State senator outlines Senate Enrolled Act 1, urges local discussion of wheel tax and property-tax changes

A state senator who identified himself as the incoming representative for District 48 briefed Gibson County officials on Senate Enrolled Act 1 and related property-tax changes during the commissioners' meeting on Sept. 9, saying the law gives local governments more control over revenue decisions and that many changes will phase in over the next several years.

The senator said the state law aims to simplify property-tax calculations, shift some decision-making to local governments and create matching incentives for local road funding. "The idea is to give you guys more control to make your own decisions," the senator said, describing the wheel tax and local income-tax options as tools counties can use if they choose.

He told commissioners that the county already meets the minimum requirements for Community Crossings grant eligibility but that adopting a wheel-tax plan would open access to additional rounds of state funding. To demonstrate good faith to state grantors, the senator said his office and county highway staff suggested a multi-year approach to raise the local wheel tax instead of a one-time jump. He described a proposed three‑year schedule that would move the personal-vehicle wheel tax from the county’s current rate (stated in the meeting as $7.50) toward the statutory maximum ($40) in staged increases (suggested during the meeting as roughly $20 in year one, $30 in year two and $40 in year three); a similar staged proposal was described for commercial vehicles (from $5 to $40, then $60, then $80).

The senator repeatedly emphasized that many statutory changes are not effective immediately and cited implementation windows. He and staff said several provisions will not be in force until 2026–2028, allowing time for county officials to plan; he also said certain homestead provisions will be reduced gradually and indicated the homestead deduction would be phased out by 2030. "Most of this stuff isn't gonna go into play until 2027," he said.

Commissioners and members of the public asked detailed questions about how the reforms would affect local revenue, who would control newly available local income-tax shares, and whether public-safety functions (fire, EMS, police) are excluded or included in new local income-tax designations. The senator said the statutory language allows flexibility in how localities allocate the redistributable local income-tax share and that he would follow up with clarifications for Gibson County staff.

The senator provided commissioners with printed materials including county-by-county revenue projections, an overview of how assessed-value deductions will change under the new law and sample revenue comparisons for District 48 counties. He also said the Community Crossings program uses a formula tied to state revenue streams (which the senator described as including motor fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles) and that counties with a clearly articulated local funding plan will score better for discretionary grant rounds.

Commissioners and members of the public urged continued public outreach. One resident asked specifically about the homestead deduction; the senator said the deduction will be reduced over several years and explained that many individual deductions will be replaced with a more uniform assessed-value reduction. The senator encouraged officials and residents to contact him with questions as county staff work through implementation details.

The presentation concluded with the senator offering to return for further briefings and to provide more precise answers on allocation and implementation details now that county officials had posed local questions.