Indiana 2024 Regular Session

Indiana House Bill HB1148 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	Introduced Version
3	3	HOUSE BILL No. 1148
4	4	_____
5	5	DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
6	6	Citations Affected: IC 6-1.1; IC 36-2-5-3.7.
7	7	Synopsis: Local government finance and administration. Provides that
8	8	at a county auditor's discretion, the county auditor may choose not to
9	9	require the inspection of certain items otherwise required to claim a
10	10	disabled veteran's property tax deduction if the following criteria have
11	11	been satisfied with regard to an individual seeking to claim the
12	12	deduction: (1) The county auditor has inspected the individual's items
13	13	in a previous year and approved the deduction for that year. (2) There
14	14	has been no change to the individual's property or the individual's
15	15	qualifying status since the last year that the county auditor approved the
16	16	deduction. (3) The individual has signed a sworn statement, as
17	17	prescribed by the Indiana department of veterans' affairs, subject to the
18	18	penalty of perjury, affirming the requirement that there has been no
19	19	change to the individual's property or the individual's qualifying status
20	20	since the last year that the county auditor approved the deduction. (4)
21	21	The county auditor has not disapproved the individual's claim for the
22	22	deduction in a year since the county auditor most recently approved the
23	23	deduction. Requires the proper officers of a political subdivision that
24	24	desire to appropriate more money for a particular year than the amount
25	25	prescribed in the budget for that year as finally determined to hold a
26	26	public hearing after submitting the following information regarding the
27	27	proposed additional appropriation to the department of local
28	28	government finance's (DLGF) computer gateway (gateway): (1) The
29	29	amount of the additional appropriation. (2) The name of the affected
30	30	fund. (3) The name and account number of the affected account. (4)
31	31	The date, time, and place at which the political subdivision will hold
32	32	a public hearing on the proposed additional appropriation. Requires the
33	33	(Continued next page)
34	34	Effective: July 1, 2024.
35	35	Cherry
36	36	January 8, 2024, read first time and referred to Committee on Ways and Means.
37	37	2024 IN 1148—LS 6480/DI 134 Digest Continued
38	38	proper officers of a political subdivision to submit the required
39	39	information, in a manner prescribed by the DLGF, to the gateway at
40	40	least 14 days prior to the public hearing. Requires the DLGF to make
41	41	the information submitted by the political subdivision available to
42	42	taxpayers through the gateway at least 10 days prior to the public
43	43	hearing. Provides that if the date, time, or place of the public hearing
44	44	changes following the original submission of the information to the
45	45	gateway, the political subdivision shall submit the updated information
46	46	to the gateway as soon as possible. Provides that a county fiscal body
47	47	may establish a salary schedule that includes a stipend to be paid to the
48	48	county auditor for the county auditor's duties when warranted as
49	49	determined by the county fiscal body. Provides that the county fiscal
50	50	body may consider factors such as: (1) required attendance at
51	51	additional meetings; (2) meetings held outside of usual work hours; (3)
52	52	increased workload volume; or (4) any other relevant factor as
53	53	determined by the county fiscal body.
54	54	2024 IN 1148—LS 6480/DI 1342024 IN 1148—LS 6480/DI 134 Introduced
55	55	Second Regular Session of the 123rd General Assembly (2024)
56	56	PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
57	57	Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
58	58	additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
59	59	Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
60	60	provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
61	61	word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
62	62	a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
63	63	Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
64	64	between statutes enacted by the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
65	65	HOUSE BILL No. 1148
66	66	A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning local
67	67	government.
68	68	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
69	69	1 SECTION 1. IC 6-1.1-12-15, AS AMENDED BY P.L.156-2020,
70	70	2 SECTION 14, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
71	71	3 JULY 1, 2024]: Sec. 15. (a) Except as provided in section 17.8 of this
72	72	4 chapter and subject to section 45 of this chapter, an individual who
73	73	5 desires to claim the deduction provided by section 13 or 14 of this
74	74	6 chapter must file a statement with the auditor of the county in which
75	75	7 the individual resides. To obtain the deduction for a desired calendar
76	76	8 year in which property taxes are first due and payable, the statement
77	77	9 must be completed and dated in the immediately preceding calendar
78	78	10 year and filed with the county auditor on or before January 5 of the
79	79	11 calendar year in which the property taxes are first due and payable. The
80	80	12 statement may be filed in person or by mail. If mailed, the mailing must
81	81	13 be postmarked on or before the last day for filing. The statement shall
82	82	14 contain a sworn declaration that the individual is entitled to the
83	83	15 deduction.
84	84	2024 IN 1148—LS 6480/DI 134 2
85	85	1 (b) In addition to the statement, subject to subsection (e), the
86	86	2 individual shall submit to the county auditor for the auditor's
87	87	3 inspection:
88	88	4 (1) a pension certificate, an award of compensation, or a disability
89	89	5 compensation check issued by the United States Department of
90	90	6 Veterans Affairs if the individual claims the deduction provided
91	91	7 by section 13 of this chapter;
92	92	8 (2) a pension certificate or an award of compensation issued by
93	93	9 the United States Department of Veterans Affairs if the individual
94	94	10 claims the deduction provided by section 14 of this chapter; or
95	95	11 (3) the appropriate certificate of eligibility issued to the individual
96	96	12 by the Indiana department of veterans' affairs if the individual
97	97	13 claims the deduction provided by section 13 or 14 of this chapter.
98	98	14 (c) If the individual claiming the deduction is under guardianship,
99	99	15 the guardian shall file the statement required by this section. If a
100	100	16 deceased veteran's surviving spouse is claiming the deduction, the
101	101	17 surviving spouse shall provide the documentation necessary to
102	102	18 establish that at the time of death the deceased veteran satisfied the
103	103	19 requirements of section 13(a)(1) through 13(a)(4) of this chapter,
104	104	20 section 14(a)(1) through 14(a)(4) of this chapter, or section 14(b)(2) of
105	105	21 this chapter, whichever applies.
106	106	22 (d) If the individual claiming a deduction under section 13 or 14 of
107	107	23 this chapter is buying real property, a mobile home not assessed as real
108	108	24 property, or a manufactured home not assessed as real property under
109	109	25 a contract that provides that the individual is to pay property taxes for
110	110	26 the real estate, mobile home, or manufactured home, the statement
111	111	27 required by this section must contain the record number and page
112	112	28 where the contract or memorandum of the contract is recorded.
113	113	29 (e) At the county auditor's discretion, the county auditor may
114	114	30 choose not to require the inspection of the items described in
115	115	31 subsection (b)(1) through (b)(3) if the following criteria have been
116	116	32 satisfied with regard to an individual seeking to claim the
117	117	33 deduction provided by section 13 or 14 of this chapter:
118	118	34 (1) The county auditor has inspected the individual's items
119	119	35 described in subsection (b)(1) through (b)(3) in a previous
120	120	36 year and approved the deduction for that year.
121	121	37 (2) There has been no change to the individual's property or
122	122	38 the individual's qualifying status since the year that the items
123	123	39 described in subsection (b)(1) through (b)(3) were last
124	124	40 inspected and in which the county auditor approved the
125	125	41 deduction.
126	126	42 (3) The individual has signed a sworn statement, as prescribed
127	127	2024 IN 1148—LS 6480/DI 134 3
128	128	1 by the Indiana department of veterans' affairs, subject to the
129	129	2 penalty of perjury, that the requirement under subdivision (2)
130	130	3 is true.
131	131	4 (4) The county auditor has not disapproved the individual's
132	132	5 claim for the deduction in a year since the county auditor
133	133	6 most recently approved the deduction.
134	134	7 SECTION 2. IC 6-1.1-18-5, AS AMENDED BY P.L.38-2021,
135	135	8 SECTION 30, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
136	136	9 JULY 1, 2024]: Sec. 5. (a) If the proper officers of a political
137	137	10 subdivision desire to appropriate more money for a particular year than
138	138	11 the amount prescribed in the budget for that year as finally determined
139	139	12 under this article, they shall give notice of their proposed additional
140	140	13 appropriation. The notice shall state the time and place at which a
141	141	14 public hearing will be held on the proposal. The notice shall be given
142	142	15 once in accordance with IC 5-3-1-2(b). hold a public hearing after
143	143	16 submitting the following information regarding the proposed
144	144	17 additional appropriation to the department's computer gateway:
145	145	18 (1) The amount of the additional appropriation.
146	146	19 (2) The name of the affected fund.
147	147	20 (3) The name and account number of the affected account.
148	148	21 (4) The date, time, and place at which the political subdivision
149	149	22 or appropriate fiscal body will hold a public hearing on the
150	150	23 proposed additional appropriation.
151	151	24 (b) If the additional appropriation by the political subdivision is
152	152	25 made from a fund for which the budget, rate, or levy is certified by the
153	153	26 department of local government finance under IC 6-1.1-17-16, the
154	154	27 political subdivision must report the additional appropriation to the
155	155	28 department of local government finance in the manner prescribed by
156	156	29 the department of local government finance. If the additional
157	157	30 appropriation is made from a fund described under this subsection,
158	158	31 subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i) apply to the political subdivision.
159	159	32 (c) However, if the additional appropriation is not made from a fund
160	160	33 described under subsection (b), subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i) do not
161	161	34 apply to the political subdivision. Subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i) do
162	162	35 not apply to an additional appropriation made from the cumulative
163	163	36 bridge fund if the appropriation meets the requirements under
164	164	37 IC 8-16-3-3(c).
165	165	38 (d) A political subdivision may make an additional appropriation
166	166	39 without approval of the department of local government finance if the
167	167	40 additional appropriation is made from a fund that is not described
168	168	41 under subsection (b). However, the fiscal officer of the political
169	169	42 subdivision shall report the additional appropriation to the department
170	170	2024 IN 1148—LS 6480/DI 134 4
171	171	1 of local government finance.
172	172	2 (e) Subject to subsections (j) and (k), after the public hearing, the
173	173	3 proper officers of the political subdivision shall file a certified copy of
174	174	4 their final proposal and any other relevant information to the
175	175	5 department of local government finance not later than fifteen (15) days
176	176	6 after the additional appropriation is adopted by the appropriate fiscal
177	177	7 body. If the additional appropriation is not submitted to the department
178	178	8 of local government finance within fifteen (15) days after adoption, the
179	179	9 department of local government finance may require the political
180	180	10 subdivision to conduct a readoption hearing.
181	181	11 (f) When the department of local government finance receives a
182	182	12 certified copy of a proposal for an additional appropriation under
183	183	13 subsection (e), the department shall determine whether sufficient funds
184	184	14 are available or will be available for the proposal. The determination
185	185	15 shall be made in writing and sent to the political subdivision not more
186	186	16 than fifteen (15) days after the department of local government finance
187	187	17 receives the proposal.
188	188	18 (g) In making the determination under subsection (f), the
189	189	19 department of local government finance shall limit the amount of the
190	190	20 additional appropriation to revenues available, or to be made available,
191	191	21 which have not been previously appropriated.
192	192	22 (h) If the department of local government finance disapproves an
193	193	23 additional appropriation under subsection (f), the department shall
194	194	24 specify the reason for its disapproval on the determination sent to the
195	195	25 political subdivision.
196	196	26 (i) A political subdivision may request a reconsideration of a
197	197	27 determination of the department of local government finance under this
198	198	28 section by filing a written request for reconsideration. A request for
199	199	29 reconsideration must:
200	200	30 (1) be filed with the department of local government finance
201	201	31 within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of the determination by the
202	202	32 political subdivision; and
203	203	33 (2) state with reasonable specificity the reason for the request.
204	204	34 The department of local government finance must act on a request for
205	205	35 reconsideration within fifteen (15) days of receiving the request.
206	206	36 (j) This subsection applies to an additional appropriation by a
207	207	37 political subdivision that must have the political subdivision's annual
208	208	38 appropriations and annual tax levy adopted by a city, town, or county
209	209	39 fiscal body under IC 6-1.1-17-20 or IC 36-1-23 or by a legislative or
210	210	40 fiscal body under IC 36-3-6-9. The fiscal or legislative body of the city,
211	211	41 town, or county that adopted the political subdivision's annual
212	212	42 appropriation and annual tax levy must adopt the additional
213	213	2024 IN 1148—LS 6480/DI 134 5
214	214	1 appropriation by ordinance before the department of local government
215	215	2 finance may approve the additional appropriation.
216	216	3 (k) This subsection applies to a public library that is not required to
217	217	4 submit the public library's budgets, tax rates, and tax levies for binding
218	218	5 review and approval under IC 6-1.1-17-20 or IC 6-1.1-17-20.4. If a
219	219	6 public library subject to this subsection proposes to make an additional
220	220	7 appropriation for a year, and the additional appropriation would result
221	221	8 in the budget for the library for that year increasing (as compared to the
222	222	9 previous year) by a percentage that is greater than the result of the
223	223	10 maximum levy growth quotient determined under IC 6-1.1-18.5-2 for
224	224	11 the calendar year minus one (1), the additional appropriation must first
225	225	12 be approved by the city, town, or county fiscal body described in
226	226	13 IC 6-1.1-17-20.3(c) or IC 6-1.1-17-20.3(d), as appropriate.
227	227	14 (l) This subsection applies to an appropriation for which the
228	228	15 underlying purpose is a bond issue. The political subdivision shall
229	229	16 include the appropriation for the bond proceeds in the budget of the
230	230	17 political subdivision for the ensuing year adopted under IC 6-1.1-17.
231	231	18 If the political subdivision does not include the appropriation for the
232	232	19 bond proceeds as required by this subsection, the political subdivision
233	233	20 shall comply with the requirements of this section in the year in which
234	234	21 the bond proceeds are received, but may not take an action pursuant to
235	235	22 this section in a year before the year in which the bond proceeds are
236	236	23 received.
237	237	24 (m) The proper officers of a political subdivision shall submit
238	238	25 the information described in subsection (a)(1) through (a)(4), in a
239	239	26 manner prescribed by the department, to the department's
240	240	27 computer gateway at least fourteen (14) days prior to the public
241	241	28 hearing. The department shall make the information submitted by
242	242	29 the political subdivision available to taxpayers through the
243	243	30 department's computer gateway at least ten (10) days prior to the
244	244	31 public hearing. If the date, time, or place of the public hearing
245	245	32 changes following the original submission of the information to the
246	246	33 department's computer gateway, the political subdivision shall
247	247	34 submit the updated information to the department's computer
248	248	35 gateway as soon as possible.
249	249	36 SECTION 3. IC 36-2-5-3.7, AS AMENDED BY P.L.156-2020,
250	250	37 SECTION 137, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
251	251	38 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2024]: Sec. 3.7. (a) As used in this section,
252	252	39 "body" refers to either of the following:
253	253	40 (1) The county fiscal body.
254	254	41 (2) The county executive.
255	255	42 (b) As used in this section, "compensation" has the meaning set
256	256	2024 IN 1148—LS 6480/DI 134 6
257	257	1 forth in section 13 of this chapter.
258	258	2 (c) The county fiscal body may establish a salary schedule that
259	259	3 includes compensation for a presiding officer or secretary of a body
260	260	4 that is greater than the compensation for other members of the body, if
261	261	5 all of the following are satisfied:
262	262	6 (1) All applicable requirements in this chapter are satisfied with
263	263	7 respect to the salary schedule that includes the additional
264	264	8 compensation.
265	265	9 (2) The additional compensation is being provided because the
266	266	10 individual holding the position of presiding officer or secretary:
267	267	11 (A) has additional duties; or
268	268	12 (B) attends additional meetings on behalf of the body;
269	269	13 as compared to other members of the body.
270	270	14 (3) The additional compensation amount applies only for time
271	271	15 periods during which the individual serves in the capacity as
272	272	16 presiding officer or secretary and:
273	273	17 (A) handles additional duties; or
274	274	18 (B) attends additional meetings on behalf of the body;
275	275	19 as compared to other members of the body.
276	276	20 (d) The county fiscal body may establish a salary schedule that
277	277	21 includes a stipend to be paid to the county auditor for the county
278	278	22 auditor's duties under IC 36-2-2-11 or IC 36-2-3-6 when warranted
279	279	23 as determined by the county fiscal body. The county fiscal body
280	280	24 may consider factors such as:
281	281	25 (1) required attendance at additional meetings;
282	282	26 (2) meetings held outside of usual work hours;
283	283	27 (3) increased workload volume; or
284	284	28 (4) any other relevant factor as determined by the county
285	285	29 fiscal body.
286	286	2024 IN 1148—LS 6480/DI 134