Ok, the basics. In order to pass a constitutional amendment, one that can't be changed by future legislators running around scared, requires two legislatures pass the bill with the "EXACT" same language. If even one word is changed in the second legislature, then the whole process starts over again. Then once two exact bills are passed by two legislatures, and signed by the Governor, then the bill goes to statewide referendum.
One way to kill a constitutional amendment is to change a couple words each year so that it can never move to referendum. Speaker Bauer tried to do just that thing this week.
First an email that was sent to us by the Lake County GOP chair:
Lake County GOP sent this around to our email list yesterday:
Hello Lake County Watchdogs,
State Senator Sue Landske (219-374-9907
; S6@in.gov; ssue6@sbcglobal.net) cast a Taxpayer Friendly YES vote on December 8 in the Indiana Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee to send the constitutional amendment in Senate Joint Resolution 1 to the Senate floor for final consideration.
State Senator Lonnie Randolph (
State Representative Mara Candelaria Reardon (
The identical SJR 1 and HJR 1 constitutional amendment would make the 1% - 2% - 3% property tax caps permanent AND protect property tax deductions and credits from constitutional challenge. For your information, the Watchdog Indiana HJR 1 testimony before the Ways and Means Committee is below (under my name).
Please contact Senator Landske and Representative Candelaria Reardon and thank them for their Taxpayer Friendly votes in committee, and urge them to again vote YES on SJR 1 and HJR 1 when they reach the Senate floor and House floor for final consideration.
Please contact Senator Randolph and ask him why he voted against HJR 1 in the Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee. Also, please urge him to cast a Taxpayer Friendly YES vote for SJR 1 when it reaches the Senate floor for final consideration.
Please forward this limited-distribution Watchdog Indiana E-mail Update to your friends, neighbors, and family members who live in Lake County.
Watchdog Indiana is a non-profit, non-connected, and non-party advocate for good government that focuses on the state and local tax burden of Hoosier working families. An online community is established where Hoosiers come together voluntarily to help encourage our state and local governments better respond to the needs of working families. Watchdog Indiana was established November 14, 2001, and the Watchdog Indiana website can be found at www.watchdogindiana.org.
Second, a couple links to the specific bill killing ammendments that were offered:
On the first amendment offered by Rep Crawford the following representatives cast an "aye" vote, a vote that if the amendment passed would have started the tax payer protection caps all over again. Can you see the trick? One can try to kill the bill by voting for an amendment that is supposedly tax payer friendly, if it goes through, claim the constitutional amendment needed to be improved. If it fails then vote for the tax cap language and go pretend to the voters that you were in support.
One the second amendment offered by Rep Fry even less representatives went along with the ruse suggested by Speaker Bauer and his anti-taxpayer allies.
On both cap killing amendments, Rep Reardon and Rep Vandenburgh voted with the Speaker. Keep these votes in mind when we go to the polls in November. Time for our legislators to listen to the public, we can't be tricked by the parliamentary games any longer.
