Legislation targeting squatting gains momentum
Depending on whom you ask, such bills are a solution in search of a problem or an important tool in combatting property problems caused by scammers and the homeless.
Depending on whom you ask, such bills are a solution in search of a problem or an important tool in combatting property problems caused by scammers and the homeless.
But House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, has said repeatedly that Indiana lawmakers don’t make policy simply to raise money.
Lawmakers spent hours in session this week passing several dozen lingering bills, including the budget and property tax reform, before the first-half deadline Thursday.
The bill allows the state to revoke the nonprofit status of a health system or hospital that charges especially high fees.
Lawmakers have less to spend due to slowing growth in state tax revenue and ballooning Medicaid costs—both residual effects of the pandemic.
The Indiana Legislature would have to approve moving any existing gaming licenses or creating new ones.
Senate Bill 1, which previously carried Gov. Mike Braun’s ambitious property tax relief plan, was pared down significantly in committee following outcry from local government leaders.
The bill would reduce property taxes—and therefore reduce local government revenue—by about $1.4 billion over three years, according to the bill’s fiscal plan.
With the committee deadline over, lawmakers are now working with fewer bills in the 2025 session.
The Senate-approved tax bill would limit total growth in property tax revenue, which could reduce individual bills. But the Republican governor said the legislation lacks “meaningful tax cuts.”
Income taxes drove the overall increase, with collections up 4.7% more than the agency anticipated.
The two-year spending plan funds many of Gov. Mike Braun’s agenda items—including additional funding for private school vouchers—but doesn’t include several state tax cuts the new governor proposed.
Next week, the chambers will be busy hearing bills for second and third readings ahead of their Thursday deadline.
Senate Bill 377 introduces a new framework and requirements for regional development funding, shifting the focus from place-aligned projects to more industry-focused development.
The 93-page amendment to Senate Bill 1 introduced Tuesday scrapped an expanded homestead deduction and tax bill caps, which offered the bulk of the plan’s homeowner relief but threatened local government funding.
Indiana lawmakers advanced road-funding legislation Monday morning without a provision that would have allowed Indianapolis to pose a referendum to its residents to pay for road improvements.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30% of private-sector workers do not have access to a defined-contribution retirement plan through their employer.
While many chairs are winding down hearings on the bills assigned to their committees, one of the most anticipated pieces of legislation for the 2025 session had its first committee hearing this week.
Republicans and Democrats testified the bill would decrease local governments’ revenues significantly and affect the quality of some public services.
The House Ways and Means Committee began budget hearings with members of Braun’s cabinet this week. The House will amend its version of the budget into HB 1001 closer to the session’s halfway point in February.