INDIANAPOLIS — Lagging tax collections, the impact of new laws and the perpetual question of how best to spend Indiana’s education dollars are all expected to factor into the state budget proposal being developed by Gov. Mike Pence’s administration ahead of the 2015 legislative session.
Indiana law requires the General Assembly to pass a budget every two years, and lawmakers who will reconvene in January will be charged with approving a spending plan before they adjourn in April. The current $30 billion budget expires in June.
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Other issues that could complicate spending discussions include the impact of criminal sentencing changes that took effect in July. Ways and Means Chairman Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, said budget writers might need to put less money into state prisons but more into local probation services and mental health treatment.