Gov. Pence vows to tackle job creation, impose lower taxes at his 1st State of the State address

Gov. Mike Pence has a favorite teacher, and it’s his wife, Karen Pence.

Pence admitted his favoritism Tuesday night during his first State of the State address, where the importance of education leapt to the forefront of his 30-minute rhetorical game plan.

With the Indiana House of Representatives packed to the brim with legislatures, special guests and onlookers, the newly inaugurated governor spoke of working “boldly” to tackle issues of job creation, lower taxes, workplace preparedness and impoverished children.

“I come before you to proclaim that the state of our state is strong and growing stronger because we have good government and because we serve a great people,” he said. “If we will remain bold, confident and optimistic, I am positive we can lead our state from good to great.”

Despite the blustery cold weather outside, Indiana legislators were warm and chatty inside congressional chambers as Pence began his address by patting his colleagues on the back for what he considered a job well done.

“Hoosiers owe a debt of gratitude to all the leaders gathered in this room,” he said. “Because of your service in the recent past, our state has become the fiscal envy of the nation and a model from how good government works.”

He touted Indiana’s balanced budget and AAA bond rating, drawing a stifled chuckle from the crowd when he pointed out that Indiana rated higher than even the federal government.

But the complimentary tone transitioned into a sobering one when Pence began to outline the roadmap for Indiana that he so often spoke of on his campaign trail last fall.
“We have to do better,” he said. “And doing better starts with the right priorities. It starts by adopting a road map that says “yes” to our future and believes in the unlimited potential of our people.”

For Pence, “making job creation job one” is at the top of his priority list.

He emphasized that because of Indiana’s fiscal responsibility in year’s past, the state’s budget now has the flexibility to “fund our priorities,” including increasing education funding, cutting income taxes by 10 percent across the board, investing nearly $347 million infrastructure projects and fully funding teacher pensions for the next two years.

He continued, speaking on the importance of prioritizing our veterans’ well-being by investing more money in job training and certifying Veteran Service Officers and procuring 3 percent of state contracts from veteran-owned businesses.

“Post-9/11 Hoosier veterans have an unemployment rate higher than the national average,” Pence said. “We have to do better. We owe these heroes nothing less.”
Anticipating pushback from his partisan opponents, Pence reiterated his belief that Indiana can both maintain a balanced budget and fund its priorities.

“Now, I know there are some who say we have to choose between letting the people of Indiana keep more of their hard-earned dollars and meeting the state’s priorities,” he said. “As our budget clearly shows, we can do both.“

But Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, isn’t so sure the Republican party’s priorities are on par with his democratic constituents. Pierce said his biggest takeaway from the governor’s address was the proposal that income taxes can be cut and government aided programs will not suffer as a result.

Pierce’s main concern: Pence’s proposed education funding increase — 1.5 percent — is much less than the 3.5 percent increase proposed by Commission on Higher Education Commissioner Teresa Lubbers in her State of Higher Education address Jan. 9.

IU’s campus makes up Pierce’s district, so he said it’s obvious he is an advocate for more affordable higher education.

“Students don’t have to spend a lot of time cheering me on,” he said.
However, he said he recommended that students be in touch with both their own legislatures and their parents’ legislatures if education reform is something they hold dear.

After the State of the State address, Pierce said he looks forward to working together in this legislative session, a concept Pence drove home toward the end of his speech.
“Voters sent a pretty clear message that they want bipartisan representation, not gridlock,” Pierce said.

House Democratic minority leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said bipartisan efforts are his top priority.

“Agreeing on the facts is sometimes the first step in finding a consensus,” Pelath said after the address.

He said Democrats and Republicans may disagree on solutions for the problems, but acknowledging and identifying them is a productive first step.

“One thing we all identify as a problem is that we have enough jobs in Indiana, we just don’t have enough applicants with the right skills to fill those positions,” Pelath said. “We can’t solve the unemployment problem, but we can cut into it.”

Even with a Republican supermajority in the Indiana legislature, Pierce and Pelath didn’t seem phased by a potentially daunting partisan struggle.

“Here in Indiana we at least want to accomplish the things we broadly agree on, and that’s where, hopefully, we can set an example,” Pelath said.