Top House leaders talk to All INdiana Politics INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The top-ranking members of the Indiana House of Representatives told News 8 voters can expect further action this spring on property taxes and Medicaid waitlists. House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, and House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, joined All INdiana Politics for a joint interview to look ahead to the session. Both leaders said they look forward to working with the Braun administration, with Huston saying the legislature has had a collaborative working relationship with previous governors and he expects that to continue. Republicans in both chambers have said they are particularly concerned by the rapid growth in Medicaid spending. State budget analysts have said Medicaid could overtake education by the end of the decade as the state’s largest expense. Over the summer, the Family and Social Services Administration implemented a waitlist for Medicaid waivers as part of an effort to contain a billion-dollar funding shortfall. “I think it’s not just looking at the waitlist. Looking at the system as a whole, making sure that Hoosiers that are eligible are on Medicaid but making sure those that don’t meet eligibility requirements aren’t receiving Medicaid benefits, too,” Huston said. “We want to make sure we have a program that supports them, but a program that is also within the fiscal constraints that we have to be, and meets the needs of the folks that receive those services, but also is fiscally responsible.” GiaQuinta said the state already has the funding necessary to keep Medicaid solvent and restore the services that were waitlisted if lawmakers rethink their priorities. He said cutting IEDC funding and reducing spending on school vouchers are two ways Indiana could solve its Medicaid problem. Property taxes played a prominent role in the 2024 campaign for governor. Gov. Mike Braun has continued to prioritize property taxes since he was elected and sworn in, calling for caps on how much property taxes can rise. Senate Republicans have already introduced Braun’s property tax plan in legislative form as Senate Bill 1, indicating first priority, and both Huston and GiaQuinta said there will be some form of property tax relief this year. Huston said the Senate will take the lead on property taxes but his own caucus has also “heard loud and clear” voters’ desire for property tax relief. He said lawmakers will have to balance homeowners’ desire for tax relief with local authorities’ need for property tax revenue to support police and fire services and public schools. GiaQuinta said one way to avoid cutting into that revenue is to expand direct state funding to public schools, thereby eliminating the need for local referendum taxes. He also said lawmakers need to look for ways to encourage home ownership, which would put more payers on the property tax rolls and spread out the burden. Battle lines formed early on over a bill to dissolve Indianapolis Public Schools and convert all of its schools into charter schools. The bill has not yet received a hearing. Huston said the measure is an opportunity for lawmakers to discuss how schools should look. He noted the bill still has to go through the legislative process and might look very different afterward. GiaQuinta said if lawmakers want to improve outcomes at IPS, they should expand funding for traditional public schools. “When you look at the statistics versus traditional public schools versus charters, public education is clearly outperforming charters, not in every case, but in most cases,” GiaQuinta said. “And so, I do think that, going forward, we need to look at the data, see what it’s telling us, and I do find it a little bit ironic that we’re talking about choice, but we’re going to be eliminating the choice of traditional public schools.” All INdiana Politics airs at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on WISH-TV.