INDIANAPOLIS — The state House of Representatives approved a measure Monday that all but guarantees Indiana voters will be able to decide in November if property tax caps should be added to the state’s constitution.
The House passed the resolution by a vote of 75-23, with 45 of 48 Republicans and 30 of 52 Democrats voting in favor of it.
The Senate, which Republicans control by a 33-17 majority, is expected to give the tax cap resolution final passage, which will make it eligible to be on the November ballot.
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The Indiana General Assembly gauged its willingness to send a proposed constitutional amendment to voters in November during a series of votes Thursday. House Republican Leader Brian Bosma says the votes on various amendments to a proposed November referendum that would write permanent property tax caps into the Indiana Constitution gave supporters and opponents a chance to send a message.
State Representative Trent Van Haaften says Hoosiers should oppose the property tax cap. None of the amendments passed. A final vote on the proposal is expected to take …

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Democratic House Speaker Patrick Bauer isn’t predicting the fate of legislation that could lead to caps on property tax bills being amended into the constitution.
The resolution was passed in 2008, but the same exact one must pass the House and Senate this session for voters to decide the issue in the November election.
Bauer says the resolution might get a chance to advance in his chamber on Thursday. That would make it eligible for passage in the House next week. But Bauer says he hasn’t ruled anything out …

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Thousands of Indiana businesses are behind on paying their sales taxes and the state is using the Web to call them out. The Indiana businesses are all on the Indiana Department of Revenue’s Web site .
The site lists some 27,000 businesses in the state that have not paid their sales taxes. In Marion County alone, some 3,900 businesses are on the list.
The businesses listed in Marion County include Burlington Coat Factory, La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant at Washington Square Mall, Hot Box Pizza near IUPUI and Indy …

INDIANAPOLIS — Whether the services offered by township government are worth the costs is a question the Indiana General Assembly will once again consider as it reconvenes at the Statehouse today for the opening of the 2010 legislative session.
State Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, said Monday he plans to file legislation that would do away with township government. His bill would bump duties such as poor relief and firefighting up to the county level.
“I believe this proposal will save Hoosier taxpayers millions of dollars by streamlining services and eliminating a form …

Would Boone County have landed the Medco pharmaceutical facility without a general aviation airport close by?
Or would the distribution centers, hotels and retailing with thousands of jobs have grown in Plainfield and the Ameriplex business parks if Indianapolis International Airport wasn’t next door?
Maybe.
However, aviation industry leaders think the availability of airports is crucial in the mix of reasons why companies chose one site over another for a new business.
An economic impact study recently made public by the Aviation Association of Indiana shows the 104 airports open to the public give …

With Indiana on track to collect $1.8 billion less tax revenue than expected for the current two-year budget, state lawmakers have said they don’t plan to approve any new spending in 2010.
But that doesn’t mean the General Assembly won’t have anything to do when its 10-week session begins Tuesday in Indianapolis.
Among the top issues in 2010 will be property-tax caps, which could move closer to becoming part of the state’s constitution.
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Indiana’s strained unemployment fund and new ethics standards for legislators and lobbyists are other issues likely to arise, lawmakers from …

There’s a proposal on the table to lower Indiana’s sales tax, but there is a catch.
The General Assembly raised the sales tax from six percent to seven percent last year.
State Senator Mike Delph has filed a bill to rescind that tax increase if the General Assembly fails to pass a resolution permanently capping Hoosier property taxes.
Delph says the sales tax increase was adopted with a promise to give Hoosiers property tax relief and if the state is not going to do that, it should cut the tax back to where …

Long apprehensive about the cost of regional transit, Mayor Greg Ballard says he is now ready to talk about it.
The mayor plans to hold public forums in 2010 to hear whether Indianapolis residents want to pay for transportation upgrades such as adding light rail and expanding IndyGo into a comprehensive system.
Those discussions, as well as the recommendations early next year of a private-sector task force, will help to determine his position when transit advocates again ask the Indiana General Assembly to create public funding options in 2011.
Ballard has long said …

A legislative committee overwhelmingly voted Monday in favor of a constitutional amendment capping property taxes, a move that sets up a significant debate before the Indiana House.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 21-3 to pass the constitutional amendment, which would permanently cap tax bills at 1 percent of assessed value for homeowners, 2 percent for rental properties and farms; and 3 percent for businesses.
Those caps already exist in state law, but Republicans have pushed to place them into the state constitution since 2007, when Gov. Mitch Daniels first pitched …