INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s State Budget Committee approved $101 million Thursday for a water pipeline, land, and infrastructure for a controversial industrial park.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) also got permission to augment its Deal Closing Fund by a separate $101 million for a $6 billion battery plant project.
Skeptical and supportive lawmakers sparred during the 90-minute committee meeting in Bloomington.
Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said he was “personally uncomfortable” augmenting funding at the same time Indiana’s low-income residents face a Medicaid “crisis.” He is a non-voting alternate.
The most recent budget allows IEDC to augment its Deal Closing Fund for projects with a proposed capital investment of $5 billion or more.
“Hoosiers are contacting us from corner to corner, across the state … We shared some of these examples yesterday in the Medicaid Advisory Committee, and we were unable to help them because of budgetary concerns,” Qaddoura added. “Then we show up here today and ask for a $101 million augmentation for economic development. It reflects values.”
Sen. Chris Garten (R-Charlestown) countered, “The IEDC will pay the money back…Medicaid is not.”
Shortly after, however, he encouraged IEDC representative Mark Wasky to “expedite those (land sales) as fast as humanly possible” and repay the state’s General Fund within the 2025 fiscal year.
The IEDC asked for permission to spend $50 million out of its Deal Closing Fund on a water pipeline stretching from the Indianapolis area to the city of Lebanon in Boone County.
The quasi-public agency said it would hand the funds to the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) for bond financing. The money would cover the first five years of debt service coverage.
Read the complete Leslie Bonilla Muñiz story for the Indiana Captial Chronicle, here.
