Wanda English Burnett, Editor

While Representative Cleo Duncan described the recent legislative session as intense, she also told those gathered at the Crossroads Restaurant in Versailles on Tuesday that “it was one of the most productive sessions” she has ever participated in. “It was truly a history making session that will impact the future of Hoosiers forever,” she noted.

Duncan, who is Republican, said the legislative session will go down in history due to the passage of House Bill 1001. “It was definitely a bipartisan effort,” she noted, saying all involved had a goal “to cut property taxes.”

Property taxpayers will see immediate relief with a 35-40% savings this year, according to Duncan. She says the decrease in taxes can be realized due to the shift of school operating funds, child welfare, retirement for police and fire (before 1977) and juvenile incarceration.

In the past, money to fund the above was taken from the property tax system with the local taxpayer bearing the burden. Now, these have been taken off the property taxpayers' back and shifted to the state. The state subsidized these costs by raising the sales tax one cent from 6% to 7% beginning April 1 and money from the gaming fund that was going into the general fund will now be shifted into the property tax fund. Duncan says 100% of property taxes will now remain in local counties. “If additional money is needed at the state level, it can be taken out of the surplus,” she noted. She pointed out that Indiana is the only state in the Midwest to lower taxes and is surrounded by states that have deficits - Illinois, $2.5B; Michigan, $350M; Ohio, $1.3B and Kentucky, $900M.

“By tightening our belts, we were able to bring Indiana out of a deficit and into surplus,” Duncan said. She explained “we were able” by saying that means every person who cut their budget and were very fiscally responsible for operating expenses, not just the legislative process.

Being in the black means Indiana will have an improved bond rating should they need to borrow money in the future. It also gives the state the ability to do business at a different (and better) level.
Not only did legislators cut property taxes, they put a plan in place to cap the taxes forever. This will be done through a constitutional process that will see a cap of 1% for homesteads, 2% for rental and farm (ag) property, and 3% for all others. “This is a guarantee so even in the worst of (financial) times, taxes can’t go up,” Duncan stated.

House Bill 1001, which was over 600 pages, will bring help for low income Hoosiers who will see a decrease in taxes, an increase in renter’s deductions, and caps for senior citizen homeowners and earned income credits.

Duncan says HB 1001 “empowers voters to control local spending through referenda, and it closes spending loopholes and improves oversight on local budgets.”

There were many other important bills, ones Duncan said she didn’t get through, but will continue to hammer at if she is re-elected next term. Some things she has on the agenda are:

• A bill that will increase the number of days state employees can take due to military duty.

• Tax break to companies who will use an additive in the hydrous ammonia they sell that makes it unusable for meth manufacturing.

• Making it law for a judge to be able to order an interlocking device on ignitions of someone after their first DUI conviction. Right now they can only order it after the second conviction.

“I hope to continue with getting these bills passed, Lord willing,” Duncan noted. She says she will continue to promote rail safety and the newly formed Vernon Fork Regional Water District, that will provide water for a three county area: Ripley, Decatur and Jennings.

Duncan’s headline on a handout at the meeting is also a conclusion, this is a “new era for Hoosier taxpayers.”