A look at bills the Indiana Chamber is following regarding township government:
Voters May Eliminate Remaining Township Assessors
HB 1035 / Chamber Supports
Representative Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) and Rep. Karen Engleman (R-Georgetown) team up again to revive a bill that was heard but didn’t receive a vote during the 2021 legislative session. The House narrowly approved a similar bill in 2020, but the legislation wasn’t advanced out of the Senate committee. This year’s version features language that would place the question on the ballot in 2024 for the nine Indiana counties that have a township assessor. A similar vote took place in 2008 and voters across the state whittled the number down to 13 from the original 43 prior to the referenda.
The bill passed in the House 61-37 Monday and will move on to the Senate. If it passes and is enacted by Governor Holcomb, voters in the nine counties with township assessors will be asked on the 2024 general election ballot: “Shall the county discontinue paying for the cost of township assessors in the county?”
Movement on Township Merger Legislation
SB 182 / Chamber Supports
Senator Eric Koch (R-Bedford) offers a solution to a problem in his district. Indiana has laws on the books dealing with township mergers, but what if a neighboring township has no elected trustee or advisory board? This bill answers that question by providing a means for a neighboring township and the county executive to enact a merger agreement. The bill passed its Senate committee unanimously.
State Board of Accounts May Receive New Tools
HB 1040 / Chamber Supports
Representative Matt Lehman (R-Berne) has introduced a list of reforms that were discussed in 2022 by the Audit Subcommittee of the Legislative Council. Among them will be additional training for local elected officials and new audit tools for the State Board of Accounts (SBOA). The SBOA would be required to maintain a list of local units which they have identified as being “unauditable” due to poor record keeping or mismanagement. These units would then be given 90 days to get their books in order. In addition to the sticks in the bill, there are plenty of carrots that might be helpful to local elected officials.
David Ober is the Indiana Chamber’s vice president of taxation and public finance. Ober, a native of Noble County, started with the Chamber in June 2022 and is a former state legislator and commissioner for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
