2025 Legislative Session: A Month In

We're roughly a month into the legislative session and here at the Chamber we've been working hard to keep track of a number of bills.

One of the biggest topics has been property taxes. We've been tracking upwards of 15 separate pieces of legislation having to do with property taxes and assessments. While most are still awaiting a hearing, SB 1 was recently heard in committee. Lawmakers have been trying to thread the needle between providing much-needed relief to homeowners without decimating municipal revenues. It seems that striking such a balance is proving to be quite difficult. An article from WTHR provides a good synopsis of the competing interests. It is still quite early in the session and there is time yet for legislators to come up with a solution that works for all parties. We'll keep tracking this legislation to see what they come up with.

Not only are we following legislation, but we are, when necessary, speaking on legislation as well. Our O'Neill Advocacy Fellow Josh Levesque testified in front of the House Ways and Means Committee in support of HB 1080. This bill, authored by Rep. Peggy Mayfield, would allow Ellettsville to set up its own food and beverage tax to help keep pace with the recent growth the community has seen. Other local legislators have also seen some movement on their legislation. Sen. Koch's SB 4 deals with regulations around long haul water pipelines. It has passed the Senate and is now awaiting action in the House. Sen. Yoder helped to author SB 14 which loosens regulations around vegetable gardens in residential districts. This bill has also passed the Senate and is awaiting action in the House. Rep. Hall's HB 1245 has made its way through committee and should soon face a vote in the full House. This bill would allow certain counties with state parks to impose a surcharge of not more than $1 in addition to gate fees. The revenue generated could be used for public safety and infrastructure improvements.

Other areas that have seen movement include teacher compensation, restricting minor access to social media, and reducing chronic absenteeism. Many other topics are yet to be addressed, but with 2 months left in the session, a lot can still happen.

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