GiaQuinta on governor’s agenda: nothing bold here…let’s see if his own party agrees

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) today issued the following statement in response to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s agenda for the 2019 session of the Indiana General Assembly:

“Today’s announcement is not earth-shattering or ground-breaking.

“I suspect most people are in favor of improving school funding, increasing teacher pay, helping veterans, reducing infant mortality, and helping create a better-trained workforce. These are easily supportable goals.

“What we do need is bold action from this governor that says we must increase teacher pay right now. We don’t need to study this issue before making a final decision. We need to increase teacher pay.

“What will be more interesting to see is the level of support the governor gets from his own party in the Legislature, because there have been problems in the past in getting more funding for our schools, to name just one thing mentioned today. That’s not even mentioning the problems in passing a bias crimes law, which probably would already be in place in our state if it wasn’t for the Republicans in the General Assembly.

“As they say, the devil is in the details. I’m not sure House Democrats will need much selling. Republicans in the House and Senate might.”