It's a new year, and one that is already full of new developments in Indiana government, with many more to come. New for Indianapolis is Mayor Greg Ballard and his team, and a new 7th CD congressperson will be elected on March 11 to fill out the remainder of the late Julia Carson's term. New mayors are settling into their offices in every corner of the state. An unusually large number of freshman legislators are learning their way through the State House and the legislative process. Indiana is likely to see a new property tax structure come out of the 2008 legislative session; without this, there could be a record number of new legislators following the November elections. 2008 will be many things, but it certainly won't be uneventful as far as the political world is concerned. Stay tuned for further developments....

Organization Day at the State House is like the first day of school....legislators and lobbyists welcome each other back to the hallowed halls (and chambers); we ask each other how our summer breaks were; and we gear up for a new round of lessons in public policy and politics.

This year, Organization Day was less like the first day of school and more like mid-term exams. The House and Senate quickly passed legislation ratifying the Governor's actions to ease the property tax burden and both chambers introduced legislation embodying the Governor's property tax package. So on a day that is normally reserved for ceremonial and administrative matters, a fair amount of substantive policymaking took place. The House and Senate will begin hearings on property tax legislation in December, which is also highly unusual. All of this underscores how significant the next legislative session will be to homeowners who are reeling from property tax increases, business and industry which will have to fight efforts to shift the tax burden onto them, and legislators who have to run for re-election in 2008 as incumbents.

As several mayors around Indiana can attest, voter rage over increased property taxes led to some surprising municipal election results. The results do not appear to be falling on deaf ears, with the Indiana House and Senate prepared to introduce the Governor's tax proposal on Organization Day on November 20. It is unusual for something as significant and substantive as property tax reform to be taken up on Organization Day, which suggests that the upcoming 2008 legislative session will be, to state it kindly, unusual. Committee hearings on property tax legislation will take place prior to the January, 2008 official start of the session. The Senate will hear Gov. Daniels' tax package as ten separate bills, while the House will hear it as one package. Stay tuned for more information on this website on property tax reform and the upcoming 2008 legislative session.