Dan Carden, Times of Northwest Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS | A House-approved proposal intended to save schools and local governments money by ensuring timely property tax payments was changed Tuesday by a Senate committee to only apply to counties that repeatedly send late tax bills.
Under House Bill 1059, all counties would have had to send provisional tax bills equal to half of the previous year's bills if the current year's taxes haven't been determined yet. The provisional tax bill would be due May 10.
State Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh, D-Crown Point, says schools and local governments are wasting money on interest payments for loans they've had to take out when property tax bills are sent late.
"It's costing them money they don't have, quite frankly," VanDenburgh said.
However, state Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, convinced the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee on Tuesday to shift the due date to June 10 and only require counties that are late for a second year in a row to send provisional bills.
"We're looking for people who are kind of a repeat offender there," Kenley said.
VanDenburgh sat quietly while the committee voted 10-0 to change the terms of her proposal. Kenley said he's interested in speaking with VanDenburgh and possibly changing the legislation again before a final Senate vote next week.
The Democratic-controlled House approved the original legislation 97-0. If the Republican-controlled Senate approves its amended version, a House-Senate conference committee would meet to work out the differences.
VanDenburgh said she believes she could use that opportunity to put the measure's focus back on solving the problem of late tax bills.
"The taxpayers around our entire state are so frustrated right now, not knowing what their taxes are and when they're due," VanDenburgh said. "We owe that to the citizens of our state to have that tax bill in their hand in a timely fashion."