INDIANAPOLIS - With the 2008 session not quite half over, the Indiana House has passed one version of property tax relief legislation while the State Senate has passed another.
Now the House and Senate trade bills and consider each other's proposals as the Legislature's short session shifts into its second half.
Although scrutinizing Gov. Mitch Daniels' property tax relief plan has taken up the bulk of the Legislature's time, lawmakers have voted on other important bills. The deadline for final action by both chambers is March 14, when lawmakers adjourn for the year.
Here is a sampling of what's occurred so far.
Mass transit: An attempt to jump-start regional mass transit efforts got approved by the Democrat-controlled House by a vote of 90-7. House Bill 1245 allows local communities to set up mass transit districts, in which additional taxes could be collected to develop mass transit projects, such as buses or light rail. The bill now moves to the Republican-controlled Senate.
Veterans benefits: Military veterans who served after 2001 and received a Purple Heart would be eligible for tax exemptions on their college tuition and fees under House Bill 1249, co-authored by State Rep. Suzannne Crouch, R-Evansville. The House passed the bill and sent it to the Senate.
School boards: In school districts where school board elections now take place in the May primary, board members would instead be elected in the November general election. Senate Bill 2, co-authored by State Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, would move school board elections from spring to fall, when voter turnout typically is higher. Of the 275 elected school boards in the state, approximately 70 percent conduct elections in the primary, even though school boards themselves are non-partisan. The House will consider the bill.
Voting centers: Senators approved an election reform. Senate Bill 235 would allow counties to set up local voting centers at high-traffic locations where voters could cast their ballots regardless of where they reside. The bill now moves to the House.
Domestic violence: Suspects arrested for domestic battery would have to remain in jail for an eight-hour cooling-off period before they could bail out, under Senate Bill 27, which was approved 48-0 and sent to the House.
Illegal immigration: Businesses that are caught employing illegal aliens three times within 10 years could lose their Indiana business license, under Senate Bill 335, which the Senate passed 37-11 and sent to the House. The bill makes an exception if the employer attempted to verify the worker's eligibility status through a federal verification pilot program. The bill now goes to the House.
Smoking: By a 43-5 vote, senators passed Senate Bill 221. It would require stores that sell tobacco to post a notice, warning women of the dangers of smoking while pregnant. The House will now consider the bill.
Property tax relief: The House approved House Bill 1001, which contains the entire Daniels plan with several modifications. The Republican-controlled Senate approved several individual bills also comprising the Daniels plan. Lawmakers have said that compromise versions will likely be consolidated before the session ends.
Generally speaking, the plans include capping property taxes on homesteads at 1 percent of the assessed value, increasing the 6 percent sales tax to 7 percent, shifting school-operating and child-welfare costs off local property taxes, deciding some public construction projects in referendums and eliminating some township assessors in favor of county assessors.
Lawmakers from the House and Senate will have to hammer out major differences, however.
On Friday, hundreds of people attended a Statehouse rally - organized by conservative activist and former gubernatorial candidate Eric Miller of Advance America - to call for a repeal of property taxes.
A bill to eliminate property taxes has died in the Legislature for this session, although the Senate passed another bill that would create a summer study committee to investigate the idea and prepare legislation for 2009.