Latest news with #LegislativeServicesAgency
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Work is underway to divide Johnson County into districts under a new state law. What to know:
Work is underway to comply with a state-mandated change that could reshape the future of Johnson County's governing body. Senate File 75, a change to state law passed and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in April, requires Story, Black Hawk and Johnson counties to elect their county supervisors via districts instead of at-large. In a letter addressed to the governor in April, the Johnson County supervisors urged Reynolds to veto the bill, saying it "targets" just three of 99 counties in the state and "strips them of their right to choose how their local governments are elected." "No matter how it is framed, this bill singles out counties that happen to elect local leaders who reflect the views of their diverse constituencies," the supervisors wrote. "That's not democracy in service to all, it's policymaking designed to produce different electoral outcomes." More: Is Iowa still in a drought? See how more May rainfall changed the US Drought Monitor map Johnson County will be split up into five districts, equal in population, that spread across the entire county. One supervisor will be elected from each district. What to know about the new election process: The Johnson County Board of Supervisors has appointed a three-member redistricting commission comprised of residents from around the area. The commissioners are Susan Dvorsky of Coralville, Nathan Mueller of Solon and Thomas McInerney of Iowa City. More: How Iowa Republicans voted on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' on taxes, Medicaid and SNAP The Johnson County Democrats chose Dvorsky and Mueller with support from the local board of supervisors. The county Republican party selected McInerney. The board met a May 15 deadline to establish the commission. The commission is now tasked with drawing five districts with equal populations within Johnson County. The temporary county redistricting commission will also hold "at least one public hearing to receive public comments about the plan." More: Congress passes budget bill with deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. What that means for Iowa A brief outline from Johnson County Board of Supervisors Chair Jon Green in board documents revealed plans for four public meetings in the summer and early fall, three daytime meetings, and one in the evening. The county redistricting commission's final plans for the 2026 elections must be in place by Oct. 1, 2025. The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency will then officially draw the districts by the end of the year. The five-person Johnson County Board of Supervisors will all be up for election in 2026, once the districts have been finalized. If this law had not been set to take effect, only two of the five board members — Green and V Fixmer-Oraiz — would be up for election. Instead, Rod Sullivan, Lisa Green-Douglass and Mandi Remington are now poised to run a second election campaign in three years, having just been elected to four-year terms in 2024. More: Students ask Regents to veto tuition hike amid funding uncertainty, affordability concerns To offset future elections after the redistricting, the Johnson County Auditor's Office will randomly select two of the five districts for a 2028 supervisors election, according to board documents. The remaining three candidates will be elected to the typical four-year term. Several of the current supervisors could retain their seats depending on how the districts are drawn. The county has just over 160,000 total residents, the most recent census estimates show, meaning each of the five districts should contain about 32,000 people. More: A look at Liberty High School's adaptive P.E. class and the student's making a difference Iowa City is in the center of the county and could find itself within several districts. A U.S. Census estimate puts Iowa City's population at around 76,000 as of July 1, 2024, meaning the city could include two of the five districts. Fixmer-Oraiz, Remington and Sullivan all listed addresses in Iowa City in their most recent filings. Green-Douglass' address is listed in North Liberty, while Green's address is in Lone Tree. Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@ or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01. This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Johnson County redistricting begins ahead of 2026 supervisor elections
Axios
22-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Indiana lawmakers won't consider marijuana legalization
If you had high hopes Indiana's budget crisis would cause lawmakers to take another look at marijuana legalization, don't hold your breath. Catch up quick: Lawmakers learned last week they need to cut a staggering $2 billion from their two-year spending plan — or find a way to close the gap with additional revenue. As it stands, lawmakers have just $170 million in new dollars to spend in 2026 and $30 million in 2027. That's not much, considering the state spends around $22 billion annually and its Medicaid expenses are projected to grow by more than $400 million in the first year and another $375 million in the second. Between the lines: Statehouse leaders have said "everything is on the table" when it comes to writing a balanced budget, and that includes cuts and, possibly, new taxes. Yes, but: Not everything. What they're saying:"We're not going to legalize marijuana in the budget," House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) told reporters Thursday. Huston said legislators wouldn't consider fast-tracking significant public policy changes in the final week of the legislative session simply to close a budget gap. Plus: The taxes generated from legalization wouldn't solve Indiana's financial problems. A fiscal analysis from the state's Legislative Services Agency estimated that recreational marijuana would generate between $100 million and $200 million annually once a cannabis program was fully implemented (which would take some time). What's more likely: Raising the cigarette tax by $1 would bring in an estimated $200 million annually and is a policy that's already been vetted by the legislative process multiple times.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local parents pushing for change in student abuse investigations in Iowa school districts
DES MOINES, Iowa — In 2023, the Petek family filed a civil rights complaint against the Urbandale School District after they said the district did not take proper action in a situation involving their disabled student Keaton Petek. A teacher at the Urbandale elementary school, Amanda Delzell, was placed on administrative leave after attempting to report what she considered abuse. Delzell was later fired by the district. It's this situation that has Paige Petek and Pam Gronau seeking a change in Iowa code. 'It's my understanding that a full formal investigation where the parent should have received a report showing what they had found in their investigation was never done, it was never given to them. And so that was where the huge red flag came in and I said this has to change,' said Pam Gronau, a concerned parent with three students attending a central Iowa school district. Under current state law, teachers are mandatory reporters, except for when the abuse is at the hands of an educator. This allows school districts to take the lead in abuse allegations, which means the information surrounding an incident could be kept private. Gronau is advocating for a bill that will take alleged abuse investigations out of the hands of the school districts and into the hands of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Haven't filed your taxes yet? Here are some helpful tips 'As a parent, you want to make sure you send your children to the school … you want to know that they're safe when they're there. And in most cases, I think, most of our schools are doing the right thing. But we can't let there be even one opportunity for the right thing not to be done. We need to ensure that we are protecting our kids at all costs,' said Gronau. The bill sets up districts the department would open across the state to handle these investigations. The Legislative Services Agency projects that the DHHS will conduct around 600 investigations per year, and would need seven new full-time employee positions to handle the cases. The projected cost is over $700,000 in year one and $656,000 in year two. Though the bill passed through the Iowa House unanimously in a 96-0 vote, Gronau is concerned that the fiscal implications may hold it up in the Iowa Senate. The bill was recently placed in unfinished business, which means it could or could not pass and be signed into law this session. Gronau is urging Iowans to reach out to their elected officials and ask them to advance this bill along in the process. 'We need to protect our students in the state of Iowa and there shouldn't be a cost taken on their protection,' said Gronau. Iowa News: Iowa State University Insect Zoo to close Local parents pushing for change in student abuse investigations in Iowa school districts Haven't filed your taxes yet? Here are some helpful tips Man who shot at Iowa police officers sentenced after pleading guilty WATCH: Which Hawkeyes and Cyclones are bound for NFL? Draft Day Preview Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Governor gets more savings for homeowners in amended property tax proposal
After days of silence, Gov. Mike Braun gave a thumbs up on a significant property tax amendment minutes before Republican leaders brought it to the House floor. The measure passed on a 70-27 vote along party lines. Braun made property taxes a cornerstone of his 2024 campaign, and had been conspicuously quiet after House leaders unveiled their plan Friday. 'I am grateful for the leadership of (House) Speaker Todd Huston and (Senate) President Pro Tem Rod Bray and for the ways they have partnered with us to deliver this meaningful tax relief to Hoosiers,' Braun said in a statement shared to X. 'I encourage House members to support this amendment and urge the Senate to then take action quickly to get it to my desk for signature.' The new version of Senate Bill 1 will increase a credit applied to all homeowner bills to 10% or a maximum of $300, cumulatively saving homeowners $1.4 billion over the next three years. An earlier version had a $200 cap and saved homeowners $1.1 billion over three years. Additionally, the amended property tax bill softens its business personal property tax cuts and further drops local income tax limits. 'This amendment makes a good bill even better and provides even more relief to homeowners,' said Lizton Republican Rep. Jeff Thompson, who authored the amendment. Thompson, who also sponsored the underlying Senate motion, said that two-thirds of homeowners will see reduced bills in 2026 when compared to 2025. But Democrats again urged caution when voting on the large bill without knowing the full fiscal impact. The Legislative Services Agency doesn't release fiscal notes on amendments until they are adopted. 'I just can't vote on something that has so many uncertainties,' said Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis. A handful of Democrats spoke against the amended bill, many of whom mentioned the changes to the business personal property tax as a major concern. Currently, small businesses with less than $80,000 in such property — which can include equipment, billboards and more — are exempt. Before Wednesday, Senate Bill 1 would have halted the charge on purchases after this year, meaning the revenue to municipalities would gradually fall. A 2024 study from the Indiana Chamber found that exempting the tax on new business personal property would reduce revenue by $1.2 billion for the state while eliminating the depreciation floor would shave away another $35 million. In the amended property tax bill introduced on Wednesday, that $80,000 benchmark increases to $1 million next year and $2 million the year after. 'The government officials in our cities and towns (who) are going to be affected have not been in this conversation. There's still concerns with what we have, even though this amendment does make a little bit better than what we had in committee,' said Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster. '… a lot of elected officials are concerned that they're going to not be able to have this tool.' House Speaker Todd Huston made a rare appeal from the floor, urging his colleagues to advance the motion to amend. 'This is historic taxpayer relief. Historic,' said the Fishers Republican. '… This is a complex system. We are making it a better, more transparent system for all — whether you're a homeowner, a business or a farm. But we are, most of all, making it great for Hoosier families.' After accepting Thompson's edit, Republicans batted away over a dozen Democratic attempts to amend the bill, including ones that would grant more relief to renters, a first-time home buyer's credit and one restricting the personal property tax language to only American corporations. 'The money is tight,' Thompson repeatedly told Democrats, referencing the state's slim revenue growth predictions for the next two years. In a statement, House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta called Senate Bill 1 'a tax hike in disguise.' 'Paying up to 4.1% in income taxes to your city and county on top of state and federal taxes is much more than the $300 max in 'credit' you could receive off your property tax bill in 2026,' said GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne. 'Businesses still get a break, but working Hoosiers get crumbs. This is a bad deal for working Hoosier families, which is why House Democrats voted no on this plan.' The bill must pass through the House one more time before the Senate takes action. That chamber can opt to accept the amended property tax bill or dissent, which would go against Braun's wishes for a quick resolution. Dissenting would send the bill back to a conference committee, where lawmakers would hammer out a final negotiation that both chambers could agree upon. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House Republican plan for property taxes to save homeowners $1.1B
House Speaker Todd Huston, right, and Rep. Jeff Thompson present the House Republican plan for property taxes on April 4, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Lawmakers introduced yet another plan for property taxes this week, pitching a proposal to save homeowners $1.1 billion over three years. In comparison, homeowners would have seen nearly $1.3 billion in relief in 2026 alone under Gov. Mike Braun's previous proposal. In the atypical Friday afternoon press conference, Rep. Jeff Thompson said that 93-94% of homeowners would see lower property tax bills than they would with no action. But the majority of homeowners would pay less in 2026 than they did in 2025. 'We have two main goals in crafting this bill: deliver immediate relief to homeowners and reform the system to prevent the dramatic spikes in property taxes that we've seen in recent years,' said House Speaker Todd Huston. 'Our amendment accomplishes both.' The amendment to Senate Bill 1, set to be introduced on Monday, isn't yet publicly available. Once adopted by a committee, the Legislative Services Agency will release an estimated fiscal note. According to the two Republican leaders, all homestead property tax bills will get a 7.5% credit in perpetuity, up to $200, based on a calculation performed after accounting for property tax caps. Fixed-income seniors will see an additional $150 credit while disabled veterans will get an additional $250 credit. 'Now, every single veteran and every single senior will get a benefit if they qualify,' said Thompson, R-Lizton. But one of the biggest benefits for the average homeowner, Huston said, would be improved transparency for taxpayers, who would be able to assess their bills on a Property Tax Transparency Portal. 'When we do a rate-based and non-levy-based system … I think the normal Hoosier homeowner can understand what their bill looks like. It's not some algebraic equation,' said Huston, R-Fishers. The plan for property taxes joins a handful of other efforts, including one from Gov. Mike Braun, Senate Republicans, a House Democrat and a previous Thompson pitch. Each proposal has varying impacts to homeowners and local units of government, which rely on revenue from property taxes to fund public safety, infrastructure and schools. For instance, Braun's plan would save homeowners the most money on their property taxes going forward but be a heavy hit to the budgets of school corporations, counties, cities and towns. Alternatively, plans that reduce that revenue loss have a small, nearly negligible impact on homeowner property taxes. It's not yet clear what the total estimated impact of those credits will be to local governments. Thompson, the chief budget architect in the House, said most units will still see additional revenue but smaller increases than they would without Senate Bill 1. 'They're still going to be gaining dollars. If I recall, it's about a 5.6% gain (under) current law. This will roughly cut that down to a little over 3%,' Thompson said. 'So they're still adding more dollars, just not as many new dollars.' But Huston cautioned that some units, depending on their circumstances, could see losses simply because of the 'complexity of the system,' pointing to local referendums and debt. Similarly homeowner tax bills vary significantly depending on a home's value, the local tax rate and other factors. 'You could have the same home in the same county — and built in the same year — and you'd have two wildly different property taxes,' Huston said. '… I wish I could stand up here and give you all the bare bone specifics. I'd love to know what my property tax bill is going to look like in '26.' The proposed amendment would also 'rein in' locally held debt, though it's not yet clear how the General Assembly would accomplish that. House Republicans reported that the state's 2,000-plus local units of government hold a combined $53.4 billion in debt. Such calculations will impact local schools, who would get a double-whammy revenue hit with the incorporation of Senate Bill 518 into the plan for property taxes. The current version would require schools to split their revenue with certain charter schools. Under the new language for sharing property taxes, which isn't yet available, Huston said changes for schools wouldn't kick in until 2028 and would be phased in over four years. Thompson also alluded to changes in the state's personal business property tax, including a 'very, very slow, gradual phase down' for purchases made after Jan. 1, 2025. Will it be enough? It's uncertain whether the plan will be enough for the Hoosiers calling for relief. Last month, hundreds rallied to push lawmakers to adopt a plan closer to Braun's proposal, pointing to tax jumps in recent years during the economic fallout of COVID-19. Democratic Rep. Greg Porter said that big business would still be the winners in a Friday press release, criticizing the plan for not addressing home assessments that increase faster than business assessments. CONTACT US 'With roughly $1.1 billion saved over three years and about 1.9 million homesteads, each homeowner will save an average of close to $575 from 2026 to 2028,' Porter said in a statement. '… With an average property tax bill ranging from $1500 to $3000, a yearly credit of only $200 will fail to make a difference.' He also denounced the lack of relief for renters as well as an increased reliance on local income taxes for municipalities to backfill losses. 'Our schools will lose money, especially with Senate Bill 518 rolled into the plan diverting property tax dollars to charter schools so the state can pay even less. This plan encourages local governments to raise their local income tax rate, so you'll get more money in your right pocket but have to pay more out of your left,' Porter continued. Braun threatened to veto earlier versions of the proposal, citing the need for homeowner relief. Still, Huston seemed comfortable with the current package. 'We feel very good about the trajectory that we're on and we will continue to work with our partners on this and figure out where the best place to land the plane is,' said Huston. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
