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Without additional homeowner property tax relief, Gov. Mike Braun said he is “likely” to veto the legislature’s relief proposal and call a special session to address the issue on which he focused his campaign.
Braun was talking to reporters Wednesday when asked whether he would veto Senate Bill 1, which previously carried his plan to slash property taxes but was pared down significantly in committee.
“If it doesn’t improve, I am likely to do both of them, depending on what you need to do to actually get real relief,” he said.
The Senate passed the bill, which had been labeled Republicans’ top priority legislation, 37-10 on Monday. The bill now moves to the House.
The bill previously included most of the property tax plan Braun introduced during his campaign and after his election. But after outcry from local officials, a Senate committee stripped the bill of many of those provisions and changed the approach to one that limits the growth of total tax revenue but does less to directly cut individual tax bills.
Braun’s original plan would have resulted in at least $1.2 billion in property tax cuts in 2026. Several local government leaders warned members of the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee in January that Braun’s ambitious proposal could harm critical services, pushing back against assertions that local governments could heavily curb spending without significant service cuts.
The amended bill would reduce property taxes—and therefore reduce local government revenue—by about $1.4 billion over three years, according to the bill’s fiscal plan. Even still, cities like Carmel and Greenwood are actively freezing spending and pausing hiring.
Braun’s comments Wednesday doubled down on a statement he released Monday night that also cast doubt on whether he would sign the legislation, which he said should include immediate property tax relief.
After both chambers of the Legislature pass a bill, the governor is required to sign or veto it. If Braun vetoes a bill, the Indiana General Assembly can override his decision with a simple majority vote in both the House and Senate. That’s the same majority needed to pass the bill to the governor for consideration.
The governor has the power to call a special session if “public welfare shall require it,” according to Indiana Code. Braun could call back lawmakers for a maximum of 40 days outside the typical session calendar to pass property tax legislation.
The last special session was in 2022 when former Gov. Eric Holcomb asked legislators to address abortion after a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturned Roe v. Wade. Since 1970, Indiana governors have called 14 special sessions, nine of which have been to finish the biennial budget, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
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