( CNN ) -- Indiana 's state government has discovered $ 320 million in funds it did n't know it had , money that officials stumbled across while enacting statewide belt-tightening measures . `` Christmas came early , '' Gov . Mitch Daniels said . During a press conference Tuesday , Daniels cited a `` programming omission '' and modernized tax collection processes for unearthing the $ 320 million in corporate tax revenue . That money had been accumulating since 2007 , but had n't been accounted for in the state 's operating budget . Instead , this revenue went unnoticed , as the state worked to get its fiscal house in order . The latter effort has included several deep cuts -- including roughly $ 320 million in state funding for K-12 education , according to state Sen. John Broden . `` We 've lost a whole year of educational opportunities for our children because of this misplaced money , '' Broden , the ranking Democratic member of the state senate 's appropriations committee , said in a press release earlier this week . In an open letter to a state budget committee , Broden and other Democrats requested `` an independent audit ... to determine how this significant error occurred and how Indiana citizens can be assured that it will not happen again . '' Still , Daniels -- a Republican who served as Office of Management and Budget director under President George W. Bush -- has characterized the discovered money as positive , comparing it a successful move in the classic board game Monopoly . `` As far as I 'm concerned , we just drew the community chest card -- collect not $ 200 , but something much more , '' said Daniels , who has been governor since 2004 . And Jane Jankowski , a spokeswoman for the governor , said she does not believe the inquiry called for by Broden and others is necessary . `` We know what happened . We know what the problem was and we 're correcting it , '' she said Thursday . CNN 's Khara Lewin contributed to this report .
Indiana 's state government finds $ 320 million that it did n't know it had . The state cut roughly that amount in K-12 education funding , a Democrat notes . Gov . Pence says he will not sign the bill into law until all of this is sorted out and then veto it if necessary.