By Patrick Guinane, Times of Northwest Indiana
patrick.guinane@nwi.com
INDIANAPOLIS | A state budget bill is the only game in town right now, and so far the economic development dreams of region lawmakers remain relegated to the sidelines.
Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, declined Wednesday to attach his vision for a Northwest Indiana bus and commuter rail authority to the budget bill, which House Democrats will attempt to send to the Senate today.
And Gary Mayor Rudy Clay rushed to the Statehouse to revive plans to shift one of his city's two lakefront casinos to a more profitable, land-based location near Interstate 80/94. The move, which would generate increased wagering taxes to build a teaching and trauma hospital in Gary, was abandoned Tuesday by Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary.
"I'm disappointed. I'd like to see the casino and the hospital go into the end zone, so we can have some great economic development in Gary and Northwest Indiana," Clay said. "It ain't over 'til it's over."
But the clock is ticking. And Brown's capitulation to Republican complaints about gambling taking over the budget-writing special session of the General Assembly signals a loss of bargaining might.
"Clearly the leverage for getting it done was in the House because of the numbers," said Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary. "In the Senate, it would absolutely be an uphill climb."
Republican Senate President David Long, whose party holds a 33-17 majority, has vowed to banish gambling proposals. In the House, Democrats' tenuous 52-48 advantage means as few as two holdouts could block the budget.
But the Democratic draft of the budget now is complete.
Brown added an amendment Wednesday allocating $3 million for architectural and engineering work on the proposed Gary hospital, a likely $400 million project intended to coincide with an expansion of Indiana University Northwest's medical school. Democrats, including some from casino-host communities, balked at allowing land-based gaming in Gary alone.
Meanwhile, Dobis said he didn't try to add his regional transit legislation to the budget because he didn't want to force reluctant colleagues to vote for what could be deemed a tax hike. The new transit district could impose a local income tax of up to 0.25 percent in Lake, Porter, LaPorte and St. Joseph counties to build South Shore extensions to Lowell and Valparaiso and fund bus and commuter rail operations.
Both the transit legislation and the Gary casino move were to be married to legislation to rescue Indianapolis' deficit-racked Capital Improvement Board stadiums authority, an effort that stalled Wednesday in the House.
"I'm not sure you've seen the last of it yet," Dobis said, alluding to upcoming Senate action. "I'm not sure CIB as an issue is dead. And if it's not, I'm still in the game."