Senate sends vote center study, student ID voting ban, income tax cuts to governor
Twenty-eight lines instructing embattled Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales to analyze vote center and municipal election year changes ensnarled the Senate for almost 40 minutes Monday — but, after a 35-13 vote, the bill heads to the Gov. Mike Braun's desk.
So do measures disallowing student identification cards as proof of identity and cutting income taxes. Across the Statehouse, the House approved towing regulations after months of strife within the Republican supermajority.
'In the amount of time that we spent debating it, I could have read it word-for-word about 20 times. I'm just flabbergasted,' said Sen. Mike Gaskill of the bipartisan pushback to House Bill 1633. Gaskill, R-Pendleton, was the legislation's sponsor.
It would direct Morales to estimate any cost savings reaped if Indiana were to require that all counties move from traditional precinct-based voting to a vote center model, which allows voters to cast ballots at any location within their county of residence on Election Day. He'd do the same for municipal election changes, comparing the current schedule — odd-numbered years before presidential elections — to even-numbered presidential and midterm years.
Morales would also have to study potential impacts on voter turnout, conduct at least one public meeting in each of the three specified regions and report the results to lawmakers by November. House Bill 1633 goes into effect upon passage.
At the microphone, Democrats and Republicans revealed distrust of Morales. Questionable spending and other missteps have prompted, in recent weeks, greater scrutiny of the state's chief elections officer's fiscal management.
'I'm sorry. I just cannot give Secretary Morales any more after he has demonstrated — about catering meals, a Hungary trip, an India trip, no-bid contracts, hiring family, (spot) bonuses to his staff, a $90,000 car,' said Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis. 'I just can't support giving him any more of this.'
'I'm not opposed to studying elections … (but) I do have a problem with the secretary of state getting on a traveling road show … just like I object to gold whistles and notebooks and lanyards in an election year,' said Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange. 'We only have so much money in this state. I think this is a waste of time and money.'
Ford, Glick and others also took issue with the study's format.
They noted that the Legislature usually studies desired public policy changes through interim study committees. Those bodies feature representation from both parties, both chambers and, sometimes, agencies or industry.
The chamber additionally concurred with House edits to Senate bills.
Sen. Blake Doriot, R-Goshen, reported two sets of changes to his Senate Bill 10. The legislation would no longer allow students at Indiana's public colleges and universities to use their institutional IDs as proof of identity at the polls.
One Republican-authored amendment altered voter list maintenance and data-sharing language — requiring county voter registration offices to perform voter list maintenance within just 48 hours of receiving certain information — while a Democratic one added consular reports of births abroad to a list of documents proving U.S. citizenship.
Democrats maintained strong opposition to the measure, which goes to the governor on a 39-9 vote.
'We are told that this bill is about election integrity, but let's ask ourselves the hard question: where is the fraud? … Where is the abuse of student IDs in our elections?' Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, asked.
Legislation paring down Indiana's individual income tax also made the cut, on a 48-0 vote.
Senate Bill 451 would drop the rate by 0.05% beginning in 2030, if state general fund revenue collections exceed 3.5% growth in each of the four preceding fiscal years. The next year's revenue forecast also must be at least 3.5%. The House bumped the baseline requirement up.
The reductions would continue in every even-numbered year through 2040.
Current law is already phasing Indiana's flat income tax rate down from 3.05% in 2024 to: 3.0% in 2025, 2.95% in 2026, and 2.9% in 2027 and years thereafter.
Each 0.05 percentage point reduction of tax rate would result in a decline of income tax revenues between $150 million to $200 million annually, according to a fiscal analysis for the legislation.
After months of wrangling fellow Republicans, House lawmakers approved an overhauled utility trailer sales bill that now addresses 'predatory' towing practices — and seeks to ban advertising of marijuana and other drugs. It advances back to the Senate for that chamber's consent to the changes.
There was no discussion before the 75-13 tally on Senate Bill 73, but nearly all of the 'no' votes came from members of the majority caucus: Reps. Beau Baird, R-Greencastle; Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne; Lori Goss-Reaves, R-Marion; Craig Haggard, R-Mooresville; Andrew Ireland, R-Indianapolis; Chris Jeter, R-Fishers; Chris Judy, R-Fort Wayne; Ethan Manning, R-Logansport; Bob Morris, R-Fort Wayne; Zach Payne R-Charlestown; Kyle Pierce, R-Anderson; and Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty.
Rep. Kyle Miller, of Fort Wayne, was the only Democrat in opposition.
Under Rep. Jim Pressel's watchful eye, a Senate committee last month inserted an outdoor marijuana advertising ban and towing provisions into an Indiana Department of Motor Vehicles agency bill. They came out last week, when Senate Appropriations Committee chair Sen. Ryan Mishler dubbed them non-germane. But Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, had already taken over Senate Bill 73 for the expanded advertising ban and towing changes.
Towing regulations previously tripped up House Republicans for more than two weeks during the first half of the legislative session, before meeting a deadline-induced death. Another take on the regulations died even earlier, in committee.
Senior Reporter Casey Smith contributed.
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