IN Senator Stacey Donato voted last week in favor of House Bill 1007, which would eliminate almost $300 million in state debt and save Hoosier taxpayers $135 million in the long run by avoiding future interest payments.
HB 1007 uses money from Indiana’s reserve funds to pay cash for six construction projects at Indiana colleges. All six of these projects were approved in the 2019 state budget, but now Indiana can pay the costs up front instead of issuing debt to pay for them.
Senator Donato said, “The dollars we are using to eliminate debt in HB 1007 came from a one-time windfall due to federal tax changes, so it’s important to use the money for one-time expenses. If we were to use one-time money for recurring commitments, such as education or public safety funding, we would run the risk of making a promise we couldn’t keep in the future.”
The senator continued, “Indiana’s strong financial leadership has positioned us to accomplish many good things, like making record investments in schools and road improvements while continuing to pay down the state’s debt. In fact, the 2019 state budget increased education funding by $763 million over two years. When the legislature adopts a new budget in 2021, HB 1007 will have put us in an even stronger position for the years to come.”
The bill has passed both the Senate and House and is ready to be signed into law by Governor Holcomb.
