January 11, 2008 

By RICHARD GOOTEE

INDIANAPOLIS — The Senate Appropriations committee moved four bills to the full chamber Thursday aimed at reducing the state’s reliance on property taxes.

With the issue already dominating early session activity, the Appropriations Committee wasted no time adding to proposed legislation to appease taxpayers upset by increased property taxes.

Casting the last vote of the meeting, committee chair Sen. Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange, said he voted for the bill because it was a taxpayer-friendly piece of legislation.

Partly because the committee already heard testimony on the bills in December, three of the bills passed without much debate. However, a proposed constitutional amendment that would end property taxes funding schools’ operational costs brought objections from educators. Currently, property taxes make up 15 percent of Indiana schools’ operating budgets.

Gail Zeheralis testified on behalf of the Indiana State Teachers Association and said the association could not support the resolution because it was unclear how schools would get their funding needs met.

Despite assurances from one of the resolution’s authors, Sen. Teresa Lubbers, R-Indianapolis, and committee members that no lawmaker wants to take away educational funding, Zeheralis said it was her duty to oppose the amendment.

Committee members raised some questions about ways to fund schools, but only Sen. Tim Skinner, D-Terre Haute, opposed the resolution in a 9-1 vote.

After the vote, Meeks again assured opponents that the resolution’s design was to help taxpayers, not hurt Indiana students.

Any proposed constitutional amendments would go to the voters and, if approved, could not go into effect until 2010.

A bill ending property-tax funding of state forests, the State Fair and the Department of Local Government Finance database management passed unanimously. The committee also unanimously approved a bill that moves the filing date for the homestead tax deduction to Oct. 1.

http://www.news-tribune.net/archivesearch/local_story_011105003.html