Statehouse Update
On June 13, the Indiana General Assembly's Legislative Council announced summer study topics for the interim between now and the 2024 session. Topics include:
- Identifying the risks and challenges to Hoosiers, as well as opportunities artificial intelligence may bring to existing industries, jobs, knowledge, learning, the provision of government and other services
- Consumer data privacy and security
- Legalization of adult-use cannabis in Indiana as it relates to workforce impacts and teen use
While eight statutory interim study committees will not meet (including the Education Study Committee), the Fiscal Policy Study Committee was assigned to study “data related to the increasing cost of higher education” at the request of Sen. Ryan Mishler, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair, and Rep. Jeff Thompson, House Ways & Means Committee Chair.
Finally, Senate Enrolled Act 3-2023 created the State and Local Tax Review Task Force. This task force will begin meeting in the interim and by law, must meet at least four times in 2023 and four times in 2024. The task force has until December 1, 2024 to prepare findings and recommendations on the following:
- The state's near term and long term financial outlook and overall fiscal position
- The state's appropriation backed debt obligations
- The funded status of pension funds managed by the state, including methods to reduce the unfunded actuarial accrued liability of the pre-1996 account within the Indiana state teachers' retirement fund
- The individual income tax, including methods to reduce or eliminate the individual income tax
- The corporate income tax
- The state gross retail and use tax, including a review of the state gross retail tax base
- The property tax, including methods to reduce or eliminate the tax on homestead properties and reduce or eliminate the tax on business personal property
- Local option taxes, including the local income tax, food and beverage taxes, and innkeeper's taxes