Bill passes Senate for further debate

By Matt Poston
City Editor

The state Senate version of a bill that would make sweeping changes to Indiana's tax system as well as attempting to plug a projected $1 billion hole was passed last week, but the implications of the bill as it relates to Purdue's budget still remain unclear.

House Bill 1004 was passed by state senators by a 33-15 vote. The bill had undergone several major revisions since it was passed by the bare minimum of votes in the House last month.

The bill is expected to be debated by a House-Senate conference committee over the next two weeks in an attempt to hammer out a bill that both Republicans and Democrats could agree upon.

State Sen. Ronnie Alting, R-Lafayette, said that the plan, which was created by Sen. Lawrence Borst, R-Greenwood, would provide property owners with the largest property tax decrease in the history of the Indiana General Assembly, with an approximately 30 percent reduction from last year's property tax levels.

The plan would increase sales, cigarette and income taxes to help fund the reduction in property taxes.

Alting said he voted "yes" to the bill because he felt there was no other option.

"To have done nothing on (House Bill) 1004 would have been devastating," Alting said.

"I think we're elected to go down there to solve problems," he said.