The Indiana House has approved a two-year state spending proposal that relies on revenue from a $1 per-pack cigarette tax increase.
The $31.7 billion budget put forward by House Republicans was passed Monday on a 68-29 vote. It now heads to the GOP-controlled Senate, which will make its own changes to the measure in the weeks to come. A final plan must be agreed to by both chambers before it is sent to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.
The proposal includes a modest funding increase for K-12 education and directs an additional $10 million to the state's preschool pilot program for needy kids.
It sets aside $5 million for efforts to be undertaken by Gov. Eric Holcomb's new drug czar and would give Indiana state troopers a pay raise.