Travis Holdman (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: 2467 W 1000 North, Markle, IN 46770
Phone: (260) 638-4420
E-mail: S19@in.gov; tholdman@holdmanconsult.com
Website: http://www.in.gov/legislative/senate_republicans/homepages/s19/index.htm; http://www.hoosiers4holdman.com:80/

Watchdog Indiana Candidate Questions - November 2, 2010, General Election
1. QUESTION: Do you support or oppose the November 2, 2010, Constitutional Amendment to (a) make the 1% - 2% - 3% property tax caps permanent and (b) protect homestead property tax deductions from legal challenge? ANSWER: SUPPORT.
2. QUESTION: How should the 2012-2013 state budget be balanced? Please address such issues as Medicaid spending, K-12 education, the possibility of a statewide income tax increase, and whether reserve funds should be replenished. ANSWER: It is uncertain that all efficiencies have been achieved in state government and in local schools. A review of ESSENTIAL government services should be studied. Scope of Medicaid Services and delivery of those services should be reviewed. Not certain any tax increase is necessary.
3. QUESTION: Do you pledge to maintain both the Homestead Standard Deduction and the Homestead Supplemental Deduction without ANY change to help homeowners control their property tax burden? ANSWER: YES.
4. QUESTION: Do you support changing the Indiana Code so approval of the General Assembly is required before I-69 becomes a toll road between I-64 and Martinsville? ANSWER: YES.
5. QUESTION: Do you wish to make some additional comments about your candidacy? Please visit my campaign website at http://www.hoosiers4holdman.com/index.asp.

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 Senate Joint Resolution 1, which amended the Indiana Constitution beginning 2012 to include a cap 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 the 1% cap takes effect in 2020.
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.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 348 to have a Library Services Plan developed and approved 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).
Voted YES on Senate Bill 452 to prohibit employees of a local government unit from serving as elected officials within the same local government unit, move the elections of municipal officers to even-numbered years, move all school board member elections to the November general election in even-numbered years, establish the use of vote centers as an option for all counties, and require a city clerk-treasurer in a third class city to attend fiscal officer training provided by the state board of accounts.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 506 to (1) allow a single County Chief Executive Officer or County Manager, (2) allow the County Council or the Board of County Supervisors to exercise both the fiscal and legislative powers of the county, (3) provide for voter-initiated referendums on county government reorganization, (4) repeal the requirement that political subdivisions must approve local government reorganizations initiated by voters, (5) assign the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations four responsibilities to identify and monitor good local government practices, (6) prohibit County Manager nepotism, (7) repeal unproductive reporting requirements, and (8) continue to elect the County Assessor.
Voted YES on Senate Bill 512 to (1) 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, (2) 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, (3) 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, (4) 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, (5) 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, (6) prohibits a public meeting or a public hearing of a township official or governing body from being held in a private residence, and (7) requires 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 House Bill 1607 to require a referendum before establishing a Northern Indiana Regional Transportation District, which is a new tax-imposing level of Indiana government in Lake, Porter, LaPorte, and St. Joseph counties controlled by a board with unrestricted powers (where most board members have no real connection to the taxpayers' community).

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? DID NOT RESPOND.
2. QUESTION: Do you wish to make some additional comments about your candidacy? Do you have an E-mail address? Do you have a website? DID NOT RESPOND.

This page was last updated on 07/18/10.