Lake County Gazette

State Rep. Chris Bos wants to make positive moves to freeze gas and property taxes in the state. Hearings have not yet been held for Bos' proposals. 

The bills would also make changes to a variety of regulations and official dates. Such legislation has been a goal of Bos' since his earliest days in politics. 

"I filled legislation last week to freeze the gas tax and provide property tax relief," Bos said in a post to his official Twitter account on Jan. 31. "This has been (a) fight for me since day 1! Glad to see the Governor finally agrees, even if it’s just a campaign stunt after increasing taxes. #twill"

Bos filed three pieces of legislation to pursue this goal. The first is House Bill 5215, which has been routed through the House Revenue and Finance Committee on Feb. 9. Hearings for the bill are currently planned. This bill would freeze the gas tax rate for 24 months and end the CPI adjustment. The plan is for it to go into effect immediately.

House Bill 4834 has also been routed through the House Revenue &  Finance Committee. Hearings are also scheduled for that bill as with House Bill 5215. It plans to abolish a mandate that the community stabilization assessment freeze pilot program will only apply to parcels in a designated land area. It also plans to prolong the community stabilization assessment freeze pilot program until June 30, 2029.

The third bill, House Bill 5217, establishes that a fair cash value of property will be determined by the Department of Revenue's sales ratio studies for the five (currently, three) most recent years preceding that assessment year. It has also been routed through the House Revenue and Finance Committee as of Feb. 9. Hearings are currently being planned.