INDIANAPOLIS | A plan to steer state dollars toward South Shore commuter rail expansion is scheduled to get its first legislative test run today.
The House Ways and Means Committee, which meets at 9 a.m., will hear legislation to divert 12.5 percent of the sales tax money Lake and Porter counties send the state, a move that would generate $30 million a year without rasing local taxes. The proposal, authored by state Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, would close a $350 million shortfall in the $1 billion plan to extend South Shore lines to Lowell and Valparaiso.
Dobis met with Gov. Mitch Daniels Wednesday afternoon to discuss the plan.
"They had a good visit. The governor was glad to hear more about the idea," said Jane Jankowski, the governor's spokeswoman. "He supports the idea of expanding the South Shore...But there are some practical issues with the funding portion of the plan."
Daniels last week expressed reservations about diverting $350 million in state money toward the project. Dobis and other local legislators considered local gasoline, income and vehicle taxes to support the rail expansion before deciding region residents simply wouldn't stomach a tax hike.
The state, through the $3.8-billion private lease of the Indiana Toll Road, committed up to $120 million to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. If Dobis' South Shore funding plan finds legislative success, the RDA, which also receives $17.5 million a year in local funding, would be asked to devote $150 million to the South Shore expansion.
The federal government would provide the other $500 million, and U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., is pressing state legislators to get in line for that money as soon as possible. The congressman plans to testify today in support of Dobis' legislation.
"He just wants to make sure everyone keeps in mind the end goal here: 26,000 new jobs, $81 billion in economic development, transformational change, not just for Northwest Indiana's economy but for the entire state," said Visclosky spokesman Justin Kitsch.
The economic gains associated with the South Shore expansion come from a consultant report prepared for the RDA last year.
