INDIANAPOLIS - Evansville taxpayers likely won't be called upon to participate in a bailout of the struggling group that runs professional sports stadiums in Indianapolis.
Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, has withdrawn his proposal to double the state's alcohol tax, in addition to other remedies, to help the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board recover from a $47 million deficit.
That plan would have spread the new alcohol tax revenue around the state, with Evansville written in for a $1.27 million share.
Indianapolis would have been allowed to use its $8 million slice for the sports board bailout.
But lawmakers around the state panned that proposal, saying it's an Indianapolis problem that demands an Indianapolis-only solution.
Kenley told The Associated Press on Thursday that he'll drop that plan and offer one that gives Marion County more options, possibly including a local-option alcohol tax. That will leave it up to Indianapolis city officials to decide whether they'll raise local taxes to help the board.
That has ramifications for Evansville, because Kenley's plan was attached to a bill that would allow the city to use its food and beverage tax revenue to fund a Downtown sports arena.
The bill was on pace to pass with little controversy or opposition until Kenley added the sports board bailout as an amendment.