Statehouse Report 20

July 2, 2009

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

Introduction

The Special Session of the General Assembly ended with final passage of a biennial budget by a vote of 34-16 in the Senate and 62-37 in the House. Governor Daniels signed the legislation immediately following the close of the Session. This vote and action followed three days of public hearings last week and several days of intense negotiations among the conferees. Given the state's fiscal condition, we believe that the General Assembly has done its best to meet the needs of higher education. Indiana has fared better than many of our sister states during the national economic recession due to the high level of support for higher education exhibited by the General Assembly.

Conference Committee Process

Following passage of the Senate version of the budget on Tuesday of last week, the conference committee process began in earnest. The conferees held three days of public testimony on Wednesday through Friday, including testimony from the higher education community. President Michael A. McRobbie testified on Thursday and urged conferees to provide flexibility with use of federal stimulus funds in order to help IU keep tuition increases low. He also requested consideration for IU's highest priority capital projects.

Conferees then met throughout the weekend and on Monday, spending hours negotiating resolutions to budget issues. Even with announcement of an agreement on a budget late Monday, additional negotiations were necessary on Tuesday to address last minute issues on the bill.

Enacted Budget

Throughout the regular and special legislative sessions, the General Assembly has demonstrated strong support for higher education and Indiana University. The final enacted budget demonstrated this when considered in light of the state's dire fiscal condition. Certainly the availability of federal stimulus funds dedicated to education was also a critical factor. The following summarizes key higher education provisions in the enacted bill:

• Total state operating appropriations for IU's system were cut by 4.5 percent in FY 2010 and another 1.5 percent in FY 2011, although appropriation cuts vary by campus. Most importantly, we were able to convince legislators to permit federal stimulus funds to replace 100 percent of state operating appropriation cuts. Thus, total funding from state and federal dollars are the same as state appropriations for FY 2009.
• Indiana Innovation Alliance funding totals $10 million per year with $3 million for expansion of IU's Centers for Medical Education, $2 million for Purdue technology programs and $5 million for core research.
• Repair and rehabilitation (R& R) for IU's system is funded at $31 million, including restoration of nearly $13 million that was cut in FY 2009.
• Capital project authorizations (total amount) included are:

Northwest Tamarack Hall, $33.0 million
Indianapolis Neurosciences Building Phase II, $33.0 million
Bloomington Cyber Infrastructure Building Phase II, $35.7 million
Southeast Education and Technology Building, $22.0 million
Bloomington Life Sciences Lab Renovations, $10.0 million
Indianapolis Life Sciences Lab Renovations, $10.0 million

Note: The 2007 passed projects (Neurosciences Phase I and IU South Bend Education Arts Building) both remained authorized.

• SSACI's Frank O'Bannon and 21st Century Scholars grant programs received a modest increase.

Sine Die

For the statehouse team and many other staff at IU, the end of the session marks more than a year's work that began with preparation of our biennial operating and capital requests last spring. Numerous presentations of our request took place late summer throughout the fall leading up to the session and additional testimony required during the session. Finally, both the regular and special session involved six months of intense work.

Many IU staff have provided invaluable assistance to the State Relations team. President McRobbie made numerous presentations; participated in meetings and phone conferences with legislators; and made countless other contacts on behalf of our IU effort. Vice President Neil Theobald and his staff deserve special mention for their assistance on budget issues, and Vice President Bill Stephan and his engagement team did excellent work on our Indiana Innovation Alliance request.

We were also assisted by dozens of bill reviewers during the regular session whose expert feedback on hundreds of bills was invaluable in determining IU's position on legislation. At the risk of not mentioning all of those who helped along the way, advocacy for our University is truly a team effort and we say, "Thanks to all of you."

Finally, we will miss Kathy Smith-Andrew, our Associate Director of State Relations and Vice President for Administration Terry Clapacs, who both retired on the final day of the legislative session. Kathy and Terry's last day fittingly saw a successful budget for IU and higher education as a credit to their years of service. Best wishes to Kathy and Terry during retirement.