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Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana House Bill 1259 sets local income tax procedures, GIS mapping rules, and school corporation distributions
Last action · January 5, 2026: First reading: referred to Committee on Ways and MeansSponsors: Jeffrey Thompson and 2 others
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 1259 sets new procedures for imposing and distributing local income taxes, requires state agencies and political subdivisions to cooperate with the on a statewide base map, and establishes optional general-purpose tax rates for school corporations and municipalities beginning in 2026 and 2027.
Changes local tax rate structures, distribution formulas for fire protection and school corporations, and reporting duties for county auditors regarding debt service and municipal annexations.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Political subdivisions
State political subdivisions must cooperate with the state GIS officer on base mapping and comply with new local income tax notification and reporting rules.
School corporations
School corporations may receive revenue distributions through a component tax rate enacted by county adopting bodies based on certified fall ADM counts.
Fire protection and emergency medical service providers
Providers receive revenue distributions based on service boundaries, population, and square miles or county-determined allocation methods.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a county or municipality fails to adopt an ordinance to renew its existing expenditure tax rate?
What are the requirements for state agencies regarding geographic data under this bill?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Jan 5, 2026HouseIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Ways and Means
- Jan 5, 2026HouseCoauthored by Representatives Clere, Snow
- Jan 5, 2026HouseAuthored by Representative Thompson
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Four-Year Expenditure Tax Expiration
The bill establishes that a county's total expenditure tax rate expires on December 31, 2029, and every fourth calendar year thereafter, requiring formal readoption.
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy30Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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