January, 2008

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:

State Rep. Phyllis Pond, R-New Haven, announced Friday that she has filed to run for re-election.

The district she currently represents covers areas of Allen and DeKalb counties. She currently serves on the House Ways and Means and the Judiciary committees.

She wants to be part of ensuring permanent property tax reform and to ensure the planned improvements to U.S. 24 including several interchanges happen as promised.

Representative Pond has served in the Indiana House since 1978.

As you may divine from the Star's article this morning on Governor Daniels' property tax reform bill (House Bill 1001), the Democrat controlled House of Representatives passed many classic Democrat amendments, which GOP leader Brian Bosma says will cost Hoosier taxpayers an additional $350 million.

"We tried to help the poor. We tried to help the renters. These are people who are really left out," said House Speaker Pat Bauer (D-South Bend).

Left out because the bill was intended to address taxes paid by homeowners, something that didn't cross the minds of Democrats whose beholden voting blocs do not necessarily see immediate benefit to lower property taxes.

But the bigger news was the successful amendment by Bauer's fellow South Bend Democrat, David Niezgodski, to scale back the referenda portion of the Daniels' plan. Indiana is one of the few states that does not currently put any sort of school issues before the voting public. Daniels proposed that school construction be put towards referenda. The Niezgodski amendment exempted any building with an academic purpose from the referenda.

The people in charge of re-electing a Democratic majority in the Indiana House of Representatives are going to have a tough time with a party-line vote which took place during the second reading debate on HB 1001, the comprehensive property tax reform proposal recommended by Gov. Mitch Daniels. Amendment Number 72, offered by Rep. David Niezgodski (D-South Bend), exempts most school construction projects from a public referendum requirement. Unlike most states, Indiana allows local governmental bodies, such as school districts, to approve bond issues funded by property tax levies without first obtaining the approval of the voters through a referendum.

Niezgodski claimed during debate that necessary school buildings would not get built if the proposal remained in tact according to the Star's report on the deliberations. "Do you think the people we serve are stupid or dumb?" Rep. Jeff Espich asked Niezgodski. Of course, Niezgodski replied, "No." Nonethless, this vote could quite effectively be used against Democrats in tight races this November. I'm surprised House Democrats strung their members out on this vote. At least Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Jim Schellinger, whose architectural firm has made millions off school construction projects, can sleep a little easier tonight knowing that the House Democrats are fighting to preserve his bottom line.

Here's one of the House Democrats who voted to strip voter referendums from the Gov's property tax plan last night. It's funny how Democrats never want to do anything to control spending.

“We're still looking at the numbers, but it’s possible that people in St. Joseph County will actually see a net tax increase,” explained Rep. Ryan Dvorak, D-Granger.

Here's a guy who says he's worried about taxes going up, may or may not vote for the Gov's plan, but can't bring himself to support referendums that give the public a direct say in how their property taxes are raised. Simply amazing.

Governor Mitch Daniels' property tax relief bill, HB 1001, was heard on second reading in the House of Representatives yesterday. Over 100 amendments were filed and debate occurred on many of them, including amendment number 72. Filed by Rep. Neizgodski, a democrat from South Bend, this amendment revoked the right of the public to vote by referendum to approve school construction projects in their own communities. Apparently listening to the public is only important when they are not trying to stand in the way of big democrat donors like Jim Schellinger, who has put millions in his pockets on the backs of taxpayers while designing the most expensive schools your money can buy.

The single largest factor that led to this year's historic increase in property taxes was local capital projects, specifically new school construction. Debt service to these projects alone accounts for more than half of property tax bills. Historically, Indiana has spent far more than almost any other state on school construction costs, up to 130% of the national average. This is no doubt the product of an unchecked system that includes no public input. This amendment delivered to us from Indiana Democrats ensures they won't have a voice anytime soon.

So much for listening.

This is smart public policy and one of the reasons I like Rep. Dan Leonard’s common sense approach to legislative issues:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Friday, Jan. 22, 2008

Rep. Leonard Fights to Protect Property Tax-payers

(STATEHOUSE) Jan. 22, 2008 – Today, the Indiana House of Representatives debated House Bill 1001, a property tax bill. Rep. Dan Leonard (R-Huntington) authored an amendment to the bill that protects Whitley County property tax-payers.

From the Columbus Republic comes this story about State Representative Cleo Duncan:

State Rep. Cleo Duncan, R-Greensburg, announced Friday that she will seek an eighth term as the District 67 representative.Duncan, 66, said she is motivated by the chance to contribute to several local and statewide projects she considers important.

“I’m very excited about the prospect of working on permanent, meaningful property tax reform,” she said.

Shifting school operating and transportation costs, and child welfare costs from local governments to the state will create significant change.

“In the past we talked about reducing property taxes by cutting a percentage, but that has been a Band-Aid approach,” Duncan said.

Today I had the opportunity to attend the launch of the Mark MacKillop for State Representative campaign in Knox, Indiana. MacKillop, a young Republican who has been twice elected to county-wide office as surveyor, is currently the only candidate running on the Republican side against freshman Representative Nancy Dembowski (D). Dembowski is a former mayor of Knox and was appointed to fill out a term in Senate District 5. She ran for reelection in 2004 but lost to Vic Heinhold (R) who recently resigned due to business opportunities and was replaced by Ed Charbonneau.

In this Republican leaning district during a season of anti-incumbency, Dembowski is vulnerable. MacKillop has the energy, the vision, and the ideas needed to win this race in House District 17. His experience in local government and his vision for a better Indiana combined with the fact that he has won elections in Rep. Dembowski’s strongest areas of support mean that his victory will contribute greatly to a Republican takeover of the House.

Three primary issues loom large in the 2008 session of the General Assembly -- property taxes, property taxes and more property taxes. After decades of first aid, it's time for major surgery on Indiana's antiquated property tax system.

That is why House Republicans stand firm for mmediate relief and permanent reform of our outdated property tax system. Our proposals build on Gov. Mitch Daniels' plan and move us toward bold, immediate and permanent relief for every Hoosier taxpayer.

With the hope of framing the debate on tax reform, House Republicans have announced 10 "Standards for Success" with the goal of including these elements in any plan adopted by the legislature:

House Democrats led by Speaker Pat Bauer spent their 2006 summer vacation in attacking Governor Mitch Daniels for not doing more to address high prices at the gas pump. The governor correctly argued that he can do very little to impact short-term gas prices but has spent much of his time in office focused on developing renewable energy in our state. That wasn't a good enough answer for democrats who kept the attacks up during the final 90 days of the 2006 general election.

Fast forward to the 2008 legislative session and we learn that the House Democrats must think gas is far more affordable today than it was in 2006. House Transportation Committee Chair Terri Austin has introduced HB 1247 to raise the gas tax from $0.18 per gallon to $0.25 per gallon. She also exempts gasoline from the state sales tax, which will surely be the argument that this isn't a tax increase, but as you would expect the state still comes out ahead by as much as $257.9 million dollars when combined with the sales tax increase she also proposes according to the bill's fiscal note.