Daniels says special session worthwhile

INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Mitch Daniels says taxpayers came out ahead in the special legislative session that ended Tuesday.

Daniels said Wednesday that the two-year, $27.8 billion budget bill was a product of legislative compromise that will leave Indiana in sound fiscal shape.

He said the budget increased overall spending for public schools at a time when many states are cutting education funding. He also said the plan protects the state’s reserves and should prevent the need for a tax increase during the next two years.

Democratic House Speaker Patrick Bauer said he wished more money had been available for education but that Democrats got as much as they could for public schools.