Indiana Should Get A Raise in Revenue.

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Indiana Should Get A Raise in Revenue
by Gail Riecken CCO Statehouse Editor
Senate Bill 552, the bill that will revolutionize gaming was heard this past week. The bill authorizes sports gaming at riverboats, casinos, a Vigo County casino and satellite facilities. The bill also allows the holder of the license in Gary to change locations, a controversy that has brewed trouble for years. https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2019/bills/senate/552
The reason is that moving the gaming boat may hurt East Chicago gaming in favor of Gary. However, in true sincerity, Mayor Karen Wilson-Freeman, Gary, has promised she will do everything she can not to hurt “ another community to further the income of her own”.  SB 552 has been reassigned to the Committee on Appropriations. This is a positive sign. In this Committee members will debate the impact on State revenue.
House Bill 1003, is a bill that targets School corporation expenditures, allowing a transfer of up to 15%of its education fund to its operations fund.     https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2019/bills/house/1003Teacher pay came up in a proposed amendment on second reading. The amendment would have made $40,000 the base salary in the State, but, the amendment failed.
If you read the IndyStar article linked here, it is pretty revealing about where leadership in the legislature really stands. In the discussion, Rep Todd Huston, second in command on Ways and Means, argued the State “shouldn’t go as far as to set a base salary.”
The bill passed third reading and is moving on to the Senate.