The governor today released the 2007 Buy Indiana Progress Report that shows 84 percent of the state's contracting dollars are now going to firms defined as Indiana companies. Before Buy Indiana, an estimated 60 percent of contract dollars were going to Indiana businesses, so the increase represents almost a billion additional dollars spent with companies that employ Hoosier workers and invest in the state.
"First, we had to get state government's act together. Now, we want to get everyone on board," said Daniels, speaking at the Indiana Chapter of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing annual meeting.
The governor is sending a letter to local governments, university presidents and business leaders to challenge them to join state government in spending more dollars with Indiana companies. In the letter, Daniels said, "If we can sensitize Indiana businesses to the Buy Indiana opportunity, the positive economic impact could be truly enormous."
In January 2005, the governor established the Buy Indiana initiative through Executive Order 05-05, setting a goal for state agencies to procure 90 cents of each Hoosier tax dollar from Indiana businesses. The Indiana Department of Administration (IDOA) implemented the initiative which enables anyone to see, for the first time, how state government money is spent.
"After two years, we've made major progress," Daniels said in a letter released with the report. "Today, 84 percent of state purchasing dollars go to Indiana firms, under definitions established by the General Assembly. We don't yet know how high we can drive this figure-some goods and services are simply not available locally, and we limited our new pricing preference for Indiana firms to a maximum of 5 percent-but we are trying to reach 90 percent."
Additionally, IDOA works with over 38,000 companies to ensure that vendors are correctly registered with the state under the Buy Indiana designation. The Indiana General Assembly established the definitions of an Indiana business in state statute in 2005.
One way state government has increased Indiana investments is by awarding contracts previously won by out-of-state firms to Hoosier companies. The report indicates that 88 percent of all state contracts are now made with Indiana companies.
