During the next several months, I will serve on numerous committees which will study important issues.
State Budget Committee: The next legislative session requires the creation of a new two-year budget. This fall, state agencies will make presentations to the State Budget Committee discussing how the prior budget was spent, what the agency hopes to accomplish in the future, and their financial needs for the next two years. We will question each agency about cuts that were made from the last budget and how those cuts have affected their performance.
Environmental Quality Service Committee: Hearings will be held to prepare legislation on energy, the environment, and issues affecting the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Pension Management Oversight Committee: Hearings will be held on the status of the Public Employees Retirement Fund and Teachers Retirement Fund pension assets and investments.
Unemployment Insurance Oversight Committee: This committee will explore issues and solutions regarding Indiana's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. This fund is in deficit, and the state continues to borrow from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits to Hoosiers.
Also on the agenda for study this year is a review of how the state funds K-12 schools. Spending on K-12 education accounts for over half of the Indiana state budget expenditures. Like most other state services, Indiana schools saw considerable funding cuts in 2010. This year, funding has been reduced by 4.5% from the original legislative appropriation in the 2009 - 2011 budget.
A legislative committee is now reviewing how the state's funding distribution can provide each student with a fair share of the available funds in order to obtain a quality education and prepare students for college.