March, 2008

Jackie Walorski gives us a round-up of this session on her blog. Here's some of what she had to say.

The 2008 Indiana General Assembly is now in the history books and will certainly go down as a session that delivered some major wins for taxpayers. Especially the 30-40% immediate property tax cut for Elkhart and St. Joseph County homeowners. Let me tell you, those wins didn’t come easily. It was a fight all along the way with those who felt they knew how to spend your money better than you. Not only that, it was a battle to convince them that no Hoosier should ever lose their home because of high taxes. I still firmly believe that until we actually “eliminate” the property tax it will be a source of many court battles and fights between local and state governments. But faced with limited options, this tax plan was the only one that I felt brought some immediate relief to Hoosiers this year.

We’ve posted a couple articles on our blog about the House Republican town hall meeting tour this week. Bruce Borders, Amos Thomas and Brian Bosma held one of those Town Hall meetings on Tuesday in Terre Haute. The Tribune printed a long article.

“It is the strongest and most historic property tax relief package that has been adopted in my 22 years in the General Assembly and some have said in two generations,” Bosma said. “It was truly a historic event which will significantly benefit taxpayers in western Indiana today and also cap their property taxes in the future.”

Bosma said House Republicans sought to measure the tax relief plan, in part, by an immediate property tax cut of at least 25 percent to homeowners.

“For folks in Vigo County, that property tax cut for homesteads will be 36.2 percent. In Clay [County] it will be nearly 30 percent and Sullivan [County] will hit nearly 25 percent,” Bosma said.

Republican members of the Indiana House visited Marion on Tuesday to discuss the property tax reform bill that passed the house. 

From the Chronicle-Tribune:

Eight House Republicans came to Marion City Hall, 301 S. Branson St., to discuss the recent legislative session and to answer questions from the public. The No. 1 topic was property tax relief and how it could affect residents of Grant County.

“It was a piece of landmark legislation,” Rep. Jeff Espich said of the property tax relief plan that was passed Friday by the legislature. “It’ll change the way we do business here in Indiana.”

While the statewide average savings in property taxes is around 30 percent, Espich said Grant County residents could see a 35 percent cut from what they would have paid in property taxes this year, then a 39 percent cut in 2009 and a 40 percent cut in 2010.

Rep. Jackie Walorski never misses an opportunity to connect with voters in person and online. She’s doing so on Facebook, through an interactive website, and a blog.

This week, we were invited via Facebook to join Jackie for the Wakarusa Maple Syrup parade. You can too. Visit the event page to RSVP for the parade see Jackie in Wakarusa.

We’ve seen large crowds for Jackie in the past with dozens of volunteers in her parades. You'll be happy you joined her.

Mark Messmer has been campaigning hard in Southern Indiana.  Check out his most recent blog post about campaigning in Martin County.

The Lafayette Journal and Courier covers the bill and its purpose.

Dubbed the Jimmy DeBoy bill, the proposed legislation is named for a 9-year-old Lafayette boy who died after being hit by an impaired driver on July 2006 while riding his bike on South Ninth Street.

The driver, Cesar De La Rosa, pleaded guilty to driving with marijuana in his system and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. It was the maximum he could receive under a plea agreement to the Class B felony, which was the most serious offense prosecutors could charge under current law.

Senate Bill 90 passed 33-15, but was halted when the House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code failed to hear it. Alting is working with Neese to get the language written into House Bill 1052, which the Senate passed 46-1.

The bill would raise the penalty for repeat offenders who operate a vehicle while intoxicated causing death from a Class B felony to a Class A felony, which is the highest penalty class -- excepting murder -- and carries a sentencing range of 20 to 50 years in prison.

It also would increase punishment for impaired drivers causing serious bodily injury from a D felony to a B felony, which carries a sentencing range of up to 17 more years in prison.

Representative Eric Koch recently met with voters in Bedford to talk taxes.  The Bedford Times-Mail covered it.

Rep. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, passed out paperwork showing that most property tax levies, on average, have been rising faster than Hoosiers’ income. You don’t have to be an economist to know that’s a formula for disaster.

From 2000 to 2006, according to Koch’s numbers, Hoosiers’ personal income has grown at an average rate of less than 4 percent a year.

School debt levies have grown at more than 10 percent per year. School transportation and county welfare have grown at more than 6 percent per year. County general funds, city and town general funds, library general funds and school capital projects also have grown faster than Hoosiers’ income.

School general funds are lowest, at about 3 percent.

“To be successful,” Koch wrote of property tax reform, “we must avoid the partisanship and burden-shifting that has characterized previous efforts. All levels and units of government must work together and assume responsibility for the solution by controlling spending.”

There’s one more step to add. Perhaps Hoosiers need to redefine what we think are “essential” services from our governments.