The Governor had to update his budget proposal this week as a result of the new forecast numbers that came out in February, which reduced the projected surplus by $500 million.
The Governor kept IN, his proposed gas tax increase that he's been
promoting on a
tour around the state. Higher Ed got an additional $25 million in the new proposal and the K12 budget increases from his initial budget remained intact.
To cover the gap, the Governor proposes: capturing $142 million that was unspent from the reinsurance account; reducing spending by $131 million in other agency spending initiatives; capturing $65 million from new changes on business taxes; and lastly, reducing the amount set aside in the surplus, from $789 million to $562 million.
The GOP leadership is not likely to be receptive to these changes, especially since the Governor kept his gas tax proposal and has now added additional business taxes.