House skirmishes over property tax caps
INDIANAPOLIS -- Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, said the House will take a vote on property tax caps on Monday; however, partisan ideas flared over amendments and their intentions in debate. All amendments failed, including one to include St. Joseph and Lake counties in the cap.
Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, expressed concern over whether these amendments were introduced from across the aisle simply to bog down the legislation and delay voting. He said he questioned whether the amendments were legitimate because they were not previously introduced. Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said amending the Constitution was not meant to be fast-paced like the Republicans are moving.
“This is a chance for legacy legislation,” Espich said. “You know if you change one period, we’re back to square one.”
Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said he hopes that this amendment is law by Jan. 21.
“This is a huge victory for the taxpayers of the state of Indiana - one we’ve worked for for years,” Minority Leader Brian Bosma said. “Today was really the moment of truth on this, without any of the amendments being adopted today. I think this guarantees that the constitutional amendment will be adopted by the House and by the Senate in a very quick fashion.”
Rep. Craig Fry, D-Mishawaka, however, said this is not a win for the taxpayers, calling the presumption that this will save taxpayers money a “fraud” and a “lie” because assessed value could be used to make up for it.
Despite the objections from the Democrats, this bill, along with the ethics bill, will see a vote on Monday.
“We will have a nice day Monday,” Bauer said.
