2025 Legislative Session Kicks Off

Thank you to all who made it to our Legislative Preview last Friday at the Hilton Garden Inn. We had a great turnout and members posed thought-provoking questions to Reps. Hall, Mayfield, and Pierce. If you missed the event, you can catch it on CATS here.

I'm currently in bill tracking mode and I'm following a number of bills that have been filed at the Statehouse. Here are some that have stood out so far:

Property Tax Bills

• SB1 amends the standard homestead deduction
  • 60% of a home's assessed value for properties over $125K
  • $48,000 plus 60% of remaining assessed value for properties under $125K
• SB6 would authorize county councils to establish a property tax payment deferral program
• SB68 would provide a property tax deduction equal to $120,000 for persons 65+
• SB105 would do away with annual adjustments of assessed values and, instead, adopt 4-year cyclical reassessments

Schools

• SB8 would make it so that school levy referenda may only be placed on the ballot during a general election primary or a general election. It also looks like schools will need to wait two years between a current levy expiring and a new levy being put on the ballot
• HB1136 would dissolve public school corporations if more than 50% of the students in that corporation's district are enrolled in schools not operated by that school corporation

Monroe County Food & Beverage Tax

• HB1080 would adjust the current breakdown of the Monroe County Food & Beverage Tax to give Ellettsville a share of the county's portion. I had the opportunity to go to the Statehouse and testify on this bill. Feel free to check out the committee video here for more on that discussion

Annexation

• SB126 would require a municipality that initiates an annexation to file a petition approved by:
  • At least 51% of the owners of non-tax exempt land in the annexation territory or;
  • The owners of at least 75% of the assessed value of non-tax exempt land in the annexation territory
• HB1362 would require a municipality that initiates an annexation to file a petition approved by:
  • At least 65% of the owners of non-tax exempt land in the annexation territory or;
  • The owners of at least 85% of the assessed value of non-tax exempt land in the annexation territory

I'll keep tracking these bills and many more as they make their way through the legislature.