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State definition of Indiana business stretches borders

Source: By The Associated Press (IN), Monday July 17, 2006

More than 80 percent of the money spent on state purchases went to in-state vendors, according to a state database — but a newspaper analysis found that not all of those companies were based in Indiana.

A recent “Buy Indiana” report tracking state expenditures on goods and services from July 1, 2005, to June 19, 2006, classified the University of Cincinnati and the University of Utah as in-state vendors, The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette found.

...... Gov. Mitch Daniels made increasing state procurement from Indiana companies a plank of his 2004 campaign. Published reports at the time said at least 15 percent of the professional services and 40 percent of the goods bought by the state were from out-of-state companies. ...... But the state has changed the definition of what constitutes an Indiana business. ...... last year, Daniels and the General Assembly expanded the definition to include any business that makes significant capital investments in Indiana or has a substantial positive economic effect in the state.