MARCH 14, 2025

The Big Issues

PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

  • SB 1, the property tax relief bill, was heard in the House Ways and Means Committee last Wednesday once again as the committee considered an amendment that would insert all the provisions of HB 1402 into SB 1.
  • HB 1402 would completely revamp the local income tax (LIT) system, having different rates adopted for each type of unit and allowing all cities and towns with a population of 3,500 or more to adopt their own LIT rate without input from other cities or the county. The LIT reforms are generally positive, but more work will need to be done for cities and towns with a population of 3,500 or below because in the current version of the bill, they rely on the county to adopt their rate for them.
  • This proposal would also increase the homestead deduction to 2/3 of the tax bill and add a new deduction on other residential property and farmland of 1/3 of the tax bill. It would also phase out the business personal property tax by first phasing out the 30% on existing property and then phasing out the tax entirely on new property. This would hurt industrial-heavy communities significantly and would narrow the entire tax base, raising tax rates, moving into the future.
  • SB 1, authored by Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle) and sponsored by Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton), was held again in committee and will return in future meetings either for more testimony on more proposals or for a final amendment and vote.

PUBLIC BIDDING

  • SB 5 would require all local units that receive state appropriations (which is all of them, since all units receive MVH and LRS money at least) to go through a public bidding process for all contracts and projects except for legal services and emergency situations. It would also void all existing contracts that were not put through a public bidding process.
  • Aim opposes this proposal as it would override the entire local public bidding statute, including all of the public private partnership statutes, and cause contracts that are midway through implementation to be cancelled and rebid. This would be highly disruptive to local processes. This bill is expected to be heavily amended in the house and Aim is working with the bill sponsor to ensure this language is removed.
  • SB 5, authored by Sen. Scott Baldwin (R-Noblesville) and sponsored by Rep. Matt Lehman (R-Berne), has yet to be scheduled for a hearing in the House.

PUBLIC NOTICES

  • HB 1312 would create a new statewide website to which local governments could post legally required public notices free of charge instead of being required to publish them in a local newspaper.
  • This has been a long-standing Aim legislative initiative, and our goal is for it to become law this year. Local newspapers charge for public notice publication, which does create a negative fiscal impact for communities, but just as importantly, local governments have to time their public meetings when papers can publish the notices to meet statutory deadlines. As papers close or reduce the number of issues they publish per week, this process becomes more and more difficult and, in many rural communities, largely unworkable.
  • HB 1312, authored by Rep. Jennifer Meltzer (R-Shelbyville) and sponsored by Sen. Liz Brown (R-Fort Wayne), was heard in the Senate Local Government Committee on Thursday but was held for a vote at a future meeting.

POLICE TRAINING REIMBURSEMENT

  • SB 95 would require a community that hires a police officer from another department within the first three years after that officer completes training to reimburse the department that trained the officer for their investment in the officer’s training.
  • The issue of officers moving from department to department for competitive pay is an issue all of our communities are dealing with, and many have different opinions about this bill’s approach. There are complicated issues in this bill, including how costs are determined (and how disputes between departments will be resolved) and how this bill will interact with contractual or union provisions that already deal with this issue in many communities throughout the state.
  • SB 95, authored by Sen. Gary Byrne (R-Brynesville) and sponsored by Rep. Steve Bartels (R-Eckerty), passed the House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee with a vote of 13-0.

WATER UTILITIES

  • HB 1459 would require all municipal water and wastewater utilities to develop an asset management plan that complies with standards set by the IURC and submit it once every four years. Failing to adequately complete this requirement twice could result in the utility falling under IURC jurisdiction.
  • Aim is working with the bill authors to address the very real need for improved asset management and training for small utilities without excessively punitive and expensive consequences like IURC rate control.
  • consequences like IURC rate control.
    HB 1459, authored by Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) and sponsored by Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford), was heard Thursday in the Senate Utilities Committee and was held for amendment and vote at a future meeting.
 

MARKET STREET TO MAIN STREET LEGISLATIVE PODCAST

Listen to more about this week on the tenth episode of the 2025 Market Street to Main Street Podcast Series, Aim’s legislative episodes of the Hometown Innovations Podcast and a supplement to this e-newsletter. In this episode, Jennifer, Amy, Campbell, and Isabel chat about this week’s House and Ways Committee meeting and the positive momentum to streamline public notices.

To listen to Market Street to Main Street, please visit The Terminal post and click the “play button” on the audio player. Or you can subscribe to Aim Hometown Innovations Podcast on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

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