INDIANAPOLIS | A key component of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels property tax restructuring plan came unraveled multiple times Monday in the GOP-dominated state Senate.
It seems senators don't want to be responsible for sacking the state's local tax assessors. They voted 24-20 to leave it to voters to decide -- via referendum -- whether any of Indiana's 1,008 township assessors lose their jobs.
The move came during a marathon floor session to consider amendments to House Bill 1001, which contains the core elements of Daniels' tax plan. State Sen. Sue Landske, a Cedar Lake Republican whose political career began three decades ago as a township assessor, brought the issue to a vote.
"I think this amendment allows citizens in each township to decide for themselves how their government should be structured," Landske said.
State Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, unsuccessfully argued the amendment would reduce a key policy question to a series of popularity contests.
"If you send it back to a local referendum the question is going to be: 'Do I like my local assessor?'" Kenley said.
The governor insists assessment duties must be consolidated to the county level to improve public confidence in the property tax system. When the day began, the Senate version of Daniels' plan preserved the jobs of only 44 local assessors in the state's largest townships.
Landske's amendment followed an earlier gaffe by Daniels' running mate, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman.
Skillman declared an amendment to eliminate all 1,008 township assessors was defeated after it drew a 23-23 vote. But as the Senate's presiding officer, she instead should have voted to break the tie.
Senate leaders acknowledged the procedural error about an hour later, and they indicated another Senate vote on abolishing township assessors could come as soon as today.
The Senate, which Republicans control by a 33-17 majority, also overwhelmingly defeated a Democratic proposal to link homeowner tax relief to household income. Like their colleagues in the House, the Senate Democrats argue the GOP governor's tax plan is slanted toward wealthy homeowners.
State Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond, also led a failed effort to ditch proposed tax breaks for landlords and business owners while maintaining Daniels' push to limit homeowner bills to 1 percent of a property's assessed value.
Eliminating proposed caps of 2 percent for rental property and 3 percent for businesses would restore $197.5 million in revenue local government and schools in Lake County stand to lose to the caps in 2010. But homeowners there still would reap an estimated $64.3 million in tax breaks.
