I authored House Bill (HB) 1028 which would enable school corporations to continue to use money from their capital project fund (CPF) for insurance and utility expenses. Every two years, when the biennial budget is crafted, this bill is presented, and I was proud to author it again this year.
Currently, schools are able to use their CPF to pay the cost of insurance and utilities through Dec. 31, 2015. This legislation made it so schools could permanently use these funds instead of extending the law every two years. If schools didn’t have the ability to use their CPF for these expenses, they would be paying these costs from their general fund. These costs are nearly $200 million, across the state, every year.
Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation’s utility costs alone would create a substantial deficit in their general fund. This one of the reasons why creating legislation that would allow the process of making CPF usage permanent is better for our school corporations.
The best part of being a state representative is knowing that the bills I’m working on can make an impact in Indiana and our communities. I am delighted to have authored this legislation that  will allow schools to continue to use their CPF dollars to pay for these statewide costs.
The bill passed with a vote of 96 – 0 out of the House and now moves onto the Senate for further discussion.
