By Eric Bradner, Evansville Courier & Press
INDIANAPOLIS - Lawmakers have done their part, and now it will be up to voters to decide whether to property tax caps should be added to Indiana's constitution.
The state Senate passed the caps Tuesday afternoon on a 35-15 vote. It was the final vote necessary to put the question on November's ballot, since the Indiana House passed endorsed the same legislation on a 75-23 vote last week.
Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, voted for the caps, while Democratic Sens. Bob Deig of Mount Vernon, Lindel Hume of Princeton and Richard Young of Milltown voted against them.
Gov. Mitch Daniels, who is set to deliver his annual State of the State address this evening, will devote part of the speech to thanking lawmakers for advancing the top item on his agenda this year.
Meanwhile, organizations that lobby for schools and local government units will now shift their efforts away from the General Assembly and toward persuading Hoosiers that making the caps permanent and unchangeable would mean fewer services.
The Senate's Tuesday vote was the last phase of a process that started in 2008, when lawmakers responded to rapidly increasing property tax bills statewide due largely to new assessment rules.
The caps would limit property tax bills to 1 percent of assessed value for homeowners, 2 percent for farms and rental property and 3 percent for businesses. Those caps became state law in 2008, but lawmakers also sought to make them permanent by amending them into the constitution as well.
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce and Indiana Farm Bureau oppose the caps because they think it's unfair to treat commercial and residential property differently. Many mayors have opposed the caps, pointing out that money saved by taxpayers is less cash for city budgets.
The Chamber hasn't yet decided whether it will launch a public campaign urging people to vote against the caps if the Senate approves the proposal Tuesday, Chamber President Kevin Brinegar said.
"We've got to decide whether there's some reasonable chance or whether we're just throwing resources down a rat hole," he said.
Purdue University political science professor James McCann noted that off-year, low-turnout elections typically draw more committed voters who have already made up their minds.
"This issue is already going to be on their radar," he said. "Anybody who has a lot of fire in the belly one way or another for this issue would already be activated."
Greencastle Mayor Sue Murray worries that many voters will think they are simply voting for lower tax bills without understanding the full consequences of the caps. Cities around the state have blamed recent layoffs and other cost cutting measures on reductions in property tax money.
Murray said that because the tax caps were not fully implemented until Jan. 1, lawmakers and others have little data on their true affects. Putting those caps in the constitution will tie the hands of future lawmakers who might need to change Indiana's tax structure more quickly than could be done with the years-long constitutional amendment process.
"It's not just about the short term," Murray said. "It's about making a decision that's wisest for future generations of Hoosiers."
The House, which is controlled by Democrats, has passed legislation that would limit the amount assessments can increase from year to year. That legislation is awaiting action in the Republican-led Senate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.