INDIANAPOLIS — The House and Senate road funding fight continued Tuesday when a Senate committee voted to replace a House plan, returning local tax money to local governments, with its proposal mandating that money be spent mostly on local roads.
House Bill 1110 now mirrors Senate Bill 67 which requires the state distribute some $430 million in reserve local income tax revenue to the communities and counties that generated it, with the caveat that 75 percent of the money be spent on infrastructure improvements.
The original House-approved measure would have returned that money with no strings attached.
Senate Bill 67 is supported by Republican Gov. Mike Pence, but has not advanced in the House partially because the Senate has been reluctant to consider House Bill 1001, which increases cigarette and gasoline taxes to pay for state and local road improvements.
State Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, who made the change to House Bill 1110, acknowledged that he simply was keeping the provisions of Senate Bill 67 alive as lawmakers work toward a road funding compromise.
"I've been around long enough to know that we're just continuing this discussion and this part of some bigger issues," Hershman said.
The Republican-controlled General Assembly has every incentive to enact a roads plan ahead of the November elections.
But representatives and senators so far can't agree on whether to increase taxes to pay for ongoing improvements or use one-time funds for a short-term fix.