2008 Session

Republican tour continues in New Albany

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:46:33 -0500

Reps. Brian Bosma and Eric Turner visited New Albany last week to continue to promote the Republican property tax relief program passed this general assembly.

The News and Tribune:

The two were in Evansville on Wednesday before making the drive to New Albany. Their message has been one of support for the property-tax relief package, which will include $620 million in aid for 2008.

“The burden of property taxes was becoming unbearable for homeowners,” Turner said.

Turner said the goal of legislators in favor of the package was to make taxes less formidable for property owners, while at the same time making the levies predictable.

“Over and over, people said to us that they would go to their mailbox with sweaty palms, not knowing how much there property taxes were going to go up,” Turner said.

Bosma called the reform historic, saying there had not been such an effort in Indiana since the 1973 tax freeze.

He said homeowners will save an average of 25 percent this year on property taxes. Floyd County property owners will save nearly 31 percent on average, according to Bosma.

By 2010, the tax circuit breaker will be at 1 percent for residential property owners. The median homeowner’s cap would be $1,207.

The state sales tax will be raised to seven percent to provide funds to replace property-tax dollars. Bosma said residents around Indiana have told him they prefer the sales tax increase in exchange for reductions in property taxes.

Immediate tax relief was one of four goals Bosma said GOP lawmakers had outlined for the latest legislative session. Other aims were to make caps permanent, empower local taxpayers and to place limits on local government spending.

Need A Reason for Referendum and Reform?

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:05:44 -0500

If you need a reason to support the Republican-backed referendums, look no further than to what’s happening in the Center Grove area in Johnson County. Note that the Johnson County Daily Journal requires a subscription to read the full text:

Two Center Grove elementary schools will be closed and sold, two will be expanded or renovated, and a new elementary school will be built if a plan by school officials is accepted.
The change would make Center Grove’s five remaining elementary schools larger, housing 650 to 750 students, and follow Gov. Mitch Daniels’ request for schools to consolidate and operate more efficiently, Superintendent Steven Stephanoff said. The project is being done quickly to get approval before state legislators make major changes to the property tax system, he added.

So let’s get this straight. The Center Grove Superintendent is pushing a major construction project for the district. He wants to get it approved NOW. Why?

By his own admission, because he fears that the legislature will give more power to the voters this session. I suppose he wonders whether or not (with property tax increases through the roof) taxpayers will agree to pay for it.

Last I looked, we were living in a democratic country. But, I digress.

Now, that’s bad enough. But here comes more.

A vote by the board could come in February or March. If approved, officials would next decide how the project would be paid for and whether the money borrowed should be part of a larger loan to pay for renovating and expanding the high school.
How much the work will cost, or exactly how it will be paid for, isn't known.

Yeah. You read that right. The Superintendent wants to approve his new multi-million dollar project- without a price tag and without a way to pay for it.

If we don’t get the referendum proposal passed, this kind of insanity will continue. That’s why the Republicans are fighting hard for it. We are still looking for a credible reason why the Democrats have opposed it.

GOP, Indy Star: Give the people a voice, Dems: No way

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:16:37 -0500

That’s how it seems to be shaking out, and it’s disappointing. Even the Indianapolis Star editorial board seems to be perplexed.

One new amendment, approved by House Democrats voting along party lines, would limit school construction referendums to those projects not directly tied to classroom instruction. Taxpayers under the proposal could still decide whether to build a new high school football stadium but wouldn't be able to vote on whether proposed classroom buildings are excessively expensive.

Opponents of referendums fear that taxpayers would be too stingy, blocking necessary construction to the detriment of students. But Hoosiers have shown repeatedly that they're willing to spend money on education when school administrators make clear that needs -- and not mere wants -- truly exist.

Taxpayers already have oversight of sorts through a remonstrance process. But it's a convoluted system that lacks transparency.

What opponents of referendums are really saying is that they fear taxpayers are unable to make wise decisions about how their money should be spent. That's not an attitude the General Assembly should embrace.

House Republicans, however, are clear. There is nothing dangerous about giving voters a voice in local school construction projects. Why the Democrats don’t trust the people is a mystery.

Republicans focused on restraining the excesses of government

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:26:32 -0500

Let’s be clear. As Republicans, we understand that increases in property taxes haven’t materialized from nowhere.

They came because government isn’t living within its means.

That’s why we support a state spending cap and support giving voters a voice in local government spending projects. The Indianapolis Star editorial board agrees. The Democrats, however, have rejected giving voters a say and shot down spending caps.

That’s bad for Hoosiers because it sets us up for another property tax crisis down the road.

Republicans have set standards for success so we won’t have that happen.

Immediate property tax cut by May 2008.
Strong state and local spending caps.
Permanent 1 percent of assessed valuation homestead cap.
Remove schools and welfare from property tax.
Make caps and levy removals permanent.
Referenda for local construction and budget increases.
School construction projects built on local option income tax.
Fund all cuts with sales tax alone.
Single assessment official in each county.
Permanent elimination of homestead property tax.

Reasonable minds agree that the people should have a voice. Why don’t Democrats?

More Republican ideas to save taxpayers money: Democrats continue to dig a debt hole

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:55:54 -0500

If we’ve learned one thing from the final version of HB 1001, it’s that Republicans have emphasized fiscal responsibility while Democrats have been looking for ways to create more problems.

Take Rep. Dan Leonard’s idea to save money on school construction.

Last year, three new schools were built in the 50th District, and they were all very similar, but all had separate building plans. Rep. Leonard’s amendment, the Little Red Schoolhouse Amendment, would require the state to have school building plans already drawn up for counties to use. This would save Hoosier taxpayers millions of dollars in design fees.

“School construction is a large portion of local government costs,” said Rep. Leonard. “By moving to pre-designed school construction plans, we will reduce cost to counties, cutting property taxes. Many other states, such as Florida, have already successfully instituted statewide school building plans.”

Whitley County is currently building a new school and estimated costs are $62 million. This bill would help contain costs on construction plans, architect fees and engineering cost. School building costs in Indiana now average 149 percent of the national average for cost per square foot. This is an attempt to lower that and keep spending under control.

The Democrats, however, stopped a spending cap amendment designed to reign in state spending. In addition, they again eliminated a provision that would give Hoosiers input on local construction projects- a line item that’s now estimated to be responsible for as much as 50% of the total property tax burden on taxpayers.

So let’s summarize 2008 thus far…

Republicans announced a property tax solution that voters demanded. Democrats tried to shift blame.
Republicans announced a fiscally responsible proposal. Democrats added $340,000,000 in spending.
Republicans proposed spending caps and voter referenda. The Democrats protected the entrenched liberal leadership of the teachers union, not the taxpayers.

General Assembly - 1, Rep. Craig Fry - 0

prospergroup — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:59:51 -0500

The House just passed the majority of the Governor's property tax relief plan (supported by House Republicans) by a vote of 93-1. Great. The General Assembly agrees. Score one for the good guys!

Democrat Craig Fry, protector of all things ridiculous, voted against it. This may be because he couldn't force Pat Bauer into giving him some sort of special earmark like in the 2007 budget. See Fry's own press release bragging about his 2007 feat at http://www.in.gov/legislative/house_democrats/fry_press_20070223.html.

Sorry Craig, no money for your pocket this time.

Here's the coverage of the bill passage from the Indy Star.

We need radical change- that is, while leaving everything the same

prospergroup — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:05:56 -0500

Voters in 2007 (and soon in 2008) have let elected officials know that they want change. Fundamentally, Republicans understand that you can't have change in state government without... change. Democrats, however, don't seem to agree.

It's clear that Hoosiers feel they've been taxed too much. Republicans agree. That's why House Republicans have supported a spending cap. It's a simple concept - let's make government live within its means so that we can return money to the taxpayers.

The Democrats? Let's leave things the way they are.

How about giving voters a chance to vote on government spending- particularly school construction projects? Republicans said "let's give voters a say."

The Democrats? We need things to be the same.

Will someone please let the Democrats know that change requires change? Republicans have gotten the voters' message. The Democrats just don't get it.

Check out more coverage from Frugal Hoosiers, Advance Indiana, and Indiana Barrister.

Speaker Bauer, we're glad it's not a secret anymore

prospergroup — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:51:20 -0500

We may not have an equivelent to the CIA in Indiana, but that doesn't mean we don't have state secrets. Until just today, those secrets included the House Calendar.

We're thankful that Speaker Bauer has finally decided to shed some light on his thinking this session. When he was speaker, Republican Leader Brian Bosma opened up the legislature for the public in unprecedented ways. Speaker Bauer was taking us backwards by, until today, hiding from the public which bills the legislature will be considering.

The Senate seems to be working hard to pass property tax legislation to ease the burden most Hoosier taxpayers are finding when they receive their bills in the mail. On Friday, their calendar was 3 pages full of bills coming down from Senate Committees and ready to be heard on the Senate floor.

Ours? Missing in action.

If, as the Speaker insists, the short session can't handle much more than property taxes, then why did it take him over 15 days to determine the House's schedule? Someone should let Speaker Bauer know that time is of the essence, and if we are to get things done, putting bills on the calendar, instead of waiting until the last minute and wasting everyone's time, would be most appreciative.