Indiana Governor Mike Braun was interviewed by Justin Groenert with the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (EREP) at the luncheon.
Topics included economic growth, talent retention and running the state like a fiscally responsible business.
Braun was asked about the role of Indiana in the “AI economy,” which of course includes data centers.
“If we don't harness (AI) for good, I'm afraid others will harness it for not good, and it remains to be seen how transformational it is,” he said.
Braun, a Republican, has been a supporter of data center proliferation in the state. On July 24, he directed his administration to revisit settlements that closed, or sought to close coal power plants in Indiana. This is in part, to insure there's enough power for data centers.
He said there are communities committing to data center projects.
“So we'll be able to see based upon what others are doing, I think you got to be careful with it, mostly due to what is it going to be used for. But if we do not stay pace with it on something we created, I think we regret that even more.”
Braun said he is against tax abatements for projects and it’s up to the individual communities whether they want a data center.
“There'll be a lot of windfall financially when they build it, but you got to make sure that's the right fit for your own community.”
The state of Indiana finished the fiscal year with a $1.86 billion dollar budget surplus. This could enable some programs cut in 2025 to return.
The state of Indiana's 2025 budget was austere, with $2 billion in last minute cuts due to dire federal revenue sharing predictions. Cuts include higher education, all of public media and reducing who can receive Indiana childcare vouchers.
But with savings and a sunnier forecast ahead, Braun said they can look at restoring funding to some areas.
“We've had some flexibility already. I put $200 million additional into child care vouchers because they were cut back due to that faulty budget forecast. Most of what we can do is going to have to come after we start the budget session.”
He said they’ve used surplus funds to temporarily cut taxes on gasoline, to counter the increase in prices during the conflict with Iran, which is blocking the transport of oil through the Strait or Hormuz.
Gas prices will go up by about $.60 per gallon as the Indiana gas tax holiday expires on Friday. Braun said there may be a way to extend the cuts but has few details.
“There may be some interpretation to where you can extend it. We'll check with the legislature to see if that's the case. So, might be something coming up on that. But the way it rests currently is that it does expire …”
The gas tax holiday will end on August sixth. This is due to executive orders by Braun expiring.
All spring and summer, fuel stations did not collect the $.35 fuel tax, and about $.25 in gas use tax. He’s unable to extend it again.
Braun said couldn’t offer a timeline for relief. State legislators are in recess and Braun would have to request a special session to address this.
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