Committee Erases Funding From Indiana Grown Bill

An amendment to strip a $5 million appropriation establishing the Indiana Grown Initiative passed the House Ways and Means Committee on Monday.

House Bill 1039, authored by Rep. Matthew Lehman, R- Berne, had previously passed the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee before it went to Ways and Mean for further consideration.

During Monday’s committee meeting, discussion focused on the amount of funds available to distribute to this initiative, which would take $5 million from the state’s main checking account.

Ways & Means Chairman Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, said he did not feel more funding could be allocated from the state for the new commission.

After a short discussion, the committee passed the amendment to strip the money out of the bill. It now moves to the full House for consideration.

Jacob Rund is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College Journalism Students.