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Representative Clear proposes statewide task force to study property-assessment system
Summary
House Bill 13-29 would create a broad task force to review real property assessment methods across property classes, with stakeholders including assessors, auditors, Farm Bureau and outside experts; witnesses urged attention to assessment classes, cost tables, AI use, and transparency to reduce unintended subsidies.
Representative Clear told the committee that House Bill 13-29 would create a task force to 'take a deep dive' into the state's real property assessment system, which he described as decades old and prone to inconsistencies across property classes. The bill would convene stakeholders ranging from assessors and auditors to agricultural and academic experts to study whether current methods have led to inaccurate or non-uniform assessments.
Committee members pressed the sponsor on scope: Representative Slager recommended being explicit about whether the task force would address homestead versus commercial and industrial classes; Representative Delaney warned that moving from 'market value in use' to 'fair market value' could produce dramatic changes in assessed value for some properties. Representative Prescott and others argued the committee must stop 'treating symptoms' and consider the broader system of local funding.
Public testimony included homeowners, county assessors, auditors and the Indiana Farm Bureau. Pike County Assessor Mike Goodpaster (president, Indiana County Assessors Association) supported the task force, urged additional assessor seats, and discussed AI and data collection; Katrina Hall (Indiana Farm Bureau) emphasized cost tables and the Town of Saint John origin of the market-value-in-use system; several witnesses urged better external expertise and clearer baseline data to measure levels of assessment by class and county. The sponsor said he would work with members to refine membership and terminology; no vote was held at the hearing.
