By Bryan Corbin, Evansville Courier & Press
INDIANAPOLIS - Homeowners in Posey County and two other counties where reassessments were ordered would get tax credits instead of rebate checks under a proposal state lawmakers unveiled Tuesday, the first official day of the Legislature's new session.
Lawmakers reconvened as a group Tuesday for the first time in seven months to start the clock on passing legislation to reform the property tax system. Normally the Legislature's annual organization day is largely ceremonial; but breaking with tradition, lawmakers on Tuesday passed one bill and introduced several others.
The effort to fix property taxes comes seven months after the Legislature voted to soften the blow of tax increases by passing a $300 million rebate-check program, funded through slot machines at horse tracks. Rebate checks, an average of $240 per homeowner, were to be sent out from December through February.
Since then, however, the state has ordered a number of counties to conduct reassessments to fix irregularities. In three counties where reassessments are ongoing - Posey, Marion and Shelby - taxpayers had to pay their 2007 bills at 2006 levels and will be required to make up the difference, or get a refund, through a reconciliation bill for 2007 that will be sent sometime in 2008.
Since the rebate checks in those three counties won't arrive until after the 2008 spring bills, a group of state lawmakers said they wanted to expedite relief.
"Instead of a rebate check, we would have a credit on the reconciliation bill, so that would reduce the amount they would have to pay - and maybe in some cases they would not have to pay very much at all," said Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis.
Young was one of six Republican and two Democratic senators who unveiled the legislation, Senate Bill 21, on Tuesday.
Issuing homestead credits instead of rebates would save counties the costs of printing and postage for thousands of checks, said Michael Rodman, county treasurer of Marion County,
Posey County Treasurer Mary Rose did not know when rebate checks would be issued there and referred questions to Auditor Jolene Elpers, who was out of the office. Rose said the deadline to pay combined spring-and-fall property tax bills in Posey County is Nov. 30.
Under the proposal, rebate checks still would be issued in the other 89 counties, Young said.
House Republicans had opposed the rebate-check program last April, preferring to send taxpayers' relief directly through a credit on their fall bills.
House Republican Minority Leader Brian Bosma said Tuesday he still hoped to get rebate checks converted to tax credits in all counties where checks have not yet been mailed.
But the top House Democrat, Speaker Patrick Bauer, controls the agenda, and he is opposed to converting the rebate checks to tax credits for all 92 counties.
"What's done is done," he said.
Bauer, D-South Bend, left open the possibility of doing so just for Posey, Marion and Shelby counties.
"We will review that situation in January and February. I will say this, they are in a more unique situation than most of the state, since they won't be getting their bills that are eligible for rebate until sometime next year," Bauer said.
A Senate Democrat, Sen. Jean Breaux, is co-authoring the bill. She hoped Bauer would soften his opposition to converting rebates into credits.
"I would only appeal to the (Bauer) that he would look at this in a reasonable fashion and I believe he, too, would see the soundness of this decision," Breaux, D-Indianapolis, said.
By introducing Senate Bill 21 now, senators can hold hearings on it in November and December in hopes of passing it in early 2008, Young said.
In the lone bill that passed, both the House and Senate suspended rules and overwhelmingly ratified relief steps taken earlier this year by Daniels after homeowners received tax bills that rose an average of 24 percent statewide and in some areas doubled or tripled.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.