Ind. Senate panel starts its state budget turn

Associated Press

Updated: Mar 7, 2013 7:02 AM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana Senate committee is ready to start its work on the new state budget amid hesitation from legislative leaders over whether to go along with Republican Gov. Mike Pence's proposed 10 percent cut in the personal income tax rate.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to have its first formal discussion of the budget on Thursday. The House-approved budget plan calls for $700 million more in school and road spending than Pence proposed and left out the governor's tax cut.

The Senate committee is expected to spend the next several weeks holding budget hearings before advancing a proposal by mid-April.

Pence argues the state can afford cutting the income tax rate from 3.4 percent to 3.06 percent and that it would spur economic growth.

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