Three Bills in Senate Need Your Support, Emails

Thanks to some very pro-active legislators, there are currently 3 bill proposals in the Indiana Senate and 1 bill proposal in the Indiana House asking for change regarding annexation. The 3 bill proposals in the Senate have already been assigned to committees, and the one in the House still needs to be assigned.

Senator Beverly Gard has authored the three proposals in the Senate. SB 0112 requires a municipality that initiates an annexation to pay all court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees if the annexation is remonstrated against and the court enters judgment against annexation. SB 0161 reduces the number of landowner signatures required for a remonstrance against an annexation: (1) from at least 66% to at least 51% of the owners of land in the annexed territory; or (2) from the owners of more than 75% to the owners of at least 51% of assessed valuation of the land in the annexed territory. Removes a provision that requires 75% of the owners of land in annexed territory to sign a remonstrance if the territory consists of not more than 100 parcels and 80% of the boundary of the territory proposed to be annexed is contiguous to the municipality. SB 0112 and SB 0161 have both been assigned to the Local Government and Elections Committee chaired by Senator Connie Lawson. If you are interested in seeing these bills move forward, please contact Senator Lawson at 1-800-382-9467 or by e-mail at this site.

The third bill is SB 0430. This bill adjusts the formulas for distribution of revenue from the county adjusted gross income tax, the county option income tax, and the county economic development income tax to reduce the share of a municipality that annexes territory. This bill proposal has been assigned to Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee chaired by Senator Luke Kenley. Please consider contacting Senator Kenley at 1-800-382-9467 or by e-mail.

Representative David Orentlicher has authored a bill in the House. HB 1292 provides that when a municipality initiates an annexation, the municipality must file a petition with the court containing the signatures of at least 51% of the landowners in the territory proposed to be annexed. This bill has not been assigned to a committee yet. The Speaker of the House, Patrick Bauer, is the person who has the authority to assign the bill. If you are interested in seeing this legislation move forward, please share your views with the Speaker at 1-800-382-9842 or by e-mail at this site.

We’re very grateful that our elected representatives have chosen to get the ball rolling by putting forth these proposals, but as they say, “the squeaky wheel gets the oil.” Please consider sharing your views with the legislators!!

Comments from old saynotofishers.com web site

Joe at 02/01/2007 09:49 PM
I addition I have also written Rep. B. Patrick Bauer, House Democratic Leader. He put the David Oretlicher bill in a dead end committee and asked him to move this bill up the ladder. Please everyone flood all of these representatives with tons of mail. Its the way government works, you have to push. A few minuts of your time and a 39cent stamp or e-mail can be worth thousands if we stop Fishers.