Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said the state legislature and his administration will work on the property tax bill and “land it in a spot” where local governments and schools “are healthy.”
“But there’s got to be real relief for the taxpayer. If everybody is pissed off, we’ve probably done it right. We’ll see. There’s been a big overreaction, I think, among local governments and school districts,” Braun said.
Braun made his first trip to Northwest Indiana as governor Thursday and talked about property taxes, state and federal economies and energy facilities during a Lake County Economic Alliance luncheon.
Braun, who campaigned on property tax reform, proposed a homestead standard deduction amount of 60% of the homestead’s assessed value if the value is more than $125,000 or $48,000 plus 60% of the remaining assessed value if the homestead has an assessed value of $125,000 or less. That language was introduced in Senate Bill 1.
Braun’s plan would cut $4.1 billion across the state between 2026 and 2028, including $1.9 billion from schools, $254 million from libraries, $890 million from cities and towns, and $765 million from counties.
Senate Bill 1, the property tax relief bill, initially contained Braun’s property tax plan. As it has moved through the legislature, it has been amended to remove his plan. Braun’s administration has stated the governor won’t sign the bill as amended by the Senate.
Amid inflation from 2021 to 2024, Braun said the state’s property growth quotient was 3% a year, which he said resulted in a 30% to 35% increase in property tax bills.
“That was covering real cost and enough to grow your jurisdictions without asking the taxpayer to give more than what they can give or growing government faster than the economy,” Braun said.
When he was a U.S. Senator, Braun said the country was borrowing $1 trillion a year. As the federal government works toward reducing its budget, Braun said the state has “a structural requirement” to have a balanced budget.
“We can’t be hypocritical when we live within it because our citizens demanded it. We should demand the same of the federal government,” Braun said.
With each federal spending cut, Braun said states like Indiana shouldn’t feel a big impact.
“States like us, that have lived within their means, that have a good tax and business climate, regulations that are reasonable, we’ll be okay. Because the way that does get reconciled folks will come here and we’ll be able to go on. But if we all don’t get comfortable with weaning ourselves from the federal government it’ll get worse before it gets better,” Braun said.
When it comes to economic development and electricity, Braun said he’d like to see “the coal transitions maybe slow down where we run the coal facility and the natural gas facility at the same time.”
“If we change the coal facility to a natural gas facility we’re not gaining many gigs. The smart states are going to be the ones that keep it going, even if it’s going to be less, use them through their useful life. Then, I’d love to be the first state, with the utilities, working on that new base load, which is very likely going to be small, modular reactors, advanced nuclear technology and hydrogen hubs,” Braun said.
The northern third of the state has easy access to water, which will help with the base load, Braun said.
Northwest Indiana’s proximity to Chicago would allow it to be the starting point of the state’s quantum corridor, Braun said.
“We can be that new technology hub that everybody wants to move to in the places where it’s become unbearable to raise a family or grow a business. I’m really looking to position us to be that,” Braun said.
Northwest Indiana is “an enterprising area,” Braun said, given its location and economic development. Gary “has so much potential,” Braun said.
“We know what (Gary) was at one time. It’s got a great location. It, among other places in the region, I think are just ripe with potential,” Braun said.
When it comes to House Bill 1008, which would establish an Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission to research the possibility of adjusting the boundaries between the two states, Braun said people shouldn’t hold their breath.
To change a state line, the U.S. Constitution dictates that the Indiana legislature, the Illinois legislature and then Congress would have to approve the measure, said Indiana University Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Paul Helmke.
“Illinois, currently, is benefiting us to some degree. We’re going to keep taking advantage of it. Sooner or later they’ll adjust, and it’s still going to be the third largest economy,” Braun said. “They’ll have to do some things or else there would never be a bill that would get introduced just to make the point of it. I doubt the boundaries will be changing.”
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