Daniels opposes tax breaks for Hoosier Park
Hoosier Park may be flirting with bankruptcy, but the racetrack and casino won’t likely get any help from the governor. During a scheduled visit in Elwood to discuss the state budget on Wednesday, Gov. Mitch Daniels told The Herald Bulletin that he has no intention of bailing out Indiana’s two struggling racinos. Both Hoosier Park and the Indiana Live casino in Shelbyville paid $250 million licensing fees to the state.
Lawmaker pulls bill to audit FSSA privatization
A measure to audit the partial privatization of many data collection and management functions for state welfare programs likely won’t become law during the legislature’s special session. The bill’s author, Rep. Gail Riecken, D-Evansville, said Wednesday that she had withdrawn the bill because lawmakers were busy working to draft a state budget. She said she still would try to have its provisions included in the budget. But Riecken said that with Gov. Mitch Daniels’ opposition to the bill, it’s unlikely she would succeed. In that light, Riecken said she will push to establish a legislative committee to look at what’s happening in the Family and Social Services Administration.
Clear up confusion over CIB plan
A decision by the House Democratic leadership to kill off a rescue package for Indianapolis’ troubled Capital Improvement Board is disappointing. Worse, if not reversed, the move would seriously jeopardize the strength of the city’s convention and tourism industry, the source of tens of thousands of jobs in Central Indiana. Yet, state legislators can be forgiven if they don’t quite know what to make of the confusing signals sent by Mayor Greg Ballard’s administration on this matter.
