as of today there is but one week left of the Indiana General Assembly's current session.

The Senate approved its version of the state budget on Tuesday, advancing the amended House measure and setting up final negotiations between the House and the Senate on the 43 billion spending plan.

>> And then on Wednesday the final revenue forecast was released and that adds another one and a half billion to the negotiations within that state budget framework.

>> Meanwhile, House and Senate third reading deadlines have passed and conference committee work has begun with an eye on concluding the session on or before April twenty nine measures in conference committees this week include a financial literacy bill that would require all Indiana high school students to study financial literacy.

There's a House measure an amended Senate bill I should say to implement the recommendations of the governor's Public Health Commission and a Senate bill allowing a city or town to designate an outdoor location as a refreshment area.

Both of those are heading to conference committee and we ourselves will conference with our guests from the Indiana House and Senate on these and other legislative matters at the state House on this edition of Prime Time.

Good evening conversations with us today is 13th District Republican state senator and Senate Assistant President Pro Tem Sue Glick and 80th District Democratic State Representative and House Democratic Leader Phil Chiquitita.

And we invite you to join the conversation with your comments and questions by just calling the number on the screen as always as we would not see everyone all at the same time senators who Glick represented AFL-CIO Quintus Hooverville.

>> Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you.

Thanks.

>> I'm assuming the session probably thought it was Christmas come early when that revenue report came out.

I mean that the December version was somewhere in the 600 million vicinity to go north of that by by so much.

What were your first thoughts when the news came came across?

>> Well, we were anticipating some growth, you know that that things weren't slowing down quite the way was anticipated by some commentators.

So we expected some and and of course the minute you say there's more it's like having an extra check at home.

>> Everybody has something they can spend it on.

Mm hmm.

Phil, I've got a list for you to but we'll work on that next week.

>> No, I wasn't really too surprised.

I mean we sort of see these not just December but really we get an update every month too.

So it wasn't a total shock that that revenues are as high as they were the projection that where will be and that's good news I mean in the economy is doing well and and you know, I think the one thing that wasn't nearly mentioned was the you know, it seems like I've been hearing over the last four or five years about this recession that's going to be coming and knock on wood.

Hopefully we don't get one in fact that it was mentioned in the report that no recession on or any time soon.

>> So that was good news as well.

But you're right.

It's interesting because they always ask is it easier or harder when there's more money and that the decisions become harder because as you said, folks, when I've already been getting emails and calls on some issues that you know, hey, with that we we've got a few things new projects that we could use that we could do with that extra money so it makes it difficult because someone's going to be disappointed with that.

That's that's a budget process.

Yeah.

I think about how the report suggests where the money's going to come from but then where would the money like to go?

What what are your senses at the moment from the Senate side on some aspects of life perhaps relative to health legislation that has been big yet again this this week possibly education.

There's the voucher system to contend with, you think?

>> Well, you know, they're obviously ongoing conversations about all of those.

>> I think right now there's a lot of people who maybe were told no before or told that they weren't going to get the amounts that they requested originally in the budget process because the hearings on the budget start almost immediately after the last budget.

They start talking about, you know, what can we do next time and their promises that well maybe next time or maybe when we have a little more money available or if there's more money coming from Washington than that would free up some Indiana funds to do some of these things so people come forward with, you know, issues or or pet projects that they want to do, you know, department heads who have kind of leaned back and and been patient for a while.

They they jumped to the front of the line because they're saying, you know, I've waited ten years, five years whatever period of time saying now is the time or we have immediate needs.

And so I think they they step forward and there are always some projects that maybe we missed along the way.

I know that there's been some some issues along the historic sites, some of the state parks that have put off some projects they haven't done because they're just simply didn't have enough money to cover all those and I know that they're stepping forward and saying hey, this is the time we'd really like to do it and this isn't a big ask that when you hear those words and we hear that quite often this is not a big ask.

We're not asking the whole you know, billion they're asking for 10 million or 15 million which in my neck of the woods that's a lot of money.

>> But for some of these departments it's really not a large ask.

Yeah, Phil, how about you, sir?

>> Well, you know the in the House we voted on a budget, passed it over to the Senate.

Uh, I would prefer the Senate budget if I had to pick one the two believe it or not and they you know, cap the issue for us.

I think one of the main issues has been the increase in the um the eligibility to receive a school voucher.

The Senate held the line as to where I think they may be and maybe even frankly included a little bit money but still that income threshold was it remained the same.

So we'll see kind of where that is obviously I really do think that um uh former senator who can lead actor box and the commission that the governor put together with regards to health care, you know, we know where we are.

We've talked about our rankings in the state with regards to the health care metrics and you know, there's the possibility maybe now to fully fund that both the House budget, the Senate budget didn't quite get all the way.

They were pretty close but not all the way.

There's more money I think for a university projects and then that was in the budget two years ago.

That was the better again in the Senate budget.

And you know, obviously for me, you know K through 12 pre-K those public school funding is I think something that hopefully that really seriously takes.

We take a good hard look there.

The Senate budget I think had increased for example for Fort Wayne community schools of I think five percent first year two percent the second year which not too bad I mean that and again better than the House budget.

So so there's lots of opportunities and I think, you know, the more we invest in these type of things it just makes the state better.

We've talked about quality of life, quality of place, those type of things.

You just mentioned some projects that you were talking about.

I think it goes toward that goal of making any had a better place to live and hopefully attract more people, retain talent, all those good things.

>> I think one way to raise even more money is to charge folks at least a nickel for every time they use the word conference in a sentence between now and a week from today.

But I do think it's worth a little time to to remind us all what this part of the process is and this is where rubber and road seem to come together.

Talk a little bit particularly if you want to use the budget as an example because now we do have a budget conference teed up to go between so many from the House, so many from the Senate who who are those guys and what's going on and what kind of like can you shed on that conference process?

>> Well, the the appropriations chair is Ryan Mishler and he's been with this budget all the way through.

But it will include people from the state from the appropriation committee and also some of the people from tax and fiscal.

They sit on both of those committees.

So these are of financial people that have come along and they're both with the conference committees.

You have people from all the caucuses so the Democrats and the Republicans sit down, they negotiate.

They they talk about, you know, those issues that have come up along the way and maybe some areas that fell short.

For example, you were talking about some of the education funding.

There's a lack of money for some of the career training programs.

So we've been very we have emphasized over the last few years and I know there's a lot of programs in my district that that's you know, there's those education programs are very strong and they've got a real following among not only the high school kids that take them but their parents and the teachers who are involved in it.

I for one area I would like to see more money in that particular and but that's something that has to be agreed on by house and Senate conferees, not just the Senate participants or the Republicans or Democrats from one House or the other.

>> It has to be all all for conferences or caucuses and this is for just the budget filled joint and this is where I think now any bill that is looking for ironing out its differences between chambers has a conference set up of its own.

>> Yeah, you know, it's up to the author of the bill when they receive it back from the House or back from the Senate and there have been changes they can concur on those changes and if it's approved the changes are approved by that particular uh, side whether it's Senate or House approved goes right to the governor's office or they can dissent if they do that.

And there's as I said, there's a conference committee that's that set I actually appoint conferees to these bills and you the regular committee really kind of up to the chair if he wants to have take testimony sometimes the changes are so small that you don't really need to do that.

They certainly had testimony on House Bill ten to one the budget this week but we were talking earlier.

I think there's going to be 20 of them scheduled for Monday and he will have to move fast because we want to be done by maybe Thursday if we keep our fingers crossed.

But there are quite a few.

>> And the other thing too I might add is that and this is where it gets a little tricky is it language that passes either side of the House that may not pass in the second half is eligible?

You can use that language then maybe put it into another bill and again if that's agreed upon goes back to both sides, they'd have to approve it before going and going to the governor's office.

So, uh, language is always eligible until we see any day at all of what we've discussed sort of carries over well from not only the budget conversation but to something like SB four, which is the one about funding the governor's health commission's recommendations.

You are a sponsor of that among others in the House and it is in conference committee I believe I think the Senate did, yes.

>> And so this could be a philosophical thing.

It could also be an opportunity for a financial thing if there is additional funding that might be made available on the public health side and OSB one was for mental health and there are funding questions regarding it as well.

>> But I mean those set sort of the framework and the funding of it will be in the budget.

So and there were there are definitely some changes to send a bill for .

We'll just have to see what the what the Senate decide this has to do.

Of course with the health care program, if you will, going forward hopefully getting as many county counties and their local departments to sign on and there's probably some incentives to do that.

But there are some changes in there that we'll have to see what the Senate thinks and what and while they did I know they thought that because they just sent it.

>> So I'll have to see how see which way.

Yes.

Yes.

There is a tale told of some conversation already about a bill you're connected SB 35 on financial literacy whether there should be a standalone course or whether this should be part of a broader curriculum.

>> Where where is that conversation coming to be?

Well, it's going to be interesting to see how they flesh it out.

Obviously if there's a little more money available they'd like to fund some of it.

But I think that if people think in terms of the young people we're seeing now who have never seen a checkbook let alone written a check or you know, the the intricacies of balancing a checkbook or putting money in and taking money out, a lot of people have done nothing but work off an ATM card if they even that so this is just an opportunity to make sure they understand things like lending and interest rates at those types of things.

We just want to make sure that that young people have that background before they get they reach an age where they have some responsibilities at 18 they can go and buy a car not that they're ready to do so and certainly not ready to pay for it when that time comes.

So we want to give them at least the rudiments of a financial literacy know what you're getting into and how it works, help in helping them along the way and certainly helping the economy so well, I'm thinking about your reference to language from the first half being available in the second half.

One of your last visits here, Phil, was the discussion about SB 20 and related bill in the House about the idea that a city or town could soon have the opportunity to designate an area for for alcohol and what a boon that can be for other economic development, some extra clauses nouns and verbs that seem to have been a part of where we are now.

>> Where are we chocker?

>> So yeah, it was amended in the House and went back to the Senate.

Liz Brown is is the author of Senate Bill 20 and she and myself others have worked on this really over the last couple of years.

>> So we'll see I mean, you know, alcohol issues can get kind of complicated only because we have a system where only certain segments of the alcohol industry can do certain things and so any time you sort of start to tip the scale it can get sort of complicated and brings out a lot of folks to argue one way or the other.

So there are some things added in Senate Bill twenty eight.

We'll just have to see if they stay there.

And I think the kind of the big issue had to do with these mixed cocktail drinks and who would be allowed to distribute those and things so it gets again because it's these are new products and it kind of upset the apple cart, if you will, with regards to who who can transport and those sorts of things.

So it gets a little tricky I think I think things will get worked out.

I I'm optimistic that that will happen in the end at least with regard to the original Senate bill.

>> Twenty I don't know about anything else that was added into it.

>> And is that an option within the conference to be able to say let's go back to oh that happens a lot.

I mean there's there'll be language that was added that they just agree to take out and remember sometimes that language is added taken out of that and then put in someplace else.

So you got to keep an eye on things.

Things are really did until the till we sign you die.

So if it's passed one house at any time in any form then it can come back and be reinserted in another bill.

The Senate has some germaneness rules so it has to be in the same article or or title of the code in order to go into a certain bill.

The budget is wide open but the other bills are not.

>> But the House is a little more we don't care where it goes.

>> It's a little messy.

Go see if you have a few inches at the bottom of the page.

I use the right size.

Yeah yeah.

What is in there.

Yeah okay so I'm sure somebody is asking and I'll channel that but what if there is a sense there is no resolution and what we were kidding you you rock paper scissors or you'll have it does the bill literally pass in die in conference committee is well things could you know I think one thing that we have to remember we're back and you have six months are whatever out you know, we'll be right back there again in some of these things are life and death to be honest with you.

>> You know we Indiana will survive without some of the obviously we need a budget that's that's the most important thing and you know what do they say Senator Glik?

If it happens, go to a special session.

Frankly, that's advantage.

Governor, because I've been in a special session once and you know, if you don't get it done by the end of June, you know, park start to close and things like that and I know folks are going to call they're going to call us.

So if the pressure starts to mount and but I I'm sure we're going to be out of here by the end of next week.

>> So I'm not fearful of a special session at this point and like many you know, many of these bills, many of these ideas have just hit the floor or hit the the legislature this year.

So maybe they're going to need an extra year or next recession to to simmer and and come to fruition because they haven't been thought through completely and there's no reason to hurry some of this legislation through.

We need to know what we're doing and we need to be cognizant of what the effects are down the road.

>> Some bills have hit the governor's desk when you go online to and gov and work through different bill language and action steps taken signed by the governor and signed by one of those is SB nine and senators who Glick's name is next to it about energy utilities.

A brief overview of of what Governor Holcomb put his signature to.

>> Well basically we're we're saying that we want to be sure we don't get into the situation that state of Texas and some other states have gotten into where where you're paying utilities depreciation and letting them take accelerated depreciation to close a coal fired or an older plant early when their new plants they're solar or they're wind or whatever their alternate energy sources aren't fully operational.

>> And so what you had in Texas was a very cold winter and they shut down the wind the windmills because the wind was too strong, the solar wasn't operational and they had already retired some of their coal fired generators and it was pretty cold in the great state of Texas over a period of a couple of weeks last year I believe.

And so an ice storm or two certainly conveys a lot of lessons to a lot of people and all we're saying is let's make sure that we've got this organized that we don't give too many incentives to close things early.

Let's do it in an orderly fashion.

Let's have a survey and know what we're doing as we do.

>> We don't want to see Hoosiers suffer because we got the cart ahead of the horse right moving into the end of this week in which we are speaking, it was busy House passage week and we mentioned earlier about Senate Bill one getting its approval in the House bill comments on perhaps it and or other activity that indeed in this process of getting closure on some legislative items what life was like in the House?

Yeah, you know, it's it's interesting.

It's a little bit of a slower pace.

The legislature basically has its ups and downs as you go through.

You know, a lot of people say it's kind of hurry up and wait but there's starts off slow you and the first half kind of , uh, coming down that roller coaster of a high speed and then it slows down again and um and obviously in the second half you're dealing with with with fewer bills and which gives us some time I think maybe to look them over a little bit more closely.

Uh, and I think of one this mental health issue which uh you know, I think one of those situations where especially coming out of the pandemic that I think we really kind of saw the the results of the pandemic and how it has affected mental health and what we know that the issues are where the state's facing and so I'm just, you know, pleased that we were able to get that passed and sent it send it back to the Senate and so yeah.

So you know, we are able to act on a number of bills and again, as I said earlier, I'm a little bit surprised that some of these have gone to conference but hopefully those again of whether lot of differences that can be worked out some are following too and this brings in 11 counties in that's the notion of the Northeast Indiana Strategic Development Fund of which you're sponsoring for which there's another conference committee.

>> Right.

Right.

Any new insights as of this hour?

You know, it's um 11 person board will expand to two .

This is something where the mayors and commissioners from northeast Indiana or been interested in forming this group.

Um, we have appointments.

I have one the speaker has one.

Uh, the leaders of the Senate have an appointment and others.

So you know, the whole idea is they do a nice job I think early on they raise a hundred thousand dollars and they've done a study.

They're also obviously working with the uh greater Fort Wayne Chamber, the regional chamber for the for the for the northeast Indiana for the area and he really kind of look and see you know what you know from an economic standpoint where do we stand as a regional region?

What do we have to do to continue to attract businesses to the area?

You know what and again, I think they've done a really nice job because it's it's Fort Wayne Allen County while the county I think it's some rural areas too.

We also know we have pretty a large urban area.

Some of the counties in the region don't.

And so I you know what what can they do?

I think the one thing that I really liked about northeast Indiana and the officials, the government, local elected officials from the areas that they really work pretty well together I've noticed some parts of the state with the regions just don't I think we our delegation does well.

I think we seem to be on the same page when it comes a lot of things with regards to Purdue, Fort Wayne and how you Fort Wayne and and those sorts of things.

And I think this is one more effort for this group to work together.

The mayors and commissioners of this area.

We'll see we'll see if there's going to be funding in the budget, you know, keeping our fingers crossed and then what we can do with that money to again, uh, keep businesses here and thriving and uh make north Indiana the best place in the state.

>> We are under the two minute warning.

But let me ask you, Sue in the final seven day warning or ish about the session, what other legislation are you looking at?

>> We're looking at a lot of water situations.

I keep reminding them that clean water Indiana needs just a little more money because it affects all of us soil water conservation districts.

We have a lot of those type of issues as chair of the Natural Resources I watch those I sit on those types of committees but it's a it's a matter of necessary tweaks if you will, that money that we now have that we didn't know was going to be there.

>> We'd like to see it put towards some of those issues in the final thirty seconds Bill.

Same question.

The biggest thing obviously still going to be the budget and where we land land there.

And and the other thing is too is I know a lot of people put a lot of time and effort into House bill turnover which has to do with health care cost and you know, what can we do to look at ways to lower the cost of health care?

>> All right.

We'll follow all the numbers along with you and wish you well, both of you as you carry on on our collective behalf.

Good luck.

Thank you.

Thank you both very much.

Our guests today have been State Senator Sue Glick and State Representative Bill Chiquitita for all of us with prime time Ivor's hange.

>> Thank you so much for watching.

Take care and we'll see you again next gavette