CIB Bailout May Depend On Support From Indy Legislators

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(STATEHOUSE) - The fate of a bailout package for the board overseeing Indy’s downtown stadiums may hinge on whether legislators far from Indianapolis can be persuaded to vote for it.

Representative Phil Giaquinta (D-Fort Wayne) chairs the conference committee trying to come up with a final bill. He says the package will almost certainly authorize tax hikes only in Marion County, and says he hopes legislators will vote to give the county that option.

"Legislators around the state are going to have to realize the convention business, the teams, and all that are very beneficial to Indianapolis, and other parts of the state as well," Giaquinta says.

Giaquinta says it's doubtful he'll include a recapture of sales taxes from Circle Centre Mall, as Mayor Greg Ballard has suggested. That would amount to a handover of state money, and Giaquinta notes the state has its own budget issues.

The bill also won't require a contribution from the Colts. Giaquinta acknowledges the team has a lease, and suggests the Colts and Pacers have been unfairly and incorrectly portrayed as not contributing anything before now.

Giaquinta says he's hopeful the possibility Ballard raised last week of the Colts finding some other way to chip in will come to pass. Giaquinta says that would create a more favorable political climate to pass a bill.

And Giaquinta warns the City-County Council, which must give the tax hikes final approval, may not be happy with some of the options. Several council members in both parties have expressed doubts about the tax hikes, especially a proposed alcohol tax.

None of the negotiators are from Indianapolis. Noblesville's Luke Kenley represents Senate Republicans, but says he's been concentrating on the budget while Giaquinta tries to craft a CIB package. The other negotiators, Republican Rep. Jeff Espich and Democratic Sen. Bob Deig, are from Northeast and Southeast Indiana.

Two Indianapolis Democrats, Rep. William Crawford and Sen. Greg Taylor, are advisors to the committee.

Any bill must pass the House and Senate by midnight Wednesday.

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