By John Byrne, Post-Tribune staff writer
INDIANAPOLIS -- Northwest Indiana's senators dove into the fray as the fight over whether to amend the state constitution to include property tax caps took center stage in the Statehouse on Monday.
Senate Joint Resolution 1 passed the Senate by a 34-16 vote, and will now head to the House of Representatives, a Democratic-controlled chamber where it will face its true test.
If the resolution passes the House, Hoosiers will have the chance to vote in 2010 on whether property tax caps of 1 percent of assessed value for homes, 2 percent for rental properties and 3 percent for businesses should be in the Indiana Constitution.
The General Assembly adopted the caps as law last year, but Gov. Mitch Daniels and many Republican lawmakers insist the only way to protect them is to move ahead quickly with the amendment process.
Voicing the opinion of many Democrats, Sen. Lonnie Randolph of East Chicago wondered why Daniels is in such a hurry to change the constitution.
"Why is it necessary to amend our state constitution to reflect what's already in the law?" Randolph asked while waving a copy of the state criminal code to emphasize that laws must be followed whether they are in the constitution or not.
But Sen. Frank Mrvan Jr., D-Hammond, said he made a promise to the panicked homeowners of his district that he would work to get them some assurance they will be safe in their residences.
As unemployment rises, Mrvan said it becomes even more important to hold taxes down.
Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, argued against the caps from the other side of the revenue equation. As property tax revenue gets cut by more than half in Gary, Rogers said she wonders how long the city will be able to pay for even the most basic services.
Rogers voted for the caps last session, but now she worries there will be no wiggle room for Gary to get relief from the caps once they are part of the constitution.
Looking at Gary's imperiled public transit, though, Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, used the city as a poster child for government inefficiency.
Hershman noted that each bus ride a citizen of Evansville takes costs that city about $3, while each ride on Gary's bus system runs the city $9.
"That suggests to me that all the units of government are not holding down costs in the way they should," Hershman said.
Among Northwest Indiana senators, Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte, and Karen Tallian, D-Portage, joined Rogers and Randolph in voting no.
Hershman and Mrvan were joined by Republican senators Ed Charbonneau of Valparaiso and Sue Landske of Cedar Lake in the majority.