Indiana Seed Weblog

ISDA AGRICULTURE PROPERTY TAX UPDATE — JANUARY 28, 2008

General Assembly’s Proposed Changes…Another Positive Step for Agriculture

In his recent State of the State address, Governor Daniels reiterated his commitment to achieving a fair, final and far-reaching property tax reform plan during the 2008 General Assembly.  He also made it clear that his proposal was the starting point and all logical compromise would be considered.

During the next several weeks, the General Assembly will continue debating the Governor’s plan.  The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) will provide periodic updates to help farmers understand the proposed changes.  ISDA will also share new perspectives and analyses to help Indiana farmers evaluate the impact of the changes.  In this update, there are two areas of note:

House Amendment Moves Farmland from 3 Percent to 2 Percent Cap
The Indiana House passed an amendment to HB1001 (the Governor’s Tax Plan) moving farmland from the 3 percent tax cap to 2 percent.  If this amendment remains in the final bill, it will dramatically reduce the chance for a substantial, long-term property tax shift to farmland.  After evaluation of concerns from several agriculture leaders, the Governor suggested to legislators that a reduction of the cap to 2 percent would keep the plan intact.  Today at least 40 percent of all tax districts have a farmland property tax rate greater than 2 percent.

Tax Plan’s Hidden Benefit for Farmers
The Governor’s Plan also has another unique benefit for agriculture.  While many have debated the constitutional tax caps, the benefit of the proposed shift to sales tax has gone unnoticed.  Under the Governor’s plan, nearly $1 billion will be shifted from property taxes to sales tax.  Since farmers do not pay sales taxes on most of their inputs, this shift will even further reduce the total tax burden on Indiana agriculture.

There’s still a lot of time left in this session and the only certainty is that the property tax bill will continue to change. Governor Daniels and the General Assembly are committed to finding a permanent solution to the problem and will continue to listen to Hoosiers’ views on the issue. 

Indiana Department of Agriculture

Sam Turpin

 Acreage duel heats up between corn, soybeans

The fight between corn and soybeans for acreage in 2008 heated up with the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest Grain Stocks report and also may have ramped up pressure on the government to rethink its position on Conservation Reserve Program acres.

http://www.agrinews-pubs.com/display.asp?section=8C183ADC694C9E2EB529E941FF48BA1DC8F223DB5482D388&Article=854768FF326E2BC1F6EAB16FD607A9C805551E280A74FC7C

American Corn Growers show strong support for biofuels

The American Corn Growers Association wrapped up their annual convention in Milwaukee on Sunday. ACGA President, Keith Bolen took issue with recent statements by New York Senator Charles Schumer who wants the 54-cent per gallon tariff on imported ethanol removed claiming ethanol is contributing to a spike in milk prices.

http://www.brownfieldnetwork.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=9E888B68-9641-74F3-B8FD56245FC8DAD2

How would bill on immigration add up for Hoosiers?

Whether the work is picking tomatoes on a farm or pounding nails at a construction site, Indiana relies on cheap and plentiful immigrant labor — legal and illegal — to do business. But what would happen if those workers suddenly disappeared? As Indiana lawmakers debate a tough new illegal immigration bill this week, that’s a question they are being asked.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080129/LOCAL190108/801290386/1006/LOCAL11

             The House Committee on Agriculture approved HB 1059, authored by Rep. Kreg Battles (D), a measure that revises the state’s commercial fertilizer law. The bill, which was supported by the Indiana Farm Bureau, authorizes the state chemist to charge up to $50 for certification and education programs and it establishes civil penalties for violating the commercial fertilizer law (the fertilizer law now requires that any violation be treated as a crime, but the state chemist has no authority to impose administrative penalties on violators without charging them with a crime; and most prosecutors simply don’t want to be bothered with minor fertilizer law violations).  

All producers who spread nutrients over 1 00 acres or more will be required to be certified under rules currently being developed, and the applicability to manure, a nutrient major river pollutant, is also under scrutiny.  

Sam Turpin

  Kernan pitches governmental reforms
(Elkhart Truth © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 06:39:36 (Article ID 174797435)

ELKHART — Calling attention to what the report from the Commission on Local Government Reform does not recommend, former Gov. Joe Kernan promoted making a series of changes to city, town and county governments across Indiana Thursday night. Kernan was the keynote speaker at the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce 2008 annual dinner at the Matterhorn Conference Center. During his remarks, the cro

Plan gets House OK
(Elkhart Truth © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 06:39:36 (Article ID 174797425)

INDIANAPOLIS — The House approved a modified version of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels’ property tax relief and restructuring plan Thursday with near unanimous support and lots of accolades for working with a spirit of bipartisanship. The Democrat-controlled chamber voted 93-1 for the sweeping, 935-page bill and sent it to the Republican-ruled Senate, which has passed some varied parts of Daniels

House approves tax plan
(Evansville Courier Press © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 03:02:03 (Article ID 174797872)

INDIANAPOLIS — Both Democratic and Republican leaders of the Indiana House were all smiles Thursday after they passed a modified version of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ property-tax plan. The governor has said it has the potential to cut residential property taxes by about one-third. But a showdown is looming over a part of the bill that calls for voter referendums on public-construction projects.

Panel OKs same-sex marriage bill
(Evansville Courier Press © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 03:02:03 (Article ID 174797876)

A constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Indiana was approved by a state Senate committee Thursday, though the proposal appears unlikely to get very far in the Indiana House. The proposed amendment, known as SJR 7, would define marriage in the state constitution as being between a man and a woman. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved SJR 7 on Thursday on a 5-4 party-line vote. Now

The referendum debate
(Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 08:12:51 (Article ID 174843837)

If angry taxpayers are unlikely to see Indiana’s property tax system repealed, they are at least likely to end up with greater control over it in terms of approving or rejecting building projects at the ballot box. But lawmakers establishing a referendum process need to be aware that the mix of fixes they are weighing could turn a referendum into a dangerous tax-shift tool. The consequences

Tax reforms pass 93-1; now it’s up to senators
(Indianapolis Star © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 04:13:25 (Article ID 174807746)

Indiana senators now will have their turn to change Gov. Mitch Daniels’ property tax reform package after the House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed the plan with its modifications. Among the issues likely to be addressed in the Senate: voter referendums on building projects and income tax breaks for the working poor.The House endorsed the plan 93-1 before sending it to the Senate.”This

Buyer backs governor’s request for flood aid
(Lafayette The Courier-Journal © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 03:02:03 (Article ID 174798305)

U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Monticello, is backing Gov. Mitch Daniels’ request for a disaster declaration from President Bush in the flooding that ravaged much of the area earlier this month. “As someone who grew up along the Tippecanoe River I know the devastating harm that water can cause when you have a historic flood like the one that swallowed the Tippecanoe and Kankakee Rivers along with the o

Lawmakers Vote on Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage Bills
(MSNBC WISE Fort Wayne © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 07:49:55 (Article ID 174844724)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – A state Senate committee has approved legislation to amend Indiana’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage, although the legislative effort appears to be dead this year. On a party line vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a resolution to begin the process of amending the state constitution to ban gay marriage. Republican Senator Brandt Hershman of Wheatfield sponsored

Legislature Kills Cell Phone, Smoking Ban Proposals
(MSNBC WISE Fort Wayne © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 02:35:40 (Article ID 174788195)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Indiana lawmakers voted on several bills Wednesday, this time not involving property taxes. In the House, a bill that would impose a statewide smoking ban in most public places in Indiana has died. The House Public Policy Committee heard only brief testimony on the bill before chairman Rep. Trent Van Haaften of Mount Vernon said there was no more time to consider it. The deadli

Same-sex marriage amendment is dead
(Muncie Star Press © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 04:13:25 (Article ID 174810328)

The same-sex marriage amendment is effectively dead in the Indiana General Assembly. It should never be resurrected. The amendment, which first passed in 2005 when Republicans controlled both chambers, had to be approved again in 2007 or 2008 in order to be placed on the ballot. It failed last year, primarily due to objections from companies like Eli Lilly and Emmis Communications, whose official

High-speed rail tough sale in Indiana
(NWI Times.com © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 03:02:03 (Article ID 174794453)

MUNSTER || An executive for the world’s largest high-speed train maker showed 30 people Thursday how to get to Indianapolis in less time than it takes to get to downtown Chicago — without ever leaving the ground.”If it happens in the rest of the world, it can happen here,” said Charles Wochele, vice president for business development at Alstom’s U.S. transport division.Wochele had just shown tho

Our open-minded Constitution
(South Bend Tribune © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 08:12:51 (Article ID 174843753)

Local government in Indiana was created to accommodate Hoosiers 150 years ago. Local government needs reform. What has changed since the 1850s? Just about everything. The most profound changes have been in areas of transportation and communication. Indiana’s founders wisely made the state Constitution a flexible framework that most often does not bind either state or local government to specific o

Legislative session is off and running
(Steuben County Herald-Republican © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 04:13:25 (Article ID 174809781)

The legislative session has resumed, and this year’s main focus is finding immediate and permanent property tax relief for Hoosier homeowners. The entire General Assembly recognizes we are in a property tax crisis, and the House Ways and Means Committee began a series of hearings around the state in December to gather public testimony on House Bill 1001.HB 1001, which is based on Gov. Mitch Daniel

Sen. Meeks makes savvy move
(Steuben County Herald-Republican © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 04:13:25 (Article ID 174809792)

We have always been impressed with the way Sen. Robert Meeks has been able to read the mood of the Legislature, whether it has been with spending issues, in which he holds a leadership role, or dealing with natural lakes, which are predominantly situated in northeast Indiana.The handwriting was on the wall with the legislation Meeks has proposed that would move a riverboat casino license to Steube

Hoosier property tax repeal unlikely
(WAVE 3 NBC-Louisville, KY © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 08:12:51 (Article ID 174840865)

JEFFERSONVILLE — Indiana governor Mitch Daniels says a repeal of the property tax is a possibility — just not right now. He took questions from a room full of southern Indiana business leaders hell-bent on doing away with property taxes, who all but begged him to reconsider. WAVE 3’s Mark Schnyder reports on Daniels’ visit to Jeffersonville. Not much is blooming this time of year, b

Ind. Governor Answers Tough Tax Questions
(WLKY 32 CBS-Louisville, KY © 01/25/2008)
Indexed 2008-01-25 02:35:40 (Article ID 174779186)

JEFFERSONVILLE — Indiana’s governor answered tough questions Thursday at a Jeffersonville forum on state property taxes. Many in the audience want to get rid of property taxes altogether, but Gov. Mitch Daniels said he still hasn’t seen a plan that will work. Daniels said he wants to focus on his short-term plan that would cap property tax bills and impose tougher spending controls on loc

Sam Turpin