Rep. Jack Jordan

Removes and repeals various education provisions and expired education provisions, including provisions concerning the following: (1) Secretary of education criteria. (2) Certain department of education (department) requirements. (3) The advisory committee on career and technical education. (4) Use of hearing examiners by the state board of education (state board). (5) Credit for retaking a virtual course during certain time periods. (6) Children's social, emotional, and behavioral health plans. (7) Family friendly school designations. (8) The Indiana civic education commission. (9) Discretionary directives to the department. (10) The program for the advancement of math and science. (11) Access to telecommunication services. (12) Elementary school counselors, social workers, and school psychologists program and fund. (13) Grants for mental health counselor licenses for school counselors. (14) The arts education program. (15) The geothermal conversion revolving fund. (16) Clause requirements for certain charter school organizer documents. (17) Required acknowledgment by a current authorizer regarding a proposal by an existing charter school to another authorizer. (18) Requirements regarding a governing body of a school corporation (governing body) providing a noncharter school. (19) Charter requirements, including minimum year and annual performance target requirements. (20) Certain notice requirements from an authorizer to an organizer that is not in compliance. (21) Indiana school for the arts. (22) Allowing the board of trustees of Vincennes University to establish a grammar school. (23) Designation of certain committees by a governing body. (24) Governing body use of funds for associations. (25) Developing and reviewing evidence based plans with parents for improving student behavior and discipline. (26) Township trustees and the sale of schoolhouses. (27) School health advisory councils and adoption of a school corporation policy on child nutrition and physical activity. (28) Certain agreement requirements regarding joint programs. (29) Certain requirements regarding the transfer of a student to another school. (30) Freeway school corporation and freeway school program. (31) Policies, programs, and reports regarding criminal organization activity. (32) Transportation program discretion. (33) Recommendations regarding certain powers and duties of the department. (34) Culturally responsive methods. (35) Certain training and professional development requirements. (36) Certain teacher leave requirements. (37) Ineligibility for state funds for adopting residence requirements. (38) Certain compensation included in computing a teacher's retirement benefit. (39) Penalty for failing to comply with working schedule requirements. (40) Discretionary modification of graduation plan. (41) Required course on safety education. (42) Compilation of leaflets regarding hygiene, sanitary science, and disease prevention. (43) Making a violation regarding teaching certain disease information an infraction. (44) Certain elective courses and teachings. (45) Voluntary summer school program and joint summer school program requirements. (46) Technology preparation curriculum. (47) Community or volunteer service programs. (48) Nonsession school activities. (49) Requirements regarding Indiana academic standards. (50) Strategic and continuous improvement and achievement plans. (51) Cultural competency. (52) Student educational achievement grants. (53) Remediation grant program. (54) Postsecondary workforce training program remediation reduction. (55) Requirement to provide an enrollment form for the twenty-first century scholars program to certain students. (56) Governor's scholars academy. (57) Seminary township school fund. (58) Dual credit teacher stipend matching grant fund. (59) Student enrichment grants. (60) The study of ethnic and racial groups as a semester elective course. (61) Requirements regarding proposed charter school economic interest statements. (62) Certain charter requirements for adult high schools. (63) Required policies on contacting employment references. (64) Certain requirements concerning staff performance evaluations. (65) Authorizer responsibility for charter school compliance with applicable legal standards. (66) Certain nondiscrimination provisions regarding students who transfer from charter schools to public noncharter schools. Merges and amends provisions regarding fund distribution upon the termination of a charter and the cessation of a charter school. Amends the age eligibility for a member of a governing body. Amends the time period by which a governing body must organize by electing officers. Establishes information that must be included in a consolidated audit by an organizer. Provides adult high schools are excluded from all cohort based graduation rate calculations except to the extent required under federal law. Amends the termination and notice requirements with regard to terminating a transportation program. Relocates and amends a provision regarding classroom instruction curriculum in teacher preparation programs. Provides that the secretary of education (instead of the governor) shall appoint the director of special education. Amends required frequency of child abuse and neglect training. Requires the department to make a list of best practices and guidelines regarding classroom behavioral management strategies and a list of best practices to reduce student discipline. Permits the governing body of a school corporation or an organizer of a charter school to assess and collect a reasonable fee for certain supplies and materials. Amends certain financial statement filing requirements regarding school trusts to pool assets for insurance coverage. Repeals a provision regarding requiring certain CSA participating entities to provide evidence of certain unencumbered assets. Makes technical and conforming changes.

Establishes the Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission, including six members appointed by the governor and five members appointed under Illinois law, to discuss and recommend whether it is advisable to adjust the boundaries between the two states.

Maddy summarySCR 33 is a concurrent resolution that formally recognizes the Indiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council. It acknowledges the council's existence and purpose, without creating new laws or allocating funds.

Places restrictions on the issuance of certain general obligation bonds. Amends a capitalization rate percentage under the statewide agricultural land base rate determination. Provides that the percentage cap used to determine the maximum levy growth quotient is 4% in 2026. Provides that, notwithstanding any growth in a political subdivision's assessed value (AV) in the previous year, a political subdivision's ad valorem property tax levy shall not exceed the ad valorem property tax levy for its last preceding annual budget, unless the fiscal body of the political subdivision adopts an affirmative tax rate and tax levy increase by ordinance following a separate public hearing. Requires a resulting decrease in tax rates for each political subdivision in which there was an increase in the political subdivision's AV in the previous year, subject to any affirmative tax rate and tax levy increase adopted by the fiscal body of the political subdivision. Phases out the authority for the department of local government finance (department) to permit an excess tax levy that is based on AV growth, school transportation costs, and other circumstances. Retains the provisions that permit an excess tax levy if the civil taxing unit cannot carry out its governmental functions in the case of annexation, a natural disaster, an accident, or an emergency. Phases in an increase in the acquisition cost threshold for the business personal property tax exemption from $80,000 to $2,000,000. Provides that the 30% minimum valuation limitation does not apply to business personal property placed in service after January 1, 2025. Phases down the homestead standard deduction over five years to zero beginning for taxes due and payable in 2031. Phases in an increase in the supplemental homestead deduction to 2/3 of the AV of the homestead. Phases in an AV deduction for all property that is subject to the 2% circuit breaker credit for excessive property taxes for assessment dates beginning in 2025 up to a 1/3 AV deduction for taxes due and payable in 2031, and each taxable year thereafter. Expires certain property tax deductions allowed in current law, and instead allows a credit against local property taxes in certain instances. Makes certain changes to the qualification requirements and credit amount for the over 65 circuit breaker credit. Provides a supplemental homestead tax credit for property taxes for a person's homestead if the person qualifies for a standard homestead deduction for the same homestead property. Provides that specified referendums may be placed on the ballot only at a general election. Amends the ballot language for controlled project, school operating, and school public safety referendums. Provides that a school corporation may not adopt a resolution to place a controlled project referendum on the ballot during the second calendar year after the final calendar year in which a previously approved controlled project referendum levy is imposed. Modifies the threshold amounts used for determining whether a political subdivision's project is a controlled project and whether the petition and remonstrance process or the referendum process applies based on the political subdivision's total debt service tax rate. Adds provisions to authorize a county fiscal body to adopt an ordinance to establish a property tax payment deferral program (program). Provides that a qualified individual participating in the program may defer the payment of part of the property taxes that would otherwise be due on a homestead. Provides that property taxes deferred under the program are due after the occurrence of a deferral termination event. Provides that the maximum amount of taxes that may be deferred cumulatively year over year may not exceed $10,000. Increases, beginning in 2028, the maximum local income tax (LIT) expenditure rate for all counties to 2.9%. Authorizes a city or town to impose a municipal LIT rate beginning in 2028 not to exceed 1.2%. Provides that within a county's total expenditure rate, the county may adopt: (1) up to a 1.2% rate for county general purpose revenue; (2) up to a 0.4% rate for fire protection and emergency medical services; (3) up to a 0.2% rate for nonmunicipal civil taxing unit general purpose revenue; and (4) up to 1.2% for certain cities and towns that are not eligible to adopt a municipal LIT rate. Eliminates provisions that provide for a distribution of LIT expenditure rate revenue to schools and civil taxing units in counties that imposed a rate under the prior county adjusted gross income tax. Authorizes a county fiscal body to impose a local income tax expenditure rate to provide property tax relief for property tax liability attributable to homesteads in the county before January 1, 2028. Expires the authority to impose a property tax relief rate under the LIT and repeals the levy freeze rate. Provides that, in order to continue to impose an expenditure tax rate after 2027, each county must adopt a new ordinance on or before October 1, 2027, to impose the rate. Provides that, for counties that fail to adopt an ordinance to renew an existing expenditure tax rate in 2027, the expenditure tax rate for the county in 2028 shall be the minimum tax rate necessary for existing debt service. Specifies that this does not prevent the county from renewing, imposing, or modifying an expenditure tax rate in subsequent years. Eliminates local income tax councils beginning July 1, 2027, and instead provides that the county fiscal body is the adopting body in all counties for purposes of the county LIT, and the city or town fiscal body is the adopting body in the case of a municipal LIT. Establishes the state and local income tax holding account within the state general fund for purposes of LIT distributions. Requires the budget agency to maintain an accounting for each county imposing a county LIT based on annual returns filed by or for county taxpayers (same as current law). Requires undistributed amounts so accounted to be held for purposes of the state and local income tax holding account beginning after December 31, 2026. (Under current law, undistributed amounts are required to be held in reserve separate from the state general fund.) Requires the budget agency to present each December to the budget committee a report of the following: (1) An estimate of the monthly certified distribution amounts for the immediately succeeding calendar year. (2) A description of the method used to determine the monthly estimates. Beginning in 2028, requires the budget agency to make monthly transfers to the state and local income tax holding account of the amount determined for the month in the budget agency's report to the budget committee. Repeals a provision that requires the budget agency to adjust the certified distribution of a county for the succeeding year following a tax rate change. Requires the department to develop and maintain a property tax transparency portal through which taxpayers may: (1) compare the property tax liability in their current tax statement compared to their potential property tax liability based on changes under a proposed tax rate; and (2) provide taxpayer feedback to the department. Prohibits the northern Indiana commuter transportation district from issuing new bonds after May 9, 2025, that are payable in whole or in part from amounts distributed from the commuter rail service fund or the electric rail service fund. Requires all school corporations that adopt a resolution for an operating referendum tax levy that is imposed for the first time with property taxes first due and payable beginning after 2027 to share revenue with certain charter schools. Requires, beginning with distributions in 2028, that all school corporations begin sharing revenue from the school corporation's operations fund levy with certain charter schools. Provides for the phasing in of the sharing of revenue with certain charter schools from the school corporation's operations fund levy. Provides for the appointment of additional board members to the governing board of a charter school that receives property tax revenue. Sets forth additional procedures related to the closure of a charter school. Dissolves the Union School Corporation. Provides that for a fire protection territory established after January 1, 2025, each unit in a territory may not impose a tax rate that exceeds $0.40 per $100 of assessed valuation. Makes conforming changes. Makes technical corrections. Makes an appropriation.

Maddy summarySCR 8 is a non-binding concurrent resolution expressing strong disapproval of religious persecution globally. It does not create new laws or affect any specific groups, as resolutions like this serve only to state legislative sentiment. The measure passed unanimously in the Senate (90-0) and was adopted by committee, but it has no legal effect. This type of resolution is symbolic and intended to publicly condemn violations of religious freedom worldwide.

Requires disclosure of the appointing authority and term of an appointed public officer: (1) in the meeting notice and agenda of the board on which the public officer is appointed to serve; and (2) on the board's website or appointing authority's website, if any. Provides that if the appointing authority or board does not have a website, the information must be published on the Internet through the computer gateway administered by the office of technology.

Maddy summaryHR 40 is a symbolic resolution that reaffirms Indiana's existing sister-state relationship with Taiwan. It does not create new laws, funding, or obligations, but formally expresses the Indiana General Assembly's continued commitment to this partnership. The bill was introduced and coauthored by multiple state representatives and passed its first reading on April 3, 2025. This type of resolution typically supports cultural or economic ties without altering policy or providing resources.

Maddy summarySB 314 provides tax exemptions for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) All-Star Game and related ancillary events when held in Indiana. This law directly affects the WNBA event organizers and businesses hosting associated activities during the game. The bill exempts these specific events from certain state taxes, creating a temporary tax relief measure for the duration of the game and its supporting activities in the state. The law became effective April 1, 2025, after being signed by the Governor.

Maddy summaryHR 39 designates April as World Autism Month and April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day through a symbolic congressional resolution. This bill does not create new laws or policies; it is purely a recognition measure to highlight these observances. The resolution has no direct impact on individuals, services, or funding but aims to raise public awareness about autism. It was introduced and coauthored by multiple representatives with no substantive policy changes.

Maddy summaryHCR 28 is a symbolic resolution designating March 21, 2025, as World Down Syndrome Day for recognition by the state legislature. It has no binding effect or policy changes - it serves solely as a formal acknowledgment of the international observance. The resolution was passed with broad bipartisan co-authorship in the House. This type of concurrent resolution does not affect laws, regulations, or individuals.