the Indiana General Assembly kicked off it's twenty twenty three legislative session on Monday.

This year's long session runs through late April with the overarching goal of passing the state's biennial spending plan during Tuesday's State of the State address, Governor Eric Holcomb highlighted his budget priorities to the legislature Tuesday through Thursday saw the roll out of Republican and Democratic legislative priorities in the Indiana House and Senate and the end of the first work week sees the filing deadline for all perspective bills for consideration.

>> So tonight on prime time leaders from the Indiana House are here in this house with their perspective on the session's first official work week on bye and good evening conversations.

And with us this evening is Seventy Ninth District Republican State Representative and House Majority Floor Leader Matt Laman and 80th district Democratic State Representative and House Democratic leader Phil Gia CUENTA.

And as always we invite you to join us with your comments and your questions.

You can just call the number you see right there on the screen as we widen out and welcome both gentlemen happy New Year to Matt Liebman.

Phil Jacqueline, happy New Year to you.

Bruce , good to have you guys here also sort of a tradition on the week of the governor's state of the state to have the commentary and to kind of give us a positioning for the road ahead.

>> The whole week had something to it.

They all do.

But this one just seemed like it was an even faster week among the fast weeks between now and the beginning of the second quarter.

>> Yeah, I mean the week seemed to be a little bit crammed in and for one thing we started later.

We normally start what is the first Tuesday after the first Monday whatever that combination is.

But even then we have come in like on that Thursday or Friday or whether Thursday of that first week we didn't come back to the 9th.

So we kind of hit the ground running with the state of the state being in that window of time.

The state the judiciary, the filing deadline as you mentioned.

So there's a lot of activity going on, not a lot of floor activity but just a lot of activity and it's just kind of getting everybody kind of getting their sea legs back under him and I think I think you'll see the next week this next two weeks probably be a little more a little more active in what we see now bills moving etc.

except I think there's one on the calendar already that was that had met but you know, it'll it'll really start to I think speed up.

>> So you're you're going for first gear to overdrive then.

>> What actually started with my speech on Monday that's not that you forgot already and I say we start on Tuesday.

>> I started on Tuesday.

>> Yeah.

So it I think really because of the way the calendar played out this year we were able to give ourselves a few extra days here which is always kind of nice when you're coming off the holidays and can get right into instead of getting right into it give us a little time to get organized and get going and then but yeah, I started off on Monday and off with some priorities for the House Democrats and the governor gave his state of the state on on Tuesday.

The cameras weren't really there for me though on Monday they say that for the governor and the live address.

>> So but but yeah, we'll we'll get going to see the bill filing deadline was yesterday and and so yeah.

So and the speaker is signing those bills to committee and committees and like I said it was a little interesting just because I think with not having met last week even legislators in general are probably a little bit behind because normally they'd be working committee all of us working committee chairs to try and get their their bills heard and not to belabor it but a lot this is probably just the way the calendar fell, I assume I mean they said it on a Wednesday or Thursday.

>> It would just really didn't make sense and doesn't put us behind at all.

No, I think we're in a good place so and by the way, during the course of the program we will be providing an introduction to if you don't already know but a sense of not only the governor's priorities but here in the House Republican caucus Democratic caucus.

We'll talk about those priorities.

The cameras were in fact plugged in, turned on as I recall, delivered his next to the last state of the state address or so.

And let's start with reaction to his comments.

He rolled out the budget last week, pulled points in for his address.

>> What were your takeaways?

Yeah, I think the governor did a good job and he's he's he's really laid out I think the priorities that his administration has had for some time and I think our response is going to be we're going to look at all this.

I will say I think there was it was a pretty aggressive spend you might say.

And I think that I do like that even though with that aggressive overspend he did build in a structural surplus.

It's just a matter of us looking now and saying where do we want our priorities to lie at the same time, you know, we like to look at the priority also of allowing Hoosiers to keep more of their own money.

>> So you know what he didn't mention about tax cuts and so we'll we'll have that discussion.

But I think his were his priorities I think are really big on economic development.

You talked about education and he talked about safety.

So I think a lot of our partizan line up is just going to be how do we get there and maintain our balanced budget, our surplus and letting people keep as much of their hard earned money as we can?

>> Well, some of the things I talked about on Monday he echoed those as well on Tuesday and you know, one of those things being health care.

You know, he put together a commission that's been meeting for several months and they made their recommendations at the end I think came out that midsummer and early fall and and so he's endorsing their their plan which is a cost of around two hundred and some odd million dollars to 30 to 40 somewhere in there and when you look at where Indiana ranks nationally in health care and those metrics that we talk about so often we don't we aren't doing very well.

And I you know, sometimes you look at the state of the state speeches and you can get up there for 25, 30 minutes and talk about other good things or you can do both you can talk about the good things we've have done well.

You can talk about the things we need to improve.

Everyone needs to improve in some areas and I was happy to see him talk about that mentioned some other things with regards to pre-K education and you know, while we have a pre-K program in place in 92 counties, I don't feel like it's necessarily structurally perfect.

There's some areas still in parts of the state and rural areas where pre-K is hard to access.

So those are a couple of things.

And then finally one thing that I know I mentioned in his his press conference last week and then again his state has to do with textbook and the tech we call textbook tax so that the fees for textbooks and and that would also include software as well because I know there's some students aren't using textbooks anymore.

They they access all their their things that they're going to use with regards to their classes online and so so that would include software would be part of that.

So I was happy to see that it's something that I know House Democrats been talking about for a long time.

>> Yeah.

When you look at the the large picture of it all and see forty three billion and you think that's a big number about two years ago it was thirty seven billion and that was a big number but these are big tasks he talks about it and race card parlance of coming out of turn four and putting his foot on the gas and putting the gas pedal down that makes those in the passenger seat get a lot of wind through there.

>> And I think we're we're somewhere in the passenger seat at times.

But I think, you know, still said there were some things in the governor's speech.

I think universally we can probably see are positive but there's a few things that we have our concerns with as well.

You know, it is a budget year and that is always a key to our budget is you know, are we are we doing what we're bound by constitution to do which is to have a balanced budget but a truly balanced budget not a you know, we'll pay later when we get into the next cycle.

So I think structurally like I said, even with the spending is there you know, we are on board you we talked about the ready grant program.

You know, you roll these things out and you're waiting to see what kind of result you get.

I think our five hundred million last time and turned into a six billion dollar plus investment so we'll do it again.

I mean we'll keep we'll keep incentivizing that you I don't tell me where we don't have we don't have what's going to draw people to Indiana from a natural standpoint don't have mountains ski resorts we don't have beaches.

Well we have to create and I think we've done a pretty good job the last several years is we have to create a place that I can come and I can earn a good living raise my family in a good environment and then have the ability to go to those places.

And I think, you know, we've talked about the airport in the past, you know, making sure we can get make sure we keep our airports strong and flights and out of Minneapolis.

>> So I think we've done some things that are drawing people we did grow I mean our population grows.

I think you have reasons for people to come to Indiana.

>> A lot of that is is it going to be a great place to to thrive more than just live and raise your family but to thrive?

And I think we can sit at that table and I think a lot of things are working on we'll be able to get there on that.

>> You hear in the echoes of his remarks references to things like we have economic development, we have companies relocating where the where the workers to fill the jobs available are workforce development, workforce retention and then coupled with that the notion of affordable housing seems to be a part of that conversation.

>> Phil, let me start with you .

>> Your take on how all these ingredients equal that kind of economy.

The let's talk.

Yeah, well and that's right.

We've been talking about quality of life quality place, things like that.

What what what are we going to do to be able to attract workers to the state and retain the ones that we have attract businesses and when we talk about investing in education and those sorts of things, I think young people are looking you know, I want to raise my kids here in Indiana.

I want to make sure they have good schools.

I send my kids to good schools .

You mentioned know, affordable housing.

You know, I'm kind of a health care system again, talk about that talk about, you know, what can we do to maybe incentivize businesses potentially to to provide day care, things like that where we're trying to again get folks into the into the workforce that struggling to pay for at home for daycare and those type of needs which have become quite expensive.

So there's all kinds of things I think that we can do together to make quality place quality really make it as best we can here in the state of Indiana because to that point we may not have all the some of the other surrounding that maybe other states have.

But but I think we can make a really great environment for for folks who want to be here in Indiana and so that infrastructure was touched on the double tracking I believe it is for railroad in the north northwest corner a sixty nine expansion.

The completion of that done and grab your bicycle for a 62 mile Monan south bike trail if you're so inclined and you know to bring that more local you mentioned he actually does inform you that the rails to trails program which we have that down in Adams County, the old railroad track.

So I mean we're looking at this as if we're going to expand that kind of you know, let's look at all the places because it goes to the quality of place people are looking for a place they can come and I can relax.

>> I can get some outdoor time.

I can do those things but in a bigger system to the housing in the workforce issue, you know, I have entities will come they'll say, you know, we really can't hire nurses.

We're having nurses work and we do in Indiana we have a real serious nursing shortage.

>> But then you talk to your manufacturing we have a shortage and you have to meet your to to the to the trades.

>> We have a shortage.

You know, part of it is is you know, are we are we getting people to come here?

>> But also we probably to look at too is is you know we have people who for whatever reason have found themselves in the place maybe some government assistance and then as they start to come off of that it's all or nothing.

We don't transition people into the workforce so they don't take some of those jobs.

>> And so I think we've got to really look at how do we not just treat bring new people in but how do we streamline people who who maybe want to be in the workforce but can't see that that path there.

So one of our priorities is, you know, both in school and in the general sector is to create more of a workforce flow education wise.

I mean and you know, we are people say I can't I got kids coming out of high school that I'm literally not they're not trained to do just a simple task.

So you know, are we going to emphasize more workforce training schools?

And so I think, you know, one of our priorities is we're really going to beef up the workforce with a lot of it being training and a lot of being availability and a lot of it being you know, looking again at how do we get the people who who want to be in but feel there's a hurdle somewhere in that path and we need to look at that and to that point it it ties in with with the concept on I believe there is certainly across the board concern but there was particular emphasis from the governor which resonates with the Democrat position of teacher salary and teacher pay and so on.

>> The speaker says can we reinforce high school in that sense of trying to match student needs with employer needs?

What I'm wondering is let's start with you.

Can you reinvest as well as reinvent and can you do both simultaneously with that eight percent the governor seeking in education and a lot of it being pointed hopefully toward raising average teacher salaries?

>> Yeah, I think I use the term invest reinvest and I'm glad that that's been a priority of the governors in the last couple of year.

Again, I think he had another commission that he assembled two , three or four years ago to kind of see, you know, where where does Indiana stand with regards to teacher salaries?

>> Where do we need to be because we do know that young college students are not getting into the profession like they used to.

Teachers are leaving the profession based on not just salary but some of the other things that I think the General Assembly has done with regards to requirements and some things like that that I don't necessarily not necessarily agree upon.

But but that doesn't mean that you can't always look to sort of retool how things are done.

You know, I know you have to do that.

Every profession does and and so we'll see how that goes kind of to maps point there that he's bringing up.

So but look, anything that we can do to make sure that public education is fully funded, teachers are well paid and so that we can get it.

And I think his goal of getting up to us to that level that the governor wants is is a good goal to achieve.

And if we we can do that with the governor's speech then still settling in in such round, US House Republicans brought forth their legislative priorities for the session.

>> Speak to a couple that or to all of that.

Yeah, I mean look at as as you know and we set our agenda which is kind of top tier Bill's top ten bills are normally what we refer to as our agenda bills.

Number one is that balanced budget and that structurally balanced budget and there's going to be a lot of the pieces that flow through that we're talking about.

One of our priorities is the workforce development and there's going to be some funding issues to that.

>> We have we have a mental health issue in the state of Indiana and a lot of those people that are right now needing the mental health help are in our county jails where they should not be so reprehensible, has a bill I think is going to be a good bill on getting those people out of the jails and into the needs.

We have energy issues so we have a bill dealing with energy and you know, because you talk to businesses and they'll say, you know, we we think it's a good environment we're in now regulatory even our tax structure a little bit.

But energy costs are hurting us so we've got to look at energy and so that's one of our priorities.

And in health care is a big driver in a lot of this.

As you know, we said we're the sixth highest in the nation when it comes to health care costs.

We have some of the best providers of health care in Indiana up here in northeast Indiana we have some of the best carriers but we're still paying a lot of money.

So I mean to the end of the end of the day it's that individual paying that premium is our business paying that premium they have to drive our decisions and we've got to do something to try to drive that down and that's you know, some of those prescription drugs, some of that other things.

But you know, we've said we've got several bills aside to service.

I mean some narrow things but they're all geared towards one thing that is to drive down health care costs.

>> So that's kind of highlighting the priorities the hospital costs.

>> A debate will be very interesting.

My phone's already ringing when you came out with those two bills yesterday, those announcements yesterday so we'll just have to see where that goes.

I don't think anyone ever wants to substitute costs for good care and that's going to be kind of you know, the balance there.

How do you do that and so Will it'll be very interesting to me just I'm going to follow that very closely when those bills hit the health committee, I know your caucus had raised the concern about a surplus of educators going forward among some things that you're wanting to keep an eye on a surplus to reinvest in India's schools to curb historic educators shortage.

Yeah, exactly right.

Yeah, that's that's what I was talking about a little bit earlier that unfortunately that's what you know, the trends that we've seen and you know, I just hope again and I again I was pleased that the governor recognized that in his speech last week this past Tuesday.

And I think again it's kind of came from a recommendation from the commission that he had put put forth.

So and then you know, with regards to any talk of , you know, tax cuts, I think just we always have to kind of decide it's a balance, you know, whether it's going to be lot potential of lost revenue obviously.

And then if you're going to tax cut, what programs are you going to cut instead so that that again it can be kind of a tricky balance here.

>> Yeah.

And speaking of it's a good segue way to invite Mary to join us in our program.

>> Mary, go ahead with your question please.

>> We're not hearing Mary.

>> We do have the essence of her question which is indeed if you're looking at tax cuts, where do you believe focus points would be if you're interested in our economy?

Oh, there you are.

Yes, hi.

You you ask a question.

>> Go ahead please.

Thank you.

I was hoping for a follow up after this also but knowing there's this big pot of extra money in the surplus of our budgeting, do either of you support tax cuts and where would you focus them?

>> And then a follow up please.

Sure.

Well, Paul, let's start with you.

Yeah, I mean I've always said I support tax cuts and Republicans have cut taxes in the last decade and I think if you're talking about where we're going to cut taxes, it's we're at a point now where you really focus in on where the right place to cut because we've cut business, we've cut personal, we've cut inventory, we've cut a lot of that stuff.

I think Senator Coleman has a bill that starts a commission to look at you know, should Indiana maybe possibly even eliminate our income tax like a Tennessee other places?

And I said I can support that commission but I said I mean my daughter lives in Tennessee.

I go down there, they don't have an income tax but they have almost a 10 percent sales tax.

So there is an offset somewhere.

So I think we got to be very careful that when we cut it when you cut taxes it's not a one time deal you get a deal that so we have to cut the budgets too and say OK, how can these long term sustain?

But I think there's some places yet and so I think it's a question Mary directly I don't I don't think there's one tax that we're maybe looking at saying this is where we would cut and there's a few places you could you could trim a little bit.

>> Phil, I mentioned earlier that the textbook tax uh the one that we've been again talking about for a long time.

So if we were going to take a look at anything you know, the elimination textbook, these would be I think a pretty good place to start.

>> Just keep in mind too though that when we talk about improving our quality of life, quality of place, the things that we want to do to be able to track employers here to the state, attract workers, retain workers here that's going to take at cost money.

I mean it's going to cost money to pay teachers.

It's going to cost money to do the necessary things that we want to do to make Indiana a livable place that we want it to be.

And and so again, it's a balance between if we can get all those metrics up to where we want to be with with the investments that we want to make and there's room to cut taxes as well, I'm sure we'd all be inclined to do so.

>> And Larry, are you still with us?

Yes, I am.

OK, go ahead with your follow up please.

Thank you.

I'd like to put on these gentlemen's plates the idea of carving out the sales tax on women's menstrual needs because the just kind of like we do with food groceries so there's no sales tax added because it is a necessity for women that you guys don't understand and there's so many single women struggling to get by in this country and this state that that would actually be a nicely targeted tax cut that would make a big difference seven percent tax.

And I also think we should do that maybe for home heating because so many people are struggling to pay home heating and stay warm.

I'm sure nobody in our state house has experienced that for a few generations but there are a lot of citizens of our state who are cold and hungry and I really think you need to target things.

Phil, I like your idea.

I know that would be targeted to a broad sector but the income tax is the most regressive tax break you could possibly consider will take that under advice for the general and I'm keeping an eye on the clock but I don't want to lose the scope of your comments.

Mary, thank you very much.

>> Let me ask the gentleman if they have a follow up that we felt we actually had an amendment.

I think last year or we've done that in the past with regards to hygiene products, things like that and including things that tax cuts with regard to diapers and others.

And so I'm sure that's going to probably come back again that this year either in Ways and Means Committee or on the House floor.

>> So we'll be looking to propose those things again.

Yeah, I think I mean we've always been open to having a discussion but I also think it's your lasering these to tissue's that you open up a wide band of where else do you cut taxes?

And so I think to Mary's point a little bit is you know, we we can make sure we're going in the right places right as we are with you here today.

The record is showing that nearly 700 bills probably north of 700 bills are being filed to go along with budget discussions, some of them not necessarily monetary base.

Some of them are policy.

And I'm wondering from each of you what either bill of your own at this point or something that has already leaped out for you even while they're still getting a final number on how many you get to give?

>> Yeah, I tell people we bring our expertize to the state house and I'm in the insurance business so multiple bills I have deal with, you know, tweaking a few things here in your own insurance so nobody cares about that.

>> So in fact I think you're going get heard next week and beyond.

>> I think it's going to go around but there's a lot of issues out there that are going to creep up.

I guarantee you that.

>> Yeah.

And Phil, how about you?

You know, we the the dining district area senator Brown had the bill last year.

I fought in the House this year and last year she brought it in the Senate.

So we got out of the Senate hopefully it will come to the get to the House and it would just it would allow the city council to designate an area, for example, for us on the landing kind of call that a designate that alcohol area where you'd be able to because we do concerts and things like that right on the landing.

I'll take your drink outside of the bar that you're in and go in and out without having to to pour it out of things to follow along as the weeks go by and as the session as such look forward to having a chance to speak with both of these gentlemen again soon.

>> Matt Lehman and Phil Jaquith.

And I'm Bruce Heinsohn for all of us with Prime Time, thank you for allowing us to be a part of your evening.

Take care.

We'll see you back here again next week.

Good