Indiana’s 2025 legislature will convene for a long session because this is a budget year. With a new governor’s agenda needing to be resolved to state legislators’, it’s going to be a busy session. It will worth following diverse sources such as the Indiana Capitol Chronicle, the IndyStar, Indiana Week in Review, and your local paper.
Here’s what you should know about the agenda and the budget.
At the LWVMC-sponsored legislative breakfast on Dec. 14, State Senators Brian Buchanan (R-7) and Spencer Deery (R-23) and State Representatives Matt Commons (R-13), Jeff Thompson (R-28) and Beau Baird (R-44) provided a breakdown of where tax dollars are spent.
Of the $44.6 billion in the fiscal year 2024-25 budget, the bulk (47%) goes to educating K-12 children. Medicaid has climbed from about 10% to 18% in recent years. Other allocations include higher education (10%), health and human services (8%), general government (7%), corrections (4%), capital (4%) and public safety (2%).
According to the panelists, Medicaid is high on the agenda, since the number of recipients has risen by about 30% in the last four to five years, followed by property tax reform, water policy, economic development reform, rural teacher shortages and early childhood literacy education, utility rates, the nonprofit security grants program and animal health.
Two years ago, lawmakers from all 92 counties signed on to a major health initiative, “which started with $75 million and then rose to $150 million in fiscal year 2025.” Governor-elect Mike Braun is advocating for aggressive measures to lower health care costs, though previous transparency efforts have stalled, and more drastic action faces uncertain support. Lawmakers will evaluate ongoing investments in public health, including whether to adjust the $150 million allocation for county initiatives. The question will be whether Indiana continues to serve its most at-risk and takes public sentiment about healthcare coverage seriously.
Regarding property taxes, most Hoosiers are more concerned with the 7% sales tax than property taxes, according to results from the annual Hoosier Survey conducted by Ball State’s Bowen Center for Public Affairs.
As James Briggs writes in the IndyStar, “30.7% of adults responding to the survey said Indiana’s property taxes are already either fair or very fair; another 25% said they’re neither fair nor unfair. Just 38.9% perceive them as either unfair or very unfair. Interestingly, Hoosiers have stronger feelings about the state’s sales tax. On that issue, 48.3% of respondents said Indiana’s 7% tax is either unfair or very unfair.” Briggs notes that property tax assessments rose with housing prices after 2020 and points out that reductions in property tax revenue will particularly reduce local government budgets.
Nevertheless, the panelists said there’s some desire to reform the property taxation structure so that rate increases mean people’s property taxes go up accordingly and, similarly, rate decreases mean people’s property taxes go down.
Locally, County Administrator Tom Klein asked the legislators to continue support and funding for roads, including READI grants and Community Crossings grants.
In the wake of water transfers from Tippecanoe County to Boone County, water policy is a priority, including concerns about groundwater data monitoring, protection of water quality without hindering economic development, and the impact of upstream Wabash River use on downstream rural areas. Les Zimmerman, former supervisor at Vermillion County’s Soil and Conservation District, encouraged the legislators to keep an eye on conservation, and water quality as well as quantity.
The controversy surrounding water in the LEAP district is one degree separated from added scrutiny on economic development, both per se and regulatory reform to improve accountability and transparency within Indiana Economic Development Corporation. As Indiana Capital Chronicle’s Niki Kelly notes, the money the legislature gave to the IEDC included extras like $500 million for a deal-closing fund, another $500 million for regional development grants and $150 million for land acquisition. “But there has been pushback against IEDC’s focus on large corporations and wild spending on the Boone County innovation park, which still has only one tenant,” Kelly wrote.
According to the panelists, education agenda items include addressing rural teacher shortages and early childhood literacy education, but they will also need to address Braun’s intent to make vouchers universal. Already accessible to 95% of Hoosier families, universal vouchers are likely to see unpredictable increases. The program is now estimated to cost $600 million in fiscal year 2025 and is predicted to climb.
In terms of higher education, Chip Timmons and Scott Feller from Wabash College raised concern about recently announced cuts to Frank O’Bannon financial aid grants and urged that legislators act to ensure that current students, including Wabash students from 33 households in Montgomery County, who receive these grants be shielded.
Rising utility costs tied to the transition from coal to renewables are under scrutiny, with legislative and regulatory interventions expected to slow or block these changes. Kelly wrote that Republicans believe that moving away from coal to renewables is the cause of the spike. With the pressure to move towards cleaner sources of energy, the question will be if legislators respond and how they handle Braun’s hint at nuclear power.
The panelists also mentioned nonprofit security grants program and animal health. Other active bills and legislation showing up in representative surveys include legalization of cannabis, infrastructure and childcare. The state’s road funding plan, hindered by inflation and improved fuel efficiency, will receive attention following recommendations from a study on funding needs. With costs exceeding in-state college tuition and staff turnover high, lawmakers will revisit childcare reforms, potentially considering tax subsidies long championed by Democrats.
As Indiana’s economy slows, this legislative session promises to be a challenging balancing act between addressing immediate needs and maintaining fiscal prudence.
The League of Women Voters, a non-partisan, multi-issue organization encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase public understanding of major policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy. All men and women are invited to join the LWV where hands-on work to safeguard democracy leads to civic improvement. For information, visit the website www.lwvmontcoin.org or the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, IN Facebook page.
