FROM INDIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING
A new executive order from Governor Mike Braun will overhaul more than a decade of Indiana’s regional economic development efforts.
Braun said his administration is “starting from scratch on the map.”
Indiana Public Broadcasting reports that the order calls the state’s current regional structure confusing and inefficient. It replaces boundaries built under two Republican-led programs: the Regional Cities Initiative and the READI grant program.
Both programs encouraged local governments to create development plans tailored to their regional strengths. The Regional Cities Initiative supported plans for more than 400 projects, while the READI program distributed $1 billion in state and federal funding.
Braun’s order tasks the Indiana secretary of commerce with redrawing the state’s economic development map. The process will include input from local officials, lawmakers, and business leaders.
