Hoovler v. State
| Decision Date | 17 December 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 79A02-9705-CV-312,79A02-9705-CV-312 |
| Citation | 689 N.E.2d 738 |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
| Parties | Charles A. HOOVLER, Linda L. Okos, Martin Okos, Patricia Ann Palmer, Robert M. Stwalley, III, and Jeff Symmes, Individually and as Representatives for and on behalf of all other taxpayers similarly situated, Appellants-Plaintiffs, v. STATE of Indiana, Indiana Department of Revenue, Appellees-Defendants. |
Appellants-plaintiffs, Charles A. Hoovler, Linda L. Okos, Martin Okos, Patricia Ann Palmer, Robert M. Stwalley, III, and Jeff Symmes, individually and as representatives for and on behalf of all other taxpayers similarly situated (collectively, "the taxpayers"), challenge the constitutionality of P.L. 44-1994, legislation that authorizes an increase in the economic development income tax in Indiana counties and cities falling within certain narrowly-defined population ranges.
We affirm.
P.L. 44-1994 allows Indiana counties with a population between 129,000 and 130,600 to increase their economic development income tax rate. Tippecanoe County is currently the only county in Indiana to fall within the stated population range. 1 The taxpayers are Tippecanoe County residents, certified as a class for purposes of this lawsuit, who claim that P.L. 44-1994 violates several of their state and federal constitutional rights. On May 9, 1995, the Tippecanoe Circuit Court declared the statute unconstitutional, finding that it was a local and special law providing for the assessment and collection of taxes for county purposes in violation of Article IV, Sections 22 and 23 of the Indiana Constitution.
The State appealed directly to the Indiana Supreme Court which reversed the trial court and remanded the matter for further proceedings. State v. Hoovler, 668 N.E.2d 1229 (Ind.1996), motion to strike portions of reh'g brief granted, 673 N.E.2d 767 (Ind.1997) ("Hoovler I "). The supreme court held that P.L. 44-1994 did not violate Article IV, Section 22 because the statute did not provide for the assessment and collection of taxes. Id. at 1233. The court further held that, although P.L. 44-1994 was a special law, it did not violate Article IV, Section 23 because it was not amenable to a law of general application. Id. at 1235.
The factual background of this case is set forth in the trial court's fifteen findings of fact entered in connection with its first judgment and are quoted fully in Hoovler I. 668 N.E.2d at 1231-32. On remand, the trial court entered the following additional finding of fact:
Record at 122 (). The trial court then upheld the constitutionality of P.L. 44-1994 and entered judgment in favor of the State.
On appeal, the taxpayers challenge the trial court's conclusion that P.L. 44-1994 does not violate any of the following constitutional provisions:
I. Article IV, Section 19 of the Indiana Constitution which requires that legislative acts be confined to one subject.
II. The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which guarantees equal protection of the laws.
III. Article I, Section 23 of the Indiana Constitution which guarantees equal privileges and immunities to Indiana's citizens.
IV. Article IV, Section 22 of the Indiana Constitution which prohibits special and local laws regulating county business.
V. Article XI, Section 13 of the Indiana Constitution which prohibits special laws forming corporations.
"Whether a statute, particularly a tax statute, is wise or expedient is for the legislature to decide, not the courts." Taxpayers Lobby of Indiana, Inc. v. Orr, 262 Ind. 92, 97, 311 N.E.2d 814, 816 (1974). When considering the constitutionality of a statute, we accord it every reasonable presumption of validity. Ledbetter v. Hunter, 652 N.E.2d 543, 545 (Ind.Ct.App.1995). All doubts are resolved against a challenger who must overcome that presumption by "clearly demonstrating the provision to be invalid." Hoovler I, 668 N.E.2d at 1232.
Article IV, Section 19 of the Indiana Constitution provides: "An act, except an act for the codification, revision or rearrangement of laws, shall be confined to one subject and matters properly connected therewith." This constitutional provision is intended to guarantee that there is "some rational unity between the matters embraced in the act." In re Estate of Wisely, 402 N.E.2d 14, 16 (Ind.Ct.App.1980) (). "[I]f there is any reasonable basis for grouping together in one act various matters of the same nature, and the public cannot be deceived reasonably thereby, the act is valid." Stith Petroleum Co. v. Department of Audit and Control, 211 Ind. 400, 409, 5 N.E.2d 517, 521 (1937).
Article IV, Section 19 was included in the Constitution to protect the legislative process against political log-rolling, "where legislators combine two unrelated bills, each without sufficient support to pass on its own, in order to accumulate the requisite number of votes to pass both." Pence v. State, 652 N.E.2d 486, 489 (Ind.1995) (Dickson, J., dissenting); see also Jackson v. State ex rel. South Bend Motor Bus Co., 194 Ind. 248, 252, 142 N.E. 423, 424 (1924). We agree with the State that there was no evidence presented or even an allegation made of political log-rolling here. The Record reflects that P.L. 44-1994 was enacted as a unitary bill, not as a combination of two unrelated bills.
Despite the lack of political log-rolling, the taxpayers contend that P.L. 44-1994 violates the single-subject requirement in two respects. First, they argue that P.L. 44-1994 impermissibly combines two separate local laws because it contains two population classifications: one applicable to counties with populations between 129,000 and 130,600, and one applicable to cities with populations between 5,650 and 5,708. Second, the taxpayers argue that P.L. 44-1994 violates the single-subject requirement because it contains provisions that amend Title 6 of the Indiana Code regarding taxation and separate provisions that amend Title 36 regarding local government.
The taxpayers' contentions are based upon an overly strict interpretation of Article IV, Section 19. Our supreme court has given Article IV, Section 19 a much more liberal interpretation as reflected in its recent statement that "[t]he single subject provisions of the Constitution are designed to promote fair practice in legislating without much judicial intervention." Bayh v. Indiana State Bldg. and Constr. Trades Council, 674 N.E.2d 176, 179 (Ind.1996). Such an observation undoubtedly arose from cases in which legislation containing tenuously related subjects has survived a single subject challenge. See Dague v. Piper Aircraft Corp., 275 Ind. 520, 530-32, 418 N.E.2d 207, 213-15 (1981) (). In conformity with the supreme court's "laissez-faire" approach to single-subject cases, this court has recently upheld legislation combining the reformation of the Indianapolis Public Schools with the State's budget. Indiana State Teachers Ass'n v. Board of School Commr's of Indianapolis, 679 N.E.2d 933, 935 (Ind.Ct.App.1997).
The taxpayers' single-subject argument is also based upon an overly technical characterization of P.L. 44-1994. For purposes of Article IV, Section 19, the term "subject" has been held to mean "the thing about which the legislation is had." Estate of Wisely, 402 N.E.2d at 16. The thing about which P.L. 44-1994 is had, is the funding of remedial action and substance removal. "Matters" for Article IV, Section 19 purposes are "the incident or secondary things necessary to provide for [the subject's] complete enforcement." Id. The matters of P.L. 44-1994 are the authorization of the increased tax and the creation of local governmental bodies to impose such tax. The increased tax is properly connected to the funding of remedial action and substance removal because it is the means to carry out the funding's complete enforcement. The provisions of P.L. 44-1994 are no less unrelated, and are perhaps more related, than legislation that combined the Product Liability Act with amendments to the Indiana Code for courts and court officers, and than legislation combining the reformation of Indianapolis Public Schools with the State's budget. We hold that P.L. 44-1994 satisfies the single-subject requirement found in Article IV, Section 19 of the Indiana Constitution.
The taxpayers next argue that the classifications created in P.L. 44-1994, both by the population parameters and by a provision limiting the legislation's applicability to qualified sites existing as of July 1, 1994, are not rationally related to any legitimate government interest. Accordingly, argue the taxpayers, P.L. 44-1994 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The State responds that any tax classification made in P.L. 44-1994 has already been determined by the supreme...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Bonney v. Indiana Finance Authority
... ... The Act allocates $179 million to the state highway fund for preliminary engineering, purchase of right-of-ways, or construction of highways and bridges, and $150 million to the motor vehicle ... , 674 N.E.2d 176, 179 (Ind.1996) (Section 19 is "designed to promote fair practice in legislating without much judicial intervention."); Hoovler v. State, 689 N.E.2d 738, 742 (Ind.Ct.App.1997), trans. denied, 698 N.E.2d 1186, cert. denied, 524 U.S. 905, 118 S.Ct. 2062, 141 L.Ed.2d 140 ... ...
-
Cohn v. Strawhorn
... ... Bayh, 689 N.E.2d 727, 733 (Ind. Ct.App.1997) ... In Faver, a class of prisoners confined to the Protective Custody Unit of the Indiana State Farm alleged that the DOC had violated their statutory 721 N.E.2d 347 and constitutional rights because they had not been allowed to participate in ... CONST. amend. XIV, § 1; Hoovler v. State, 689 N.E.2d 738, 742 (Ind.Ct.App.1997), trans. denied. The level of scrutiny to be applied depends upon whether the classification ... ...
- Hoovler v. State Dept. of Revenue