INDIANAPOLIS - Gov. Mitch Daniels has a pitch, and Tuesday's annual State of the State address will begin his delivery.
Daniels will urge Indiana lawmakers to adopt his property tax plan in Tuesday's address. The next day, he will make an unusual appearance in front of an Indiana House committee.
The governor has said his speech will be "overwhelmingly dedicated" to urging passage of property tax restructuring. Then he will answer questions about his plan in front of the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.
It's the first time Daniels has testified before a legislative committee, and he said it might be the last time, too.
"This is a unique situation of special importance to taxpayers and, therefore, to me," he said.
That's why he accepted the invitation of state Rep. William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, the Ways and Means chairman.
In the past, the governor has used his annual address to roll out his major legislative initiatives for the year. This year, he said, there won't be a long list, and he will focus on only one other issue - improving the percentage of child support payments the state collects.
"It's the most effective anti-poverty program I know because every dollar goes straight in the pocket of a single mom somewhere who undoubtedly needs it," he said. "The number I always tell people is that we've got $600 million or so in child support orders out there now, so every single percent we can improve is $6 million or $7 million."
In Indiana, about 56 percent of court-ordered child support payments are collected. The best states' percentages are in the 70s, the governor said, and "anything less than 100 isn't acceptable."
"Just think of all the dollars that we would deliver to the parents in this state if we could catch up to the best states," he said.
He would not divulge what he will ask the Legislature to do to increase the collections percentage, but he said his administration has identified two or three technical improvements that would help.
Generally, the plan would shift the responsibility for the costs of schools' general funds and child welfare to the state rather than local property taxpayers. To pay for the change, it would raise state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent.
Daniels' plan also would eliminate township assessors, cap property tax bills at 1 percent of the assessed valuation for homeowners and require voter approval for major building projects.
Some legislators have called for property taxes to be eliminated outright. Daniels says that isn't practical now, but contended his plan is a necessary first step.
The governor said he wrote Tuesday's speech over the Thanksgiving holiday, and aside from a few tweaks, the text has remained intact. He will deliver it from the speaker's rostrum of the Indiana House before a joint session of the House and Senate.
State Rep. Dennis Avery, D-Evansville, will be one of the legislators in attendance.
"We need to be concerned that he proposes something that can pass in the short session, that it be something meaningful, that does provide meaningful relief and doesn't damage local government and its ability to provide services to the people that they represent - people in cities and towns and counties," Avery said.
Courier & Press staff writer Bryan Corbin contributed to this story.