STATEHOUSE — The U.S. News and World Report recently ranked Indiana No. 1 on its list of “Best States,” according to State Rep. Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville).
The ranking was based on several categories including fiscal stability, budget transparency, government digitalization and state integrity.
“Unlike other states, Indiana does not spend more than we take in,” Brown said. “This dedication to fiscal integrity has resulted in economic growth with new investments in the state and record-breaking employment. As chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, I believe Indiana can continue to grow and prosper if we remain dedicated to conservative principles. We need to protect our reserves and keep our spending in check.”
Indiana was ranked first in the nation for budget transparency overall. Brown said Indiana has honestly balanced its budget since 2005, remained fiscally responsible and maintained healthy reserves since House Republicans took over the majority in 2004.
Creating an honestly balanced budget has afforded Indiana fully funded pension liabilities and a AAA credit rating. Brown said Indiana has reduced the number of state employees by 20 percent over 10 years, reduced state-funded debt by 68 percent since 2005 and cut state agency budgets by almost 30 percent since 2009. Legislators have also eliminated more than 70 government boards and commissions and 600 government appointments while maintaining prudent reserves of at least 10 percent of current-year revenues in the past three biennial budgets. Indiana has also continued to fund its priorities, which include education and public safety. Brown said the last three biennial budgets have included the largest investments ever in K-12 education.
House Republicans have maintained a commitment to transparency and digitization in government by live broadcasting each House session online since 2005, and House committee meetings since 2007. In 2011, House Republican members authored legislation to increase budgetary transparency within state and local government. The resulting law required the state auditor to create the Indiana Transparency Portal, www.in.gov/itp, bringing better visibility, openness and accountability to state government. The portal contains information including agency budgets, state contracts, agency performance measures and local government expenditures. Brown said it gives Indiana taxpayers a detailed look at the state’s finances, from top to bottom.
“This national ranking indicates that Indiana is on the right track,” Brown said. “This session, I’m leading the charge of passing yet another balanced state budget, and there is more work being done at the Statehouse to remove obsolete laws from the books and foster more transparency. While it’s good to know where we stand and what works, there is always room to improve.”
