By Chelsey Carr and Grace Runkel

On Saturday, March 5, concerned citizens gathered at the Jeffersonville town hall to hear state senator Ron Grooms and state representative Steven Stemler answer questions concerning the two-year budget, redistricting, and proposed changes to the state’s educational system.

Breakdown of Budget Biennium Budget

• K-12 – flatlined at 6.2 billion each year due to hole left from where stimulus money had been. No extra money for vouchers or the expansion of charter schools, which means money for those programs will come from the public school funding
• All day kindergarten- flatlined at $58 million
• Medicaid/health – $500 million each year
• Title 1 and 21st Century Scholars – $0
• Indiana Dept of Transportation- $130 million 2012, $50 million 2013

Status of House Bills

• House bill 2002 about Charter Schools has passed out of the House and is in the Senate now
• House bill 1017 about unused medication in the jail/correctional facilities being sent back once it expires due to non-use is now in Committee in the second House
• House bill 1018 about a smoking ban in public places, passed out of House and now in Senate
• House bill 1102 about synthetic marijuana becoming illegal, passed House now in Senate
• House bill 1270 about recieving unemployment benefits will be accompanied by drug testing, passed House, now in Senate
• House bill 1334 about regulating mopeds and other similar motorized vehicles is now in Committee in the second House
• House bill 1450  about paying off state deficit with 2/3 of funds coming from business communityhas been signed into law