Moving Indiana forward
This session, House Republicans set out with a legislative priority focused on funding Indiana’s infrastructure needs. As session came to a close this week, lawmakers worked out a compromise that will address our immediate road funding needs while ensuring legislators come back next year to discuss a more comprehensive, long-term plan.
House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1001 directs $186 million upfront to a local road and bridge matching grant account. The bill also redirects 1.5 cents of the 7 cents of sales tax on gasoline to the matching account as a source of ongoing funding and codifies the current equivalent of one cent already being dedicated to road funding. About $328 million would go toward state road and bridge preservation and maintenance over the next two years.
The bill also creates a task force, which will conduct a thorough study this summer into state and local road funding needs and options.
To complement this plan, lawmakers supported a proposal to immediately provide up to $430 million to local governments for road and bridge improvements across the state. Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 67 requires counties, cities and towns direct a minimum of 75 percent of the $505 million in local option income tax reserves currently held by the state toward local road and bridge needs or to their rainy day fund. The remaining 25 percent could be used at the localities’ discretion. This enrolled act will provide immediate resources for infrastructure improvements. This is a robust investment in our infrastructure.
These enrolled acts now move to the governor’s desk where he’s expected to sign them into law.
In the coming weeks, I will work to provide updates on other pieces of legislation the General Assembly supported in the 2016 session. If you have any questions or input, please contact me at (317) 234-3827 or h67@iga.in.gov.
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Rep. Frye (R-Greensburg) represents Ohio and Switzerland counties, as well as portions of Ripley, Decatur, Jennings, Jefferson and Dearborn counties
