Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb answers a reporter’s question following a troop departure ceremony, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh, Indiana. (Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal)
When it comes to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s fiscal actions in the last two years, a national Libertarian think tank gives the state’s top executive a ‘C’ grade.
The Cato Institute calculated such scores by studying spending, revenue and tax rates.
By including budget actions since 2022, the review covers years in which the state of Indiana — and its municipalities — received billions of dollars from the federal government. Those funds were earmarked for specific programs and projects, but shored up Indiana’s budget at the same time that revenues boomed.
No Democrat-led state scored a ‘A’ and no Republican-led state scored an ‘F’ in the 56-page report. The six Republican governors in the top tier for their fiscal actions include:
- Iowa’s Kim Reynolds
- Nebraska’s Jim Pillen
- West Virginia’s Jim Justice
- Arkansas’ Sarah Huckabee Sanders
- South Dakota’s Kristi Noem
- and Montana’s Greg Gianforte
Holcomb received high marks for signing bills that eliminated taxes on utility services as well as legislation cutting the state’s income tax to 2.9% — one of the lowest in the nation. During the period analyzed, Hoosiers also received two rounds of taxpayer refunds.
It’s not clear what counted against Holcomb, though he scored lowest on metrics tied to spending growth than other categories. The summary analysis of Holcomb’s actions is entirely positive.
The report also awarded higher grades to states who enacted deep tax cuts but didn’t give credit to states like Indiana that already have low tax rates. Additionally, Indiana had a lower liability ratio — which includes debt and pension obligations — than half of the top-rated states.
Holcomb is term-limited and cannot run again. Indiana’s next governor will inherit a less-rosy forecast.
Ahead of the 2025 budget-writing session, in which lawmakers will craft the next two-year budget, top officials have warned that revenues have largely returned to normal levels.
By Whitney Downard — The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
