Many Hoosiers started the New Year with a resolution to diet and regain control of their exercise program. That is very similar to what is happening to House Bill 1001, the property tax bill. The process is attempting to establish a diet plan that will help regain financial control of our government services. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, which hears all proposed tax legislation, passed the Gov. Mitch Daniels' tax plan out of Committee. The plan, contained in House Bill 1001, received a hearing before the full House of Representatives. HB 1001 will go through several changes as it moves through the legislative process. Just in the House of Representatives alone, 102 were amendments filed. One of the amendments placed a 2 percent cap on agricultural property, originally it would have been capped at 3 percent with business property. I anticipate that the bill will move quickly through the House and to the Senate, but the final form of the bill will come out of conference committee, where members of the House and Senate work together to develop a compromise before the final vote. Another bill that has passed out of the committee process is House Bill 1300, which I authored. HB 1300 would prevent milk wholesalers and retailers from forcing producers to sign affidavits saying their product was free of recombinant bovine somatotropin (RBST). RBST is a naturally occurring hormone in cattle, which can be artificially injected to produce additional milk from higher-producing cows, but there is no way to test because it is naturally occurring. If HB 1300 passes, it will prevent wholesalers from using false or misleading labels that say they are free of artificial RBST, since there is no way to substantiate their claim. Retailers are trying to gain an advantage by using this marketing tool, much as they have used the term "organic" for many products. As you can see, session is in full swing, keeping everyone extremely busy not only during the week but on the weekends too. This past weekend, I went to St. Louis, Mo., for the State Agriculture and Rural Leaders Legislative Agriculture Chairs Summit. This is an opportunity for legislators from around the country to work together to develop solutions to agricultural issues and share legislation that has or hasn't worked in their state. Conferences such as this are beneficial to legislators and taxpayers because time, money and resources can be saved through information sharing, which can help states learn from each others mistakes and successes. Property tax relief is moving forward using the governor's plan as a framework or foundation. Please continue to communicate your thoughts because the property tax bill has a long way to go. More Later,
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