Sec. 3.2. (a) Subject to section 3.5(a)(1)(C) of this chapter, this section applies only to controlled projects described in section 3.1(a) of this chapter.

     (b) If a sufficient petition requesting the application of a petition and remonstrance process has been filed as set forth in section 3.1 of this chapter, a political subdivision may not impose property taxes to pay debt service on bonds or lease rentals on a lease for a controlled project without completing the following procedures:

(1) The proper officers of the political subdivision shall give notice of the applicability of the petition and remonstrance process by:

(A) publication in accordance with IC 5-3-1; and

(B) first class mail to the circuit court clerk and to the organizations described in section 3.1(b)(1) of this chapter.

A notice under this subdivision must include a statement that any owners of property within the political subdivision or registered voters residing within the political subdivision who want to petition in favor of or remonstrate against the proposed debt service or lease payments must file petitions and remonstrances in compliance with subdivisions (2) through (4) not earlier than thirty (30) days or later than sixty (60) days after publication in accordance with IC 5-3-1.

(2) Not earlier than thirty (30) days or later than sixty (60) days after the notice under subdivision (1) is given:

(A) petitions (described in subdivision (3)) in favor of the bonds or lease; and

(B) remonstrances (described in subdivision (3)) against the bonds or lease;

may be filed by an owner or owners of property within the political subdivision or a registered voter residing within the political subdivision. Each signature on a petition must be dated, and the date of signature may not be before the date on which the petition and remonstrance forms may be issued under subdivision (3). A petition described in clause (A) or a remonstrance described in clause (B) must be verified in compliance with subdivision (4) before the petition or remonstrance is filed with the county voter registration office under subdivision (4).

(3) The state board of accounts shall design and, upon request by the county voter registration office, deliver to the county voter registration office or the county voter registration office’s designated printer the petition and remonstrance forms to be used solely in the petition and remonstrance process described in this section. The county voter registration office shall issue to an owner or owners of property within the political subdivision or a registered voter residing within the political subdivision the number of petition or remonstrance forms requested by the owner or owners or the registered voter. Each form must be accompanied by instructions detailing the requirements that:

(A) the carrier and signers must be owners of property or registered voters;

(B) the carrier must be a signatory on at least one (1) petition;

(C) after the signatures have been collected, the carrier must swear or affirm before a notary public that the carrier witnessed each signature;

(D) govern the closing date for the petition and remonstrance period; and

(E) apply to the carrier under section 10 of this chapter.

Persons requesting forms may be required to identify themselves as owners of property or registered voters and may be allowed to pick up additional copies to distribute to other owners of property or registered voters. Each person signing a petition or remonstrance must indicate whether the person is signing the petition or remonstrance as a registered voter within the political subdivision or is signing the petition or remonstrance as the owner of property within the political subdivision. A person who signs a petition or remonstrance as a registered voter must indicate the address at which the person is registered to vote. A person who signs a petition or remonstrance as an owner of property must indicate the address of the property owned by the person in the political subdivision. The county voter registration office may not issue a petition or remonstrance form earlier than twenty-nine (29) days after the notice is given under subdivision (1). The county voter registration office shall certify the date of issuance on each petition or remonstrance form that is distributed under this subdivision.

(4) The petitions and remonstrances must be verified in the manner prescribed by the state board of accounts and filed with the county voter registration office within the sixty (60) day period described in subdivision (2) in the manner set forth in section 3.1 of this chapter relating to requests for a petition and remonstrance process.

(5) The county voter registration office shall determine whether each person who signed the petition or remonstrance is a registered voter. The county voter registration office shall not more than fifteen (15) business days after receiving a petition or remonstrance forward a copy of the petition or remonstrance to the county auditor. Not more than ten (10) business days after receiving the copy of the petition or remonstrance, the county auditor shall provide to the county voter registration office a statement verifying:

(A) whether a person who signed the petition or remonstrance as a registered voter but is not a registered voter, as determined by the county voter registration office, is the owner of property in the political subdivision; and

(B) whether a person who signed the petition or remonstrance as an owner of property within the political subdivision does in fact own property within the political subdivision.

(6) The county voter registration office shall not more than ten (10) business days after receiving the statement from the county auditor under subdivision (5) make the final determination of:

(A) the number of registered voters in the political subdivision that signed a petition and, based on the statement provided by the county auditor, the number of owners of property within the political subdivision that signed a petition; and

(B) the number of registered voters in the political subdivision that signed a remonstrance and, based on the statement provided by the county auditor, the number of owners of property within the political subdivision that signed a remonstrance.

Whenever the name of an individual who signs a petition or remonstrance as a registered voter contains a minor variation from the name of the registered voter as set forth in the records of the county voter registration office, the signature is presumed to be valid, and there is a presumption that the individual is entitled to sign the petition or remonstrance under this section. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, in determining whether an individual is a registered voter, the county voter registration office shall apply the requirements and procedures used under IC 3 to determine whether a person is a registered voter for purposes of voting in an election governed by IC 3. However, an individual is not required to comply with the provisions concerning providing proof of identification to be considered a registered voter for purposes of this chapter. A person is entitled to sign a petition or remonstrance only one (1) time in a particular petition and remonstrance process under this chapter, regardless of whether the person owns more than one (1) parcel of real property, mobile home assessed as personal property, or manufactured home assessed as personal property or a combination of those types of property within the subdivision and regardless of whether the person is both a registered voter in the political subdivision and the owner of property within the political subdivision. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if a petition or remonstrance is presented to the county voter registration office within forty-five (45) days before an election, the county voter registration office may defer acting on the petition or remonstrance, and the time requirements under this section for action by the county voter registration office do not begin to run until five (5) days after the date of the election.

(7) The county voter registration office must file a certificate and the petition or remonstrance with the body of the political subdivision charged with issuing bonds or entering into leases within thirty-five (35) business days of the filing of a petition or remonstrance under subdivision (4), whichever applies, containing ten thousand (10,000) signatures or less. The county voter registration office may take an additional five (5) days to review and certify the petition or remonstrance for each additional five thousand (5,000) signatures up to a maximum of sixty (60) days. The certificate must state the number of petitioners and remonstrators that are owners of property within the political subdivision and the number of petitioners who are registered voters residing within the political subdivision.

(8) If a greater number of persons who are either owners of property within the political subdivision or registered voters residing within the political subdivision sign a remonstrance than the number that signed a petition, the bonds petitioned for may not be issued or the lease petitioned for may not be entered into. The proper officers of the political subdivision may not make a preliminary determination to issue bonds or enter into a lease for the controlled project defeated by the petition and remonstrance process under this section or any other controlled project that is not substantially different within one (1) year after the date of the county voter registration office’s certificate under subdivision (7). Withdrawal of a petition carries the same consequences as a defeat of the petition.

(9) After a political subdivision has gone through the petition and remonstrance process set forth in this section, the political subdivision is not required to follow any other remonstrance or objection procedures under any other law (including section 5 of this chapter) relating to bonds or leases designed to protect owners of property within the political subdivision from the imposition of property taxes to pay debt service or lease rentals. However, the political subdivision must still receive the approval of the department of local government finance if required by:

(A) IC 6-1.1-18.5-8; or

(B) IC 20-46-7-8, IC 20-46-7-9, and IC 20-46-7-10.

As added by P.L.25-1995, SEC.49. Amended by P.L.53-1996, SEC.3; P.L.54-1996, SEC.1; P.L.2-1997, SEC.20; P.L.56-1997, SEC.2; P.L.2-1998, SEC.20; P.L.90-2002, SEC.192; P.L.178-2002, SEC.32; P.L.1-2004, SEC.31 and P.L.23-2004, SEC.34; P.L.2-2006, SEC.55; P.L.219-2007, SEC.61; P.L.224-2007, SEC.31; P.L.3-2008, SEC.47; P.L.146-2008, SEC.192; P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.144; P.L.41-2010, SEC.3; P.L.113-2010, SEC.34; P.L.42-2011, SEC.9; P.L.246-2017, SEC.4.

   Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, “distressed political subdivision” means a political subdivision designated as a distressed political subdivision under this chapter.

As added by P.L.224-2007, SEC.36. Amended by P.L.146-2008, SEC.202; P.L.145-2012, SEC.3; P.L.234-2013, SEC.2; P.L.241-2017, SEC.4; P.L.213-2018(ss), SEC.3.