Greg Steuerwald (Taxpayer Friendly)

Watchdog Indiana Home Page Indiana General Assembly & Governor Ratings Legislative Voting Record 11/02/04 Candidate Questionnaire 05/04/04 Candidate Questionnaire 11/05/02 Candidate Questionnaire 05/07/02 Candidate Questionnaire

Address: 932 St. Andrews Drive, Avon, IN 46123
Phone: (317) 718-0690
E-mail: gsteuerwald@szwlaw.com; H40@in.gov
Website: http://www.in.gov/legislative/house_republicans/homepages/r40/

2010 General Assembly Voting Record
Voted YES on House Joint Resolution 1, which gives voters statewide the opportunity to amend the Indiana Constitution to (1) make the 1% - 2% - 3% property tax caps permanent and (2) protect homestead property tax deductions from legal challenge.
Voted YES on House Bill 1001, which contains 21 Taxpayer Friendly government ethics reform provisions including a 365-day wait after leaving the General Assembly before a legislator can become a lobbyist or legislative liaison, the reporting of certain expenditures by the legislative liaisons of state agencies and state educational institutions, and a reduction from $100 to $50 in the minimum reportable amount for the total daily gifts given by a registered lobbyist to a legislative person.
Voted YES on House Bill 1086, which contains 7 Taxpayer Friendly provisions including the HJR 1 Constitutional Amendment ballot language.
Voted YES on House Bill 1367, which contains 5 Taxpayer Friendly K-12 education provisions that preserve and protect instructional programs.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 23, which delays the scheduled increase in unemployment insurance premiums for one year until 2011.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 396, which mandates an adjusted six-year average that eliminates the highest value to calculate the base rate for the assessment of agricultural land.

2009 General Assembly Voting Record
Voted YES on House Bill 1001 SS, the 2009-2011 special session budget bill that (1) provides enough resources for good government AND (2) satisfactorily protects Hoosier working families from state and local tax increases. A YES vote supports a budget that is sufficiently Taxpayer Friendly. A NO vote would have shut down much of state government.
DID NOT VOTE as a member of the House Committee on Government and Regulatory Reform on a bill that combined the following local government reforms passed by the Senate in SB 348, SB 452, SB 506, and SB 512: (1) develop and approve a Library Services Plan by a Public Library Service Planning Committee (with an "opt out" referendum provision) in every county (except Marion County) to help more effectively use working family dollars currently spent on library services (with the option to equitably replace public library property taxes with a county economic development income tax); (2) prohibit employees of a local government unit from serving as elected officials within the same local government unit; (3) move the elections of municipal officers to even-numbered years; (4) move all school board member elections to the November general election in even-numbered years; (5) establish the use of vote centers as an option for all counties; (6) require a city clerk-treasurer in a third class city to attend fiscal officer training provided by the state board of accounts; (7) allow a single County Chief Executive Officer or County Manager; (8) allow the County Council or the Board of County Supervisors to exercise both the fiscal and legislative powers of the county; (9) provide for voter-initiated referendums on county government reorganization; (10) repeal the requirement that political subdivisions must approve local government reorganizations initiated by voters; (11) assign the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations four responsibilities to identify and monitor good local government practices; (12) prohibit County Manager nepotism; (13) repeal unproductive reporting requirements; (14) continue to elect the County Assessor; (15) abolish on January 1, 2013, each township board in every county (other than Marion County) and make the county fiscal body also the fiscal body and legislative body of each township; (16) require a township when formulating an annual budget to consider whether the part of the ending balance in each township fund in excess of 10% of budgeted expenditures should be used instead of imposing additional property taxes for the ensuing year; (17) prohibit a relative of a township officer or employee from being employed by the township in a position that would put the relative in a direct supervisory or subordinate relationship with the officer or employee; (18) require a township trustee's annual report to list separately each expenditure to reimburse the trustee for the trustee's public business use of personal property; (19) require each township office to include the address, phone number, and regular office hours (if any) of the township office in at least one local telephone directory; (20) prohibit a public meeting or a public hearing of a township official or governing body from being held in a private residence; (21) require the State Board of Accounts to submit an annual township examination report to the executive director of the Legislative Services Agency and to county councils.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 374 to allow Regional Transportation Districts, which are new tax-imposing levels of Indiana government controlled by boards with unrestricted powers where most board members have no real connection to the taxpayers' community, to be established WITHOUT a referendum of affected voters.

Watchdog Indiana Candidate Questions - November 4, 2008, General Election
1. BACKGROUND: Senate Joint Resolution 1 passed the Indiana Senate 40-7 and the Indiana House 79-20 on March 14, 2008, and was signed by the Governor on March 19, 2008. SJR 1 amends the Indiana Constitution to cap homeowners' property tax bills at 1% of assessed value, rental and agricultural property at 2%, and business property at 3%. For property taxes first due and payable in 2012, 90 of Indiana's 92 counties must have a homeowner property tax cap that is 1% of the gross assessed value. Until 2020, existing debt service prior to July 1, 2008, is exempted from the 1% homeowner gross assessed value cap in Lake and St. Joseph counties ONLY. The result of these two existing debt service exemptions equates to a 1.88% homeowner cap in Lake County and a 1.52% homeowner cap in St. Joseph County. The homeowner caps for Lake and St. Joseph counties must become 1% in 2020. The exact same version of SJR 1 that passed in 2008 must again pass in the General Assembly in 2009 to put the 1% constitutional homeowner property tax cap amendment on the 2010 ballot. We the people can then vote to make the 1% homeowner property tax cap a permanent part of the Indiana Constitution. Never has it been so easy to separate those who are part of the property tax relief solution from those who are part of the property tax spending problem. A General Assembly candidate who pledges to vote for Senate Joint Resolution 1 in 2009 is part of the solution, otherwise the legislator is part of the problem. QUESTION: Do you pledge to vote in 2009 for the exact same version of Senate Joint Resolution 1 that passed in 2008? ANSWER: Yes, I voted for it once and I will vote for it again.
2. QUESTION: Do you wish to make some additional comments about your candidacy? ANSWER: Not at this time.

Watchdog Indiana Candidate Questions - May 6, 2008, Primary Election
1. BACKGROUND: Senate Joint Resolution 1, which contains a meaningful homeowner property tax cap amendment to the Indiana Constitution, passed the Indiana Senate 40-7 and the Indiana House 79-20 on March 14, 2008. For property taxes first due and payable in 2012, 90 of Indiana's 92 counties must have a homeowner property tax cap that is 1% of the gross assessed value. Until 2020, existing debt service prior to July 1, 2008, is exempted from the 1% homeowner gross assessed value cap in Lake and St. Joseph counties ONLY. The result of these two existing debt service exemptions equates to a 1.88% cap in Lake County and a 1.52% cap in St. Joseph County. The caps for Lake and St. Joseph counties must become 1% in 2020. SJR 1 must again pass in the General Assembly in 2009 to put the 1% constitutional homeowner property tax cap amendment on the 2010 ballot. We the people can then vote to make the 1% homeowner property tax cap a permanent part of the Indiana Constitution. Never has it been so easy to separate those who are part of the property tax relief solution from those who are part of the property tax spending problem. A General Assembly candidate who pledges to vote for Senate Joint Resolution 1 in 2009 is part of the solution, otherwise the legislator is part of the problem. QUESTION: Do you pledge to vote for Senate Joint Resolution 1 in 2009? ANSWER: Yes, I voted for it last session and intend to do so in the next session.
2. QUESTION: Do you wish to make some additional comments about your candidacy? ANSWER: I cosponsored HJR 4 which would have capped state spending as well as the local units of government. I’m also reintroducing my sales tax holiday next year. One weekend in august any retail purchases under a certain amount will be exempt from sales tax. It didn’t get a hearing this year.

2008 General Assembly Voting Record
Voted YES on Senate Joint Resolution 1, which amends the Indiana Constitution to include a cap beginning 2012 on homestead property tax in 90 counties at 1% of gross assessed value. Until 2020, existing debt service prior to July 1, 2008, is exempted from the 1% homeowner gross assessed value cap in Lake and St. Joseph counties ONLY. The effective constitutional homeowner property tax caps in Lake and St. Joseph counties are 1.88% and 1.52% respectively until their 1% cap takes effect in 2020.
Voted YES on House Bill 1001, which phases in the SJR 1 constitutional property tax caps by 2010. Also, 2008 property taxes are reduced 26% from the prior year. An increase in the sales tax from 6% to 7% and county-wide local option income taxes will be used to replace the property tax revenue reductions that result from the property tax caps.

This page was last updated on 03/19/10.