MARCH 7, 2025

The Big Issues

PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

  • SB 1, the property tax relief bill, was heard in the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday for more than four hours with many local elected officials weighing in on how significant property tax cuts would affect their budgets and the important work they are doing in their communities.
  • The current version of SB 1 contains many provisions, some of them targeted at tax relief for the citizens that need it most, yet it still contains two concerning proposals: the MLGQ freeze for 3 years phasing from 0% in 2026 to 2% in 2028 and excess levy appeals are replaced with a one-year referendum for excess growth. Both of these provisions hamper the ability of the general fund to keep up with the costs of essential services, especially in growing communities.
  • SB 1 was held in committee for further consideration and amendments. It will be heard again next week as concepts from HB 1402 will be discussed as possible additions or replacements in the bill. HB 1402 currently contains a large LIT reform, moving LIT adoption to the city or town level and repealing PTRC combined with significant new property tax deductions, especially in personal property.
  • SB 1, authored by Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle) and sponsored by Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton) will be heard again next Wednesday in the House Ways and Means Committee and likely to be held again and brought back a third time for final amendment and vote.

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 on this concept. Aim is engaging with the 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-Bryneville) and sponsored by Rep. Steve Bartels (R-Eckerty), will be heard next week in the House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee.

STATE BUDGET

  • HB 1001, the state’s biennial budget, is currently being considered by the Senate following changes made in the House during the first half of the legislative session. Tighter revenue projections have placed certain programs in jeopardy – Next Level Trails and READI are not receiving new funding in the House version of the budget.
  • However, HB 1001 contains language to reform the Innovation Development District statute, from which the LEAP district was created, to ensure that all districts moving forward must have approval from local leaders before the project can progress.
  • HB 1001, authored by Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton) and sponsored by Sen. Ryan Mishler (R-Mishawaka), will begin public budget hearings in the Senate Appropriations Committee next week.

FLOOD MAPPING AND DEVELOPMENT

  • HB 1460 normalizes which data is used for engineering requirements for stormwater regulation when engineering new development of undeveloped plats. It also creates a timeline for primary approval of these findings to improve developments.
  • The engineering professionals of Indiana have been a primary component to this conversation, and due to their hard work, this bill has a balanced approach, ensuring proper safety precautions are taken during development, spurring movement on development projects withing Hoosier communities.
  • HB 1460, authored by Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) and sponsored by Sen. Rick Niemeyer (R-Lowell), passed the Senate Local Government committee on Thursday with a vote of 8-0.

PUBLIC WORKS

  • HB 1198 raises the threshold under which municipalities can complete public works projects with their own workforce instead of bidding the project out to $375,000 (up from $250,000) with the threshold adjusted annually for inflation thereafter. It also adds additional flexibility to design public works projects without needing to bid out architectural or engineering review.
  • Aim supports HB 1198 because it provides additional flexibility when completing projects and allows smaller projects to be completed more quickly and efficiently.
  • HB 1198, authored by Rep. Ethan Lawson (R-Greenfield) and sponsored by Sen. Mike Crider (R-Greenfield), passed the Senate Pensions and Labor Committee on Wednesday with a vote of 11-0.
 

MARKET STREET TO MAIN STREET LEGISLATIVE PODCAST

Listen to more about this week on the ninth 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 and Campbell discuss the property tax debate happening at the Statehouse. To learn more about property taxes, check out the property tax webpages and listen to two recent podcast episodes: The Mechanics of Property Taxes and Dispelling Common Myths.

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.

View More Bills of Interest

Our Legislative Summary Sponsors
Please click on the logos below to learn more about our sponsors.
The Terminal