Kenley said. "Does this mean if we get into trouble that the legislature is supposed to sit here all year long and review these things?"

Past governors have used the tool, Kenley said, including the late Gov. Frank O'Bannon, a Democrat who had to slash state spending when revenues dropped during his second term. Democrats didn't complain then, Kenley said.

Still, he said he understands Democrats' concerns, especially because Daniels "is known to be an aggressive guy about how's he going to manage his resources."

"This is going to be an issue" in negotiations, he said. "We'll have to review it."

Indiana is one of just six states where the governor doesn't have a line-item veto, so Daniels has no authority to cut items from the budget before he signs it into law. He can only withhold the funds once the budget has become law.

So what is this language? Check here in the last biennial budget, HB 1001 from 2007, starting at SECTION 26 on p. 108. It is part of the budget "boilerplate":

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 22, 2009 10:03 AM
Posted to Indiana Government