Latest news with #SenateBill518
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
It's late at the Statehouse and best practices are out the door
Christmas is hands-down my favorite time of the year. And the end of session is hands-down my least favorite. That's because for months, the General Assembly has chugged along at a reasonable pace, hearing bills, listening to Hoosiers, making changes, passing measures — even compromising a time or two. And then we hit the final few weeks, and all best practices go out the door. I'm going to lay out three examples we have seen in recent days that don't bode well for a transparent and accountable legislature. It's also why trust in public service continues to erode. Senate Bill 1 was 46 pages when introduced as Gov. Mike Braun's reset plan to help homeowners. It grew under Senate Republicans to 91 pages. And after House Republicans made another amendment, it is a stunning 355 pages. The GOP folded in tangentially related and even unrelated bills, possibly to harvest votes. And it made the product so endlessly complicated that even someone who has covered Indiana's property tax system since its court-ordered redesign is struggling to grasp it all. It now includes a bill that was moving just fine on its own – Senate Bill 518 – and looked like an easy win for the GOP. It provides property tax sharing in some local school districts for public charter schools. It's a perfectly good debate to have on its own but now the measure is in this bill, which means Democrats didn't support it. Opinion: Republicans question Diego Morales' spending: 'It looks like a campaign sign' An amended version also had a long-sought business tax break via a phaseout of the business personal property tax. This came even though the purpose of the bill was long said to be giving homeowners relief from massive assessment and bill spikes. Cooler heads prevailed on second reading, though, and the elimination was removed. Oh yeah, and the bill dissolves a school corporation in Randolph County that has almost all virtual students — which has nothing to do with the original intent. Heck, the bill isn't even titled property tax relief anymore. It's now local government finance. In the first half of session, House Bill 1662 had robust hearings, passed out of committee and then died on the calendar because it didn't have the votes. The bill has been labeled by critics as criminalizing homelessness but proponents say it's about squatters. Now, at this late hour, it was suddenly put into Senate Bill 197 through an amendment. No one following the issue had notice of the amendment, so there was no public testimony. And it is likely headed back to the Senate to see if lawmakers there accept that change. Mind you, senators haven't heard one iota of testimony on the concept. We're in the fourth month, but are still introducing language that has never passed a committee. Several bills filed at the outset were bans on advertising marijuana. None of them had a committee vote in the first half. Briggs: Micah Beckwith and his Indiana DOGE bros are livin' large Instead, a Republican lawmaker added it to a Bureau of Motor Vehicles bill he authored while it was in a Senate committee. The agency was none too pleased, and the language was removed the next week. But never fear, it was added again – this time to Senate Bill 73 on utility trailer sales. The language hasn't passed a single chamber, and most lawmakers have heard no testimony on the pros and cons of such a move. But it could very well become law anyway. Yes, the session isn't over yet. And every day counts. But leaders can't be happy with some of the shenanigans that are just considered to be ho-hum legislating. For the majority of session, decorum prevails. But when the end nears, everyone suddenly forgets that how a law is passed matters just as much as what is passed. And that's why the end of session will always be the worst time of year. Niki Kelly is editor-in-chief of the Indiana Capital Chronicle, where this column first appeared. She has covered the Indiana Statehouse since 1999. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana General Assembly's final weeks mean compromise | Opinion
Chicago Tribune
14-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith posts Senate Bill 1 criticism
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith took to X, formerly known as Twitter, over the weekend to criticize Senate Bill 1. In his 4 p.m. Saturday post, Beckwith said he'd been on the phone 'all day' with Indiana residents and government officials about the controversial state senate bill. 'NOBODY understands this thing… including me!' Beckwith posted. 'On that basis alone we can't let this become law.' Beckwith said Gov. Mike Braun needs to veto the property tax bill, which must return to the Senate before heading to the governor's desk. He asks Braun to call a special session to pass a bill 'that the average Hoosier can understand without hiring (an) army of lawyers and accountants.' A spokesperson for Beckwith declined to further comment on the lieutenant governor's concerns in a Monday email. Senate Bill 1 was initially the property tax relief plan that Braun campaigned on. In the Indiana Senate, it was amended to offer property tax relief by adjusting the percentage cap used to determine the maximum levy growth quotient, according to Post-Tribune archives. The bill passed the state senate in a 37-10 vote on Feb. 17. It moved to the House Ways and Means committee March 3. Senate Bill 1 has since been renamed as a local government finance bill and includes elements of of three bills: Senate amended Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 518, requiring school corporations to share referendum funds with charter schools, and House Bill 1402, which includes a 5-year phase-in of exemptions and deductions to ensure every parcel hits the property tax cap. Since the Indiana House added an amendment to the bill, the Senate must look over the bill again before Braun can move forward. The House's amendment will allow for an additional $100 deduction in property taxes, raising the total savings in property taxes up to $300 for the majority of homeowners in pay-2026, according to Post-Tribune archives. Homeowners can see $1.5 billion in property tax relief through the three years, which would be accomplished by shifting the standard deduction credit to no more than $300, Rep. Jefferey Thompson, R-Lizton — who proposed the amendment — told the Indiana House. Following the House's approval of the amendment, Braun posted his support for their decision, saying Thursday that the bill offers meaningful tax relief for Indiana residents. 'The plan is to CUT, CAP and REFORM means relief now and systemic changes for the future to protect taxpayers,' Braun posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'Thank you to the House for their hard work and I look forward to the Senate sending this to my desk for signature next week!' In a Wednesday X post, Braun said the amendment puts a cap on how much income can be taxed locally and 'cuts the total local income tax rate by 23% from 3.755 to 2.9%.' Before the House sent the bill back to the Senate, the Lake County Council passed a resolution opposing a bill provision that eliminates business personal property tax relief, according to Post-Tribune archives. The resolution claims that Lake County proposed property and business person tax cuts would be about tens of millions of dollars, which could result in cuts to services and stress on the county's budget. 'The statewide local impact of the primary tax-related bills is estimated to be a staggering figure, that would cause widespread negative effects, increase tax burdens on individuals, while offering even more to businesses in an already business tax-friendly state,' the resolution said.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers and their terrible, horrible, no good, very bad time of session
The big maneuvers at the end of session aren't best practices. (Photo illustration by John McGauley) Christmas is hands-down my favorite time of the year. And the end of session is hands-down my least favorite. That's because for months, the General Assembly has chugged along at a reasonable pace, hearing bills, listening to Hoosiers, making changes, passing measures — even compromising a time or two. And then we hit the final few weeks, and all best practices go out the door. I'm going to lay out three examples we have seen in recent days that don't bode well for a transparent and accountable legislature. It's also why trust in public service continues to erode. 1 – The massive property tax measure. Senate Bill 1 went from 46 pages when introduced as Gov. Mike Braun's reset plan helping homeowners. It grew under Senate Republicans to 91 pages. And after House Republicans added another amendment, it is a stunning 354 pages. The GOP folded in tangentially related and even unrelated bills (possibly to harvest votes). And it made the product so endlessly complicated that even someone who has covered Indiana's property tax system since it was redesigned after being found unconstitutional is struggling to grasp it all. It now includes a bill that had been moving just fine on its own – Senate Bill 518 – and looked like an easy win for the GOP. It provides property tax sharing in some local school districts for public charter schools. It's a perfectly good debate to have but now the measure is in this will, which likely means Democrats won't support it. The newly amended version has long sought business tax break in a phaseout of the business personal property tax cut. This comes even though the purpose of the bill was long said to be about giving homeowners relief from massive assessment and bill spikes. Oh yeah, and it also dissolves a school corporation in southern Indiana has almost all virtual students, which has nothing to do with the bill. Heck, the bill isn't even titled property tax relief anymore. It's now local government finance. 2 – Reviving things that already failed once due to lack of support. In the first half of session House Bill 1662 had robust hearings, passed out of committee and then died on the calendar because it didn't have the votes. The bill has been labeled by critics as criminalizing homelessness. Now at this late hour, it was suddenly put into Senate Bill 197 via an amendment. No one following the issue had notice of the amendment so there was no public testimony. And it is likely headed back to the Senate to see if they 'concur' or accept that change. Mind you, senators haven't heard one iota of testimony on the concept. 3 – Brand new language. We're in the fourth month, and yet still putting in language that has never even passed a committee. Several bills filed at the outset were bans on advertising marijuana. But none of them passed a committee vote in the first half. So, instead, a Republican lawmaker added it to a BMV bill he authored while it was in a Senate committee. The agency was none too pleased, and the language was removed the next week. But never fear, the language was added again – this time to Senate Bill 73 on utility trailer sales. The language hasn't passed a single chamber, and most lawmakers have heard no testimony on the pros and cons of such a move. But it would very well become law anyway. Yes, the session isn't over until the session is over. And every day counts. But leaders can't be happy with some of the shenanigans that are just considered to be ho-hum legislating. For the majority of session, cooler heads prevail and then when the end nears everyone forgets that it matters just as much how a law is passed as what is passed. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lake County passes resolution against portion of Senate Bill 1
The Lake County Council passed a resolution Tuesday in opposition to a provision in Senate Bill 1 that eliminates business personal property tax. On Monday, Senate Bill 1, which aims to provide property tax relief, was amended to include elements of three bills: the Senate amended Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 518, which requires school corporations to share referendum funds with charter schools, and House Bill 1402, proposed by House Ways and Means committee chairman Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, which includes a 5-year phase-in of exemptions and deductions so that every parcel in the state hits the property tax cap. The Lake County Council resolution states that Senate Bill 1 'would have an impact on municipal taxing units exceeding $2 billion.' In Lake County, the proposed property and business personal tax cuts would result in an estimated tens of millions of dollars, according to the resolution. While the local income tax adoption, which was offered as a solution for property tax cuts in the House Ways and Means committee, that option isn't 'adequate to replace the magnitude of what is being eliminated, making it a necessity rather than an option.' 'With an essentially mandated income tax increase being the only alternative proposed by lawmakers, the homeowners who these tax measures endeavor to assist will be among the same individuals paying the income tax, making businesses the only recipient of the tax cuts,' according to the resolution. If Senate Bill 1 were passed as proposed, Lake County 'will be forced to make significant cuts to services' and result in stress on the county's budget, which will negatively impact the county's ability to enter into bonds or to save money for new development, according to the resolution. 'The statewide local impact of the primary tax-related bills is estimated to be a staggering figure, that would cause widespread negative effects, increase tax burdens on individuals, while offering even more to businesses in an already business tax-friendly state,' according to the resolution. The resolution passed with all five Democratic members voting in favor while Councilman Randy Niemeyer, R-7th, voting against the resolution and Councilman Pete Lindemulder, R-4th, abstaining. As a small business owner, Niemeyer said he's in favor of eliminating the business personal property tax as long as a replacement for the tax is proposed. Niemeyer said he's served in local government for 17 years and understands that the essential services local government provides are not 'duplicated at any other level.' Niemeyer said he met with Gov. Mike Braun, at the governor's residence, last week, and told him to review the report Finance Director Scott Schmal put together, which shows the root cause of increased property taxes for homeowners has been the discrepancy in assessed value calculations of homes versus businesses. 'The mathematical equations are broken,' Niemeyer said. 'I'm not opposed to the reform. I think reform is a healthy thing, that we should do probably once every 10 years anyways, is take a look at all of our systems and make sure it matches the current environment and the needs of services to the people.' Lindemulder said he talked with a legislator who told him that the legislature is 'just scatter-shooting this whole thing.' Lindemulder said his concern is that if the proposed property tax reform is approved, it will force municipalities to pass innkeepers taxes or food and beverage taxes to fill their budgets. 'Those taxes are never going away,' Lindemulder said. 'We're just increasing taxes long-term by trying to show a win in the short term.' Councilman Ted Bilski, D-6th, said the resolution shows the legislature 'needs to be addressed.' 'They need to stop messing with this. We need to put as much pressure on them and say, 'You know what? Quit trying to destroy everything for all 92 counties,'' Bilski said. 'I'm disgusted with what's going on down there. They're completely wrong.' Braun said last week that the legislature and his administration will work on the property tax bill and 'land it in a spot' where local governments and schools 'are healthy.' 'But there's got to be real relief for the taxpayer. If everybody is pissed off, we've probably done it right. We'll see. There's been a big overreaction, I think, among local governments and school districts,' Braun said. akukulka@
Chicago Tribune
08-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Lake County passes resolution against portion of Senate Bill 1
The Lake County Council passed a resolution Tuesday in opposition to a provision in Senate Bill 1 that eliminates business personal property tax. On Monday, Senate Bill 1, which aims to provide property tax relief, was amended to include elements of three bills: the Senate amended Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 518, which requires school corporations to share referendum funds with charter schools, and House Bill 1402, proposed by House Ways and Means committee chairman Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, which includes a 5-year phase-in of exemptions and deductions so that every parcel in the state hits the property tax cap. The Lake County Council resolution states that Senate Bill 1 'would have an impact on municipal taxing units exceeding $2 billion.' In Lake County, the proposed property and business personal tax cuts would result in an estimated tens of millions of dollars, according to the resolution. While the local income tax adoption, which was offered as a solution for property tax cuts in the House Ways and Means committee, that option isn't 'adequate to replace the magnitude of what is being eliminated, making it a necessity rather than an option.' 'With an essentially mandated income tax increase being the only alternative proposed by lawmakers, the homeowners who these tax measures endeavor to assist will be among the same individuals paying the income tax, making businesses the only recipient of the tax cuts,' according to the resolution. If Senate Bill 1 were passed as proposed, Lake County 'will be forced to make significant cuts to services' and result in stress on the county's budget, which will negatively impact the county's ability to enter into bonds or to save money for new development, according to the resolution. 'The statewide local impact of the primary tax-related bills is estimated to be a staggering figure, that would cause widespread negative effects, increase tax burdens on individuals, while offering even more to businesses in an already business tax-friendly state,' according to the resolution. The resolution passed with all five Democratic members voting in favor while Councilman Randy Niemeyer, R-7th, voting against the resolution and Councilman Pete Lindemulder, R-4th, abstaining. As a small business owner, Niemeyer said he's in favor of eliminating the business personal property tax as long as a replacement for the tax is proposed. Niemeyer said he's served in local government for 17 years and understands that the essential services local government provides are not 'duplicated at any other level.' Niemeyer said he met with Gov. Mike Braun, at the governor's residence, last week, and told him to review the report Finance Director Scott Schmal put together, which shows the root cause of increased property taxes for homeowners has been the discrepancy in assessed value calculations of homes versus businesses. 'The mathematical equations are broken,' Niemeyer said. 'I'm not opposed to the reform. I think reform is a healthy thing, that we should do probably once every 10 years anyways, is take a look at all of our systems and make sure it matches the current environment and the needs of services to the people.' Lindemulder said he talked with a legislator who told him that the legislature is 'just scatter-shooting this whole thing.' Lindemulder said his concern is that if the proposed property tax reform is approved, it will force municipalities to pass innkeepers taxes or food and beverage taxes to fill their budgets. 'Those taxes are never going away,' Lindemulder said. 'We're just increasing taxes long-term by trying to show a win in the short term.' Councilman Ted Bilski, D-6th, said the resolution shows the legislature 'needs to be addressed.' 'They need to stop messing with this. We need to put as much pressure on them and say, 'You know what? Quit trying to destroy everything for all 92 counties,'' Bilski said. 'I'm disgusted with what's going on down there. They're completely wrong.' Braun said last week that the legislature and his administration will work on the property tax bill and 'land it in a spot' where local governments and schools 'are healthy.' 'But there's got to be real relief for the taxpayer. If everybody is pissed off, we've probably done it right. We'll see. There's been a big overreaction, I think, among local governments and school districts,' Braun said.
