Indiana Senate Leaders Make Their Move In Road Funding Debate

INDIANAPOLIS -- Senate fiscal leadership Thursday unveiled its attempt at a compromise in the road funding debate.  

The proposal came one day after House Republicans inserted the entirety of their plan into a Senate bill, ensuring it would be kept alive in the process. The Senate committee dismantled much of the House proposal.  Gone, for instance, says committee chair Luke Kenley, are the House Republicans’ two tax increases.

“A one-time indexing on the gas tax and a reliance on another dwindling resource, the cigarette tax…," Kenley said. "I just couldn’t get comfortable with that.”

The Senate’s plan does keep a House Republican provision that increases local tax options for road funding.  It also inserts the Senate’s one-time injection of more than $400 million for local roads. 

But Democratic Sen. Karen Tallian points out what isn’t in the proposal.

“We need a long term solution for local road funding, and we need it right now,” Tallian said.

The committee advanced the proposal to the full Senate.