Midwest legislatures face property‑tax battles, AI rules and data‑center energy questions, CSG Midwest director says

Laura Tamaka, director of the CSG Midwest office, told attendees at the Midwestern Legislative Conference that statehouses across the region entered 2026 with “some mixed signals” in the national economy and that property‑tax reform was the dominant topic of this year’s sessions.

“Property taxes dominated debates in most of our states,” Tamaka said, citing a wave of bills and a range of enacted changes. She gave examples including caps on property‑tax increases in Ohio, North Dakota and South Dakota and expansions to homestead or veterans’ tax credits in North Dakota and Indiana. On tax policy more broadly, she noted Missouri became the first state to allow a 100% capital‑gains deduction and that other states both increased and reduced different taxes as part of package reforms.

Tamaka placed the tax fights in a broader fiscal context: she said pandemic‑era surpluses were winding…