Indiana Senate likely to vote on final budget solution today

The Indiana State Senate will reconvene today to debate and likely vote on amendments to House Bill 1001, the now significantly altered bill passed by the House earlier in this summer's special session. \nThe Senate met briefly on Tuesday, when a vote had been expected. Senate President Pro Tempore Bob Garner addressed the Senate, and announced that continued dialogue and compromise would be necessary before the Senate could vote on proposed solutions to the state's budget and property tax problems. \n"We're trying to make sure that we can be on the same page of the same book, and that that book is from the same library," Garner said.\nThe Republican-controlled Senate hopes to devise a bill that will be acceptable to the majority Democrat House. The House will meet on Friday to consider accepting the bill passed by the Senate, which would put an end to the special session. The cause for Tuesday's postponement was a belief that the bill was not yet acceptable to democratic lawmakers. \n"The bill as it's currently written does not produce sufficient revenue to offset cuts to important state needs like higher education," said Rep. Mark Kruzan, D-Bloomington. "But there are negotiations underway to make it a better bill."\nRepublicans and Democrats remain divided as to what taxes should be increased to offset court-ordered property tax increases, and how the state should cope with its $1 billion budget deficit. The Senate bill includes an income tax increase, but this is a non-starter with the majority of Senate Democrats. \nPublicly, Republicans have pointed to overspending as a contributor to the deficit, and are confident in their plan.\n"The problem is not that the state is taxing too little," Republican State Chairman Jim Kittle Jr. said in a press release. "The problem is the state is spending too much."\nDemocrats argue that the Senate additions to the bill will be unfair to some taxpayers. \n"The Republican plan dramatically shifts the tax burden away from big business and onto homeowners," Kruzan said.\nIt remains to be seen what the outcome will be of the special session, which will by law have to end before midnight on Sunday. Both sides hope that a compromise can be reached before then. If not, the governor will undoubtedly call for another special session this summer to address Indiana's continuing fiscal difficulties. \n"The fact that the Senate hasn't passed the bill, yet, isn't necessarily a bad sign," Kruzan said. "The goal seems to be to produce a compromise measure that everyone can support before advancing any legislation."\n"I'm cautiously optimistic, but if we don't have an agreement by the weekend, there's no doubt the governor will call another special session"