Fellow Republicans,

It took 175 days, a special session, numerous newspaper editorials, and the threat of a government shutdown, but Speaker Pat Bauer has finally freed his fellow Democrats and allowed them to vote on a state budget.  After finally passing both the Democrat-controlled House and the Republican-led Senate, the result is a responsible budget that protects taxpayers.

You may remember that prior to the start of the special session, Governor Daniels gave a televised statewide address in which he outlined five simple conditions he needed met in order to sign a budget: No tax increases; at least $1 billion left in state reserves; that legislators cut $1 for every $1 they spent beyond his proposed budget; that one time funds be spent for one time purposes; and that no gimmicks were used.

After weeks of grandstanding and foot dragging, House Democrats have finally joined with legislative Republicans to ensure those conditions were met.

This budget is good for Hoosiers for a variety of other reasons. Foremost, when you look around the country, you’ll see most states are looking at tax increases or massive cuts, including education. Indiana is doing neither, and that’s a credit to our governor and our Republican legislators.  In fact, not only are we increasing education funding, but the governor’s ‘education trigger’ has been preserved to drive more money to our schools if revenues are better than projected.

The budget also addresses many other issues that are important to Hoosier families, especially as far as the education of our children is concerned.  For instance, there are no caps on the growth of charter schools; money is provided for a scholarship tax credit that could help many low-income families send their children to non-public schools; and for the first time ever, Indiana is exploring the possibility of online schools that extend learning beyond the traditional walls of the classroom. These are the kinds of reforms that will aid Dr. Tony Bennett and his work on behalf of Hoosier kids.

None of this would have been possible without you.  We know that legislators heard your phone calls, read your letters to the editor, and saw your support for the Republicans’ responsible budget.  Thanks for all that you do, and for supporting our party.

Sincerely,

Murray Clark
Chairman
Indiana Republican Party