Porter comments on Gov. Holcomb’s budget

INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis) offered the following statement in regard to Gov. Eric Holcomb's 2023 budget proposal:

“For the people of Indiana, Gov. Holcomb's 2023 budget proposal is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the elimination of the textbook tax and increases in funding for food banks and civil legal aid will benefit working-class Hoosiers. I'm glad to support these measures, which House Democrats have proposed for several decades. On the other, allocating over $1 billion for a new prison, failing to increase education funding much over the rate of inflation and continuing to overfund already-funded state pension obligations would fail to move Indiana forward. Indiana cannot become a 'state that works' if we're not focusing on the people first. We are nothing without our human infrastructure and human capital – and right now, our people are hurting.

“It will take political will for legislators on the other side of the aisle to move forward with the most impactful and important parts of Gov. Holcomb's budget proposal. As ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, I hope we can all work together to create an Indiana that affords every Hoosier a high quality of life.”