THE RAATZ ROUNDUP
Submitted for use on March 13, 2023
Word Count: 351
Last week, the Indiana General Assembly started the second half of the 2023 legislative session. The chambers traded their respective bills, including the budget bill (House Bill 1001), and restarted the legislative process to review legislation before it is considered by the governor.
While my bills are being considered by the House of Representatives and I am sponsoring several House bills, I am also helping refine HB 1001 during budget hearings in the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
House Republicans proposed a budget maintaining our strong commitment to fiscal responsibility by carefully cutting taxes, paying down pension obligations, saving rainy day funds and investing in public needs, such as education.
The current version of the bill would invest more than $24 million in the Secured School Safety Grant Program, which provides matching grants to Indiana school districts to help keep Hoosier children safe and better address security needs.
The program has awarded about $133 million in matching grants to Indiana school districts since 2013. In 2023 alone, Senate District 27 schools received nearly $380,000 in matching grants to help employ a school resource officer, conduct a threat assessment, purchase first responder notification systems, support firearms training and fund the one-time startup cost of an active alert warning system.
The state's long standing advantageous financial position has been upheld through our continuous passage of balanced budgets and commitment to working within our means. As the Senate considers HB 1001, my colleagues and I are hearing budget requests from higher education stakeholders and state agencies to further vet current funding allocations and ensure a fiscally responsible budget is passed.
I look forward to advocating for policies in the best interest of our communities and Hoosier families by exploring options our current financial standing and future financial freedom allow us.
For more information about the Senate Committee on Appropriations and bills I am working on this session, visit iga.in.gov. Legislative calendars, agendas, vote tallies and proposed legislation can also be found on this site.
If you have any questions or concerns on these or other topics, feel free to contact me at Senator.Raatz@iga.in.gov or 317-233-0930.
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State Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) represents Senate District 27, which includes
Henry, Union and Wayne counties, and portions of Franklin County.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
