LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6193 NOTE PREPARED: Jan 30, 2024
BILL NUMBER: SB 33 BILL AMENDED: Jan 30, 2024
SUBJECT: Distributions of Public Safety Income Tax Revenue.
FIRST AUTHOR: Sen. Niemeyer BILL STATUS: CR Adopted - 1
st
House
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: (Amended) Public Safety LIT - This bill provides that a qualified township and
various fire entities may apply to the county adopting body for a distribution of local income tax revenue that
is allocated to public safety purposes. It requires the county adopting body to review a submitted application
at a public hearing at which the qualified township or entity must present and explain its application. It also
provides that after the public hearing on the application, and before September 1, the county adopting body
may adopt a resolution approving the application and requiring that tax revenue be distributed to the qualified
township or entity. The bill provides the calculation for the amount of the allocation to a qualified township.
This bill repeals certain provisions enacted in the 2023 session in HB 1454 regarding distribution of tax
revenue allocated to public safety to township fire departments, volunteer fire departments, fire protection
territories, or fire protection districts.
Judicial System LIT - This bill makes certain changes to provisions regarding the local income tax rate for
local costs of the state judicial system in the county.
Effective Date: (Amended) Upon passage; July 1, 2024.
Explanation of State Expenditures: Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF): The administrative
workload for the DLGF may increase as a result of computing and reporting the additional public safety
revenue allocations of local income tax revenue, should a qualified township, fire district, or fire territory
unit submit an application to its applicable county adopting body for an allocation of this revenue. It is
assumed that the DLGF will be able to make these calculations using existing resources and not require
additional appropriations to implement this bill’s provisions.
SB 33 1 Explanation of State Revenues:
Explanation of Local Expenditures: (Revised) Public Safety LIT: The bill allows a qualified township, fire
district, and fire territory unit to apply to the county adopting body to receive an allocation of public safety
local income tax revenue. The application must be received before July 1, and the county adopting body must
review the qualifying unit’s application at a public hearing and may adopt a resolution approving the unit’s
request before September 1. Similarly, this bill allows these same units to apply to the county adopting body
a request to rescind the unit’s allocation of public safety local income tax revenue. This bill’s provision may
result in an increase in the administrative workload of the county adopting bodies to the extent these units
will file an application to receive and/or rescind an allocation of the public safety local income tax revenue.
(Revised) Judicial System LIT: This bill defines “courtroom costs” for those counties that choose to adopt
a LIT rate to help fund their judicial system. SEA 417-2023 authorized county fiscal bodies to impose a LIT
rate for funding county staff expenses of the judicial system. The revenue budgeted and spent by the county
from the judicial system LIT may not comprise more than 50% of the county’s total budgeted operational
staffing expenses for the judicial system in any given year. This bill revises the allowable expenses for which
the judicial system LIT may be spent to be limited to courtroom costs, which include staffing costs only for
the court reporter, court bailiff, or court administrator. [For CY 2024, only Floyd County has adopted a
judicial system LIT rate. The county has a certified rate of 0.040% and a certified distribution of
approximately $1.2 M for CY 2024.]
Explanation of Local Revenues: (Revised) Public Safety LIT: County units (other than Marion County)
currently receiving a distribution of local income tax revenue allocated to public safety may have their
distribution reduced depending on whether a qualifying unit applies for a distribution of public safety
revenue. This could result in revenue shifts among the eligible civil units within a county. Based on certified
distributions from CY 2024, the total estimated revenue shift among all eligible civil units could be up to
$22.8 M. The bill could affect certified distributions beginning in CY 2026. The actual revenue shifts will
depend on the number of qualifying units that apply for a distribution.
The cities and towns that receive a distribution of public safety revenue are not impacted by the bill for
requests from qualified townships. The bill also excludes Marion County.
(Revised) Additional Information - Currently, when a county allocates a portion of their local income tax
expenditure rate to public safety, the associated revenue is distributed between the county and the cities and
towns within the county that provide at least one public safety service. Other civil taxing units that operate
a fire department, volunteer fire department, or an EMS provider may request a portion of the certified
distribution associated with the public safety rate, but the distribution is not required. This bill potentially
changes the distribution of the public safety revenue within all counties except Marion County. It makes the
distribution of public safety revenue mandatory to qualifying townships, fire districts, and fire territories if
they apply to the county adopting body. [A qualifying township operates or contracts with a fire department,
volunteer fire department, or an EMS provider.]
The estimates are based on a simulation of the bill’s impact using CY 2024 certified distribution and assumes
all qualifying units, as defined in this bill, will receive a distribution of public safety revenue in those
counties that have a public safety income tax.
Based on CY 2024 certified distributions as of November 29, 2023, 76 counties dedicate a portion of their
expenditure rate revenue to public safety. The total CY 2024 certified distribution of public safety revenue
SB 33 2 is $577.3 M. Approximately $67.2 M is dedicated to fund a public safety answering point.
State Agencies Affected: Department of Local Government Finance.
Local Agencies Affected: County units and townships in counties that allocate a portion of their expenditure
rate to public safety; counties that allocate a portion of their expenditure rate to judicial system expenses.
Information Sources: State Budget Agency, CY 2024 Local Income Tax Certified Distributions; LSA
Property Tax Database.
Fiscal Analyst: James Johnson, 317-232-9869.
SB 33 3