(Statehouse) April 29, 2007- Late tonight, State Representative Mike Ripley (R-Monroe) and the Indiana General Assembly completed the 2007 legislative session. The House spent the final day of session working on a compromise to produce a balanced budget and provide property tax relief for Hoosier homeowners. Ripley voted against the resulting budget that passed the House by a party-line vote of 51-49. The most immediately crucial issue to be addressed before today's adjournment was property tax relief. Legislators have studied the upcoming property tax cycle and discovered that trending values, reduced replacement credits, increased local property investment, and the final stage of the inventory tax elimination will combine to negatively affect Hoosier property owners this year. "It is unfortunate that we were unable to provide a long-term solution to the ever-growing property tax problem in this state," said Ripley. "The budget passed by the House tonight does provide property tax relief for Hoosier homeowners. However, it does not provide immediate relief or enough relief. The people in my district are getting hit with property tax bills that are, on average, 24 percent higher than they were last year. I am concerned that some of my constituents will not be able to pay for this increase. I only hope that next year we will be able to find a more permanent solution to this problem." For more information, please contact State Representative Mike Ripley at the Statehouse, 200 W. Washington St., Room 401, Indianapolis, IN 46204, 1-800-382-9841, h44@in.gov. -30-
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