Indiana House approves Porter plan to make shadowy board more public
For immediate release:
Feb. 24, 2014
STATEHOUSE – Indiana House members took a giant step toward protecting the public’s right to know today by supporting a proposal from State Rep. Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis) demanding more transparency from a state board that has the ability to redirect millions of taxpayer dollars at the drop of a hat.
The Indiana House of Representatives passed an amendment to Senate Bill 106 that asks the State Board of Finance to post a narrative description of any fund transfers it approves within 30 days after the transfer is made. The narrative would be posted on the state of Indiana’s transparency website.
“I would say that most Hoosiers—and more than a few people who serve in the Indiana General Assembly—are not even aware of the State Board of Finance and the power it has in determining how state government is funded,” Porter said.
The board consists of the governor and state auditor and treasurer. Its stated duties include supervision of the state’s fiscal affairs and all funds coming into the state treasury.
“In recent years, this board has made several moves that certainly demonstrate the all-encompassing scope of its duties,” Porter said.
For example, in 2010, the board transferred $40 million originally budgeted for the Department of Child Services (DCS) into the Public Employees Retirement Fund’s (PERF) Public Safety Pension Fund.
“In 2012, when Gov. Mitch Daniels and others in his administration were saying that the state of Indiana did not have sufficient resources for an expansion of Medicaid or the CHIP program, the State Board of Finance transferred more than $140 million from the Office of Medicaid Policy & Planning to an account that provided distributions of local option income taxes,” Porter said.
“I want to be clear that the board does have the legal authority to make these moves,” he added. “My problem has been that they are doing it without doing much to tell the public what is going on. In the event of the transfer involving Medicaid funds, there was virtually no explanation given for this move. But the State Board of Finance wanted to do it, and they did it without any real discussion or input from the Legislature.
“What bothers me is that there doesn’t seem to be any real accountability here to the people of Indiana,” Porter said. “Without that accountability, someone might question whether there is a need to even have a budget. The General Assembly could simply pass an appropriation amount, then let the State Board of Finance decide how to allot those funds with no real public oversight.”
Porter’s success today was one of the few victories that House Democrats have had during the 2014 legislative session in securing the public’s right to know. So far, House Republicans who control the chamber have rejected proposals demanding greater accountability from the state’s Inspector General, as well as studies of the effectiveness of the state’s job creation programs and its efforts to privatize public services.
“I hope we can continue to demand greater accountability as this session concludes,” Porter said.