A look at news and events in the Daniels Administration

April 24, 2009– At the start of a question-and-answer session with reporters this week, Governor Mitch Daniels read this statement about General Assembly progress toward the next state budget. Following the statement is a link to a chart he used during the discussion.

“As a difficult session nears its scheduled completion, I want to thank the legislators for their hard work and express the hope that only a few more days of effort remain.  I am as eager as all the members I talk to that the session end on time.  Special sessions were once common, but despite annual predictions Indiana has not needed one during the last four years.

“One way a governor can help prevent a special session is to avoid surprises, by being clear about what is and is not acceptable.  Another is to be reasonable and flexible about details.

“Speaker Bauer said to me this week that there are really just two items that must be achieved before adjournment.  One is a fair overhaul of the state's out-of-balance unemployment insurance system.  The other is a budget that protects vital services and taxpayers both now and in the future.

“As of now, neither the House nor the Senate proposals meet that test.  I'm not finding fault or criticizing anyone; it's just that both budgets were built on revenue assumptions that turn out to be way off.  To illustrate, the shortfall part way through April is already larger than the Senate budget assumes through the end of June.  A budget that ignores reality will spend money we won't have, quickly devour our rainy day funds, and force tax increases and massive service cutbacks like those going on in other states.

“With $4 billion of federal stimulus dollars added in, Indiana will see record public spending the next two years under any state budget.  Let's work together to see that Hoosier workers and taxpayers are protected during this cycle and beyond.”

The chart is available here: http://www.in.gov/gov/files/Press/042409_cliff.pdf

Audio of the governor’s comments is available here: http://www.in.gov/gov/files/Audio/042409_media_availability.mp3

April 21, 2009– Governor Mitch Daniels has signed Senate Enrolled Act 27, renaming Indiana’s educational technology after the late State Senator David Ford, a former Blackford County legislator who died March 5, 2008, after suffering from pancreatic cancer. 

“When I think of David Ford, I think about a citizen legislator,” said Daniels, who presented Ford’s widow Joyce with the commemorative pen he used to sign the legislation. “He was deeply rooted in his community and his family. He did this only for the love of state and I think his colleagues would agree that you couldn’t outwork him.  You just can’t replace people like that.”

The governor was joined by a bipartisan group of legislators from both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly to sign the legislation which renames the Indiana educational technology fund the David Ford Educational Technology Fund.  The fund provides access to technology in Hoosier classrooms to facilitate academic achievement, covers the costs of Internet access in select libraries across the state and provides technology training to Hoosiers teachers.

Keep track of legislation as it reaches the governor's desk with the 2009 Bill Watch on the governor’s Web site. Here is the link to the page: http://www.in.gov/gov/billwatch.htm.

April 13, 2009– Following an announcement from the American Wind Energy Association that Indiana is the fastest-growing state for wind energy installations in 2008 and planned groundbreaking events for two new wind farmsin the state, Governor Mitch Daniels declared April 13-18 as “Indiana Wind Energy Week.” 

“We welcome the news that Indiana is the fastest-growing state for wind power energy. We’ve made homegrown clean energy production a priority, and we are proud to become a leader in new wind energy installations,” said Daniels.

Two groundbreaking ceremonies for wind energy projects totaling 306 megawatts (MW) recently took place in Benton and White counties. Horizon Wind Energy broke ground on a 200 MW project in White County, and enXco has begun work on a 106 MW project in Benton County.

Indiana currently has 130 MW of commercially available wind energy installed. With the completion of these two projects and the 400 MW Fowler Ridge Wind Farm in Benton and Tippecanoe counties under development by BP Alternative Energy and Dominion Resources, Indiana could have a total of 836 MW of commercially available wind energy installed by the end of 2009.  This would move Indiana past such traditional wind-producing states as South Dakota and Wyoming.

A copy of the proclamation can be found at this address: http://www.in.gov/gov/files/Press/WindEnergyWeek.pdf

Indiana speeds to spend highway stimulus dollars

Indianapolis Star
April 24, 2009
By: Maureen Groppe

WASHINGTON -- Indiana was one of the fastest states out of the block in putting federal stimulus money to use in improving the state's roads and bridges.

Indiana had 32 highway projects funded by stimulus dollars in the works at the end of March, more than any other state, according to a survey of state stimulus spending done by a congressional committee.

The state, however, could not estimate how many new jobs have been created, a main purpose of the stimulus package. A spokeswoman for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said the state has not received job reports from the contractors yet.

Only four states -- Missouri, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Jersey -- reported the number of jobs created by new highway spending.

Missouri reported the most: 68 jobs from projects that represent 12 percent of the state's funding.

Indiana was allocated $658 million for highway infrastructure through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law Feb. 17. The projects under way represent 6 percent of that, the fourth-highest amount for early spending across the nation.

Indiana was ahead of the game because of its Major Moves initiative, which includes a 10-year highway plan, said Daniels' spokeswoman Jane Jankowski.

"Indiana has been able to move quickly because we have an existing list of projects that are ready to go, and we've been able to move them up," she said.

Although Daniels, a Republican, had emphasized that he was not seeking assistance from the federal government, he promised early on to "come right out of the starting blocks," as soon as the package was signed into law.

Even before it had been approved by Congress, the state prepared for its passage. The Indiana Department of Transportation announced in early February that it was seeking bids for 27 projects that were the closest to being ready for construction.

Through March, the state has put out 101 projects to bid, the third-highest of all states.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee collected the state data in advance of a hearing Wednesday on tracking the progress of the bill.

Transportation funding makes up 16 percent of the stimulus money going to state and local governments. The largest chunk is for maintenance and construction of roads and bridges.

Indiana is also getting nearly $52 million for capital projects for mass transit and $6.4 million for fixed guideway programs such as commuter rails. The state reported that it has one transit project under way and one guideway project put out to bid.

Additional Facts