KEY DIFFERENCES ON PROPERTY TAX REFORM HB 1001 (see below)
The Republican controlled Senate and Democratic controlled House now must negotiate a final version of HB 1001.
Key differences include:

WHEN IT TAKES EFFECT~
Senate: Phases in the caps so the full impact isn’t felt until 2010
House: Implements the caps immediately
Resolution: Likely will be phased in, as House Speaker B. Pat Bauer (D-South Bend) has called the Senate change ‘reasonable.’

REFERENDUMS~
Senate: Requires voters to pass referendums for all major building projects, such as schools and libraries.
House:  Exempts referendums for classroom related projects, requiring schools to seek them instead only for such things as stadiums
Resolution: This will be contentious, as schools argue the current citizen remonstrance process works just fine.

ASSESSORS~
Senate: Retains all township assessors unless voters decide in a referendum to shift the duties to the county assessor.
House:  Eliminates all township assessors.
Resolution: Contentious; lawmakers in both parties are defending township government.

CIRCUIT-BREAKERS~
Senate: Caps homeowners’ bills at 1% of a home’s assessed valuation; rental and agriculture property at 2% and business at 3%
House:  Passed those caps in HB 1001 but balked at putting them in the state constitution, preferring instead caps based in part on household income.
Resolution:The single most divisive issue.  Republicans and Gov. Daniels feel the caps are crucial, while Democrats are concerned they will help wealthier home-owners the most and starve schools and cities of needed funds.

HELP FOR THE WORKING POOR AND RENTERS~
Senate: The Senate gives no additional income tax credit for the working poor and increases the renter’s deduction from the current $2,500 to $3,000.
House:  Increased the earned income tax credit for the working poor and doubled the renter’s deduction to $5,000.
Resolution: The Senate is unlikely to budge on the earned income tax credit, but there may be room for negotiation on help for renters.

HB 1001

Final version passed House 82 - 17 and Senate 41 – 6

Talking Points and Suggested Amendments
LSA Circuit Breaker Analysis UPDATED

Property tax relief.
Eliminates: (1) school tuition support levies; (2) school transportation fund levies; (3) county medical assistance to wards fund levies; (4) family and children's fund levies; (5) children's psychiatric residential treatment services fund levies; (6) children with special health care needs county fund levies; (7) the state forestry fund levy; (8) the state fair fund levy; (9) the department of local government finance data base management levy; and (10) levies to pay for incarceration of juvenile delinquents in department of correction facilities. Increases the circuit breaker credit for homesteads, certain rental property, residential mobile home parks, agricultural property, and property of certain lower and moderate income senior citizens. Provides an additional supplemental standard deduction for homesteads. Permits senior citizens to defer the payment of part of the property taxes that would otherwise be due on a homestead. Provides an additional homestead credit for 2008. Eliminates state reimbursed homestead credits, property tax replacement credits, and tax increment financing credits after 2008. Permits a sales disclosure statement to be used as an application for a homestead credit and a standard deduction. Transfers the assessment duties of township assessors and assessor-trustees to the county assessor. Revises assessment standards for strip-mined property, improvements to residential property, integrated steel mills, and oil refinery and petrochemical companies. Provides that noncompliance with assessment rules and policies is evidence that an assessment is incorrect. Changes the 100% deduction for inventory into an exemption. Requires the department of local government finance to establish a uniform and common property tax management system. Increases the state adjusted gross income renter's deduction, property tax deduction (for taxpayers who pay 2007 property taxes in 2008), and earned income tax credit. Imposes additional spending and property tax levy limits on political subdivisions, eliminates excessive levy appeals, and requires spending and levies in excess of the tax and spending limits to be approved in a referendum. Transfers the duties of the county board of tax and capital projects review to the county council. Requires the county council to review budgets, tax levies, and tax rates of all political subdivisions in a county. Requires nonelected bodies to get the approval of a city, town, or county fiscal body before issuing certain bonds or entering into certain leases. Requires school corporations to obtain approval for certain bond issues and lease agreements in a referendum and to use standardized school building plans. Replaces the authority of a county to impose three additional local option income tax rates (i.e., annual levy growth rate; public safety rate; property tax replacement credit rate) with a single rate not to exceed 1%. Preserves rates imposed before January 1, 2008. Requires a study of the formulas used to distribute local option income taxes. Permits counties to retain surplus property tax rebate distributions. Increases the gross retail and use tax to 7%. Provides adoption subsidy procedures and procedures for adjudicating and treating children in need of services and delinquent children. Establishes a school contingency and reserve account. Establishes the transportation study committee. Makes related changes. Makes appropriations.

HB 1114

Signed by the governor 03/13/2008

HB 1119

Final version passed House 94 -0 and Senate 47 – 0

HB 1156

Signed by the Governor 03/13/2008

HB 1171

Signed by Governor 03/13/2008.

SB 0028

Passed Senate 47 – 1 and House 98 – 0

Fire safe cigarettes.
Establishes reduced ignition propensity standards for cigarettes. Authorizes the state fire marshal, the department of state revenue, and the alcohol and tobacco commission to monitor and enforce the standards. Provides for certification fees and penalties. Establishes: (1) the reduced ignition propensity standards for cigarettes fund; and (2) the fire prevention and public safety fund.

SB 0030

Passed as amended (10-0) out of Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee on February 7th

SB 072

Final version passed Senate 47 – 0 and House 95 – 2.

State Officers; Public Employee Benefits (Kruse, Niezgodski)
Authorizes a special death benefit for a chaplain who:Is appointed or officially designated to serve a state law enforcement agency, a sheriff’s department, a volunteer fire department, or a full time police or fire department of a political subdivision; andDies in the line of duty.

Passed out of Senate on January 29 (39-9)

Enhanced 911 systems.
Establishes the 17 member enhanced 911 advisory board (board). Provides that the treasurer of state serves as the chair of the board. Requires the board to develop, maintain, and update an enhanced 911 state plan. Establishes the enhanced 911 system fund (fund). Provides that the board shall administer the fund. Requires the board to impose a monthly enhanced 911 fee (fee) on each standard and prepaid subscriber of voice communications service in Indiana. Provides that for purposes of the fee, "voice communications service" means the transmission, conveyance, or routing of real time, two-way voice communications, regardless of the protocol used. Provides that the amount of the initial fee is $1. Provides that the board may not raise or lower the enhanced 911 fee more than two times in a calendar year. Prohibits a state agency or a political subdivision from imposing any additional fee relating to the provision of enhanced 911 service. Requires a voice communications service provider (provider) to collect the fee: (1) as part of its normal monthly billing process; or (2) at the point of sale, for new prepaid subscribers. Requires a provider to remit the fees collected to the board for deposit into the fund not more than 60 days after the end of the calendar month in which the fees are collected. Allows providers to keep 2% of the fee collected as an administrative fee. Requires the board to distribute money from the fund to counties containing an eligible public safety answering point (PSAP). Requires the board to adopt rules to establish a distribution formula that ensures that each eligible county receives a monthly distribution that is not less than a specified base distribution (based on wireline and wireless enhanced 911 fees received by the county during the six month period beginning July 1, 2007, and ending December 31, 2007). Specifies the permissible uses for the funds distributed to an eligible PSAP. Requires the board to commission an audit of each eligible PSAP every two years. Allows a county to establish an emergency telephone notification system (system). Provides that funds distributed to the county by the board may be used to establish and operate the system if the expenses of operating an eligible PSAP in an adequate and efficient manner have been met. Requires a provider to provide to a PSAP the necessary subscriber data to enable the PSAP to implement and operate an enhanced 911 system. Provides that proprietary information submitted to the board or the treasurer of state is confidential. Provides that after January 1, 2012, a county may not contain more than one PSAP. Requires each political subdivision or agency that operates a PSAP in a county containing more than one PSAP to enter, not later than January 1, 2012, into an interlocal agreement with every other political subdivision or agency that operates a PSAP in the same county. Provides that the interlocal agreement must: (1) provide for the staffing and funding obligations of each county, political subdivision, or agency participating in the establishment of a county or regional PSAP; and (2) be approved by the board. Repeals the statutes concerning: (1) the local monthly enhanced emergency telephone system fee; (2) the statewide monthly wireless enhanced 911 fee; and (3) emergency telephone notification systems. Provides for the expiration on January 1, 2012, of provisions that: (1) establish a public safety communications system and computer facilities district in a county having a consolidated city; and (2) allow certain other counties to establish a public safety communications systems district. Specifies that the funds remaining in the wireless emergency telephone system fund on July 1, 2008, are transferred to the enhanced 911 system fund. Allows the board to make grants to the appropriate state agencies for use in upgrading the state's emergency alert system. Specifies that funds remaining in: (1) a county wireless emergency telephone system fund; or (2) a county or municipal wireline emergency telephone system fund; on July 1, 2008, are transferred to the county's new enhanced 911 system fund. Specifies that the funds transferred must be used first to meet any outstanding obligations incurred by the county or municipality in connection with its enhanced 911 system.