The 124th session of the Indiana General Assembly ended back in April. More than 200 bills were passed and signed into law by Governor Mike Braun. Most laws will go into effect this Tuesday, July 1. Here’s a quick breakdown of some:
House Bill 1393 requires county jails to report individuals to the sheriff if there is probable cause to believe that the person does not have legal status.
Senate Bill 287 allows candidates to note party affiliation next to their name on the ballot when running for school board.
The law allows candidates to identify as independents or to leave a blank space by their name if they don’t identify with a party or don’t wish to disclose an affiliation.
One bill gives parents more rights when dealing with DCS. This keeps Indiana Department of Child Services and school districts from infringing on parental rights or withholding information from parents. It also allows parents to bring action against government agencies found to violate this rule.
Speaking of schools, one bill increases the state’s minimum teacher salary from $40,000 to $45,000 starting next month.
State officials will now have to trade in the fancy rides. A new rule bans luxury vehicles for those using government budgets. Also, motorists will soon be able to drive up to 65 miles per hour on I-465.
The transgender athlete ban is now expanded to include college sports.
College students in Indiana can no longer use student IDs as valid ID for voting, which will add extra steps for young voters.
Hoosiers can expect major cutbacks in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at public universities and state agencies. This rolls back Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies and initiatives in schools, state government and health profession licensing in the state. Governor Braun took it one step further and signed an executive order to replace DEI with MEI: Merit, Excellence and Innovation.
Last but not least is the property tax bill (called Senate Bill 1 if you dare Google it) The bill is 351 pages long. Under this bill the floor is eliminated on any new business personal property that is brought into service starting in 2025.
The bill also dramatically expands how much property a business can own without paying any taxes at all. Under current Indiana law, if you own $80,000 or less of business personal property, you don’t have to pay taxes on them.
Now that goes up to $2 million.
It also provides a homestead tax credit worth up to $300 on property taxes in 2025.
The total value of the deductions cannot exceed 75% of a home’s assessed value. That means homeowners will be taxed on a minimum of 25% of their home’s assessed value.
For example, if you own a home worth $248,000, right now, you’ll pay taxes on $200,000 of home value this year. Under the bill, you would only pay taxes on $107,000 of home value in 2025. In 2028, provided your home didn’t go up in value, you would pay taxes on just $99,000. By 2031, the tax on a home worth $248,000 would be on just $82,500 worth of value.
According to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) business personal property “is the value of all property besides real estate that is used in your business or organization. It also includes equipment used in the production of income.
The property tax bill represents a big drop in revenue for local governments, though it does include some ways they can offset the losses. As it stands, property taxes are mostly split between local governments and schools. Any property tax cuts mean revenue drops for them. To help offset that lost revenue, the bill adjusts the maximum local income tax rate for counties to 2.9%. Cities and towns can also impose a local income tax up to 1.2%. That means while your property tax bill may go down, your local government may try to use an increase in your income taxes to offset the lost revenue. (Note to self: pay closer attention)
Public schools are no longer the only game in town when it comes to educating our kids. They get the majority of property taxes and so will lose the most money when property tax revenue goes down. Schools can pass referendums to help make up some of the lost revenue, but under the bill, they would need to start sharing that money passed in 2027 or later with charter schools.
More than 1,200 bills were filed at the start of the session. Two that didn’t make it: one that would have ended “no fault” divorces and one that would have “criminalized” homelessness.