Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the property tax relief bill, was the main issue of Indiana Governor Mike Braun’s campaign. Braun has previously stated on record that if a version of the bill came through the Senate and House that was not aligned with his original goals, he would veto the bill and call a special session to force the legislature to try again.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Braun announced that if Amendment 36 is added to the existing bill, he will sign it.
Gov. Braun gave the following statement regarding SB 1 on property tax relief:
“I am proud to announce that with Amendment 36 to Senate Bill 1, we have agreed upon a plan to bring historic property tax relief to Hoosiers. I am grateful for the leadership of Speaker Todd Huston and President Pro Tem Rod Bray and for the ways they have partnered with us to deliver this meaningful tax relief to Hoosiers. I encourage House members to support this amendment and urge the Senate to then take action quickly to get it to my desk for signature.” – Governor Mike Braun
What the current bill supposedly means for homeowners is being reported on across the state, but this writer finds it unclear.
The original text of SB 1 was a somewhat svelte 46 pages, containing less than 20,000 words.
The version available on the Indiana General Assembly website (iga.in.gov/legislative/2025/bills/senate/1/details) as of Wednesday afternoon was 354 pages and clocks in at over 150,000 words. The synopsis alone is nearly 1,400.
Not having a full weekend’s worth of time available on Wednesday afternoon, I have not read the full text of SB 1 as it stands today.
By way of comparison, a modern novel is somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 words.
While this newspaper hopes some of Braun’s original intent was upheld in whatever process the Senate and House thought necessitated in excess of an extra 130,000 words and more than 300 extra pages, that does not seem likely.
You are welcome to read the original text of SB 1 at this link, the current version at this link, and Amendment 36 at this link to decide for yourself what you think about SB 1 and our state legislature.
Alternately, you can wait until you get your tax bills in 2026 through 2031 – when the changes enacted by this legislation will take place – and then make your decision about the efficacy of state government.
Stu Clampitt is a Hoosier homeowner, The Hamilton County Reporter Newspaper’s publisher, and an often-disgruntled advocate for efficiency and transparency in government at all levels.
Stu, it’s likely the increase in assessments will erode this wimpy 1.4 Billion alledged relief over the next 3 years! I’m surprised the Statehouse and Gov don’t give us Brauns back to 2021 levels, take credit for the tax cuts and let the local governments take the heat from voters when they propose tax increases to cover the shortage of revenue!? Cowards all!
For our modest 4/2.5, 51-year-old home in Carmel, the increase this year is 26.7%, last year it was 29.7%. Since the ’21 Pay ’22 round, our property tax has increased a total of 70%!
The bulk of this is due to Assessed Value (AKA ‘Unrealized Gains’). A $250 decrease does squat.
It will take 1.5 monthly of my SS checks just to pay it (basically 12.5% tht I won’t be able to spend on other things). And, even being a veteran and retired we are not eligible for any ‘senior discounts’ as our home is valued too high(!) as is our total income.
This is totally unacceptable, but as usual we hear the same rhetoric: No police, no firemen, the children will suffer. The dirty secret is if TIF isn’t paid for by property taxes, we taxpayers are on the hook to make up the difference.
The way I read what I read (not the whole bill) is we as property tax payers may receive up to a $300.00 credit. Hardly “historic tax relief” as stated. It is a long way from Governor Braun’s initial 60% property tax deduction as he asked for. This washed down version gives virtually no relief to our out of control property taxes. What a disappointment.
Stu, thank you for having a column about this. I went to each site to read the bills. It is very confusing and the part about figuring out the taxes going through the steps is comparable to the income tax worksheets. We could avoid this if they allowed what Gov. Braun wanted in the first place, just turn it back to the 2021 property tax value. I want a cap on assessments period! Using the market value kills us all when your neighbor sells for such an overpriced value. This hurts non-sellers. I did not see anywhere in this bill the statement of no one losing their property if they could not afford the property tax! Every property owner should do an appeal.