INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Eric J. Holcomb issued a proclamation calling a special session of the 120^th Indiana General Assembly for Monday, May 14. The Constitution of the State of Indiana provides that the governor may call a special session at his discretion if he believes public welfare requires it.

“I’m calling lawmakers back to take action on the critical issues of school safety and federal tax conformity,” said Holcomb. “And, with sharp focus, I’m confident they can finish this work in a single day.”

The governor’s to-do items were included in the final versions of the following bills: SB 242, HB 1230, HB 1315 and HB 1316.

The issues involving schools and school safety include:

• Deliver on the governor’s request for additional funding for the Indiana Secured School Fund by providing $5 million now and for fiscal year 2019. These additional funds will allow the state to provide increased financial support for school safety to more schools.
• Allow school corporations to obtain funding advances of up to $500,000 for school security equipment and capital purchases. Total advances may not exceed $35 million.
• Provide Muncie schools a one-time $12 million loan to remain operational and make needed capital improvements.

Federal Compliance Issues include:

• Update the state’s tax code to conform with federal tax changes by updating state’s conformity date to Feb. 11, 2018. Indiana’s current conformity date is fixed by statute at Jan. 1, 2016. If the state’s conformity date is not updated, taxpayers will calculate their taxes twice to file—once under 2018 rules for federal taxes and once under 2016 rules for state taxes.
• Comply with IRS rules to protect federal taxpayer information and assure access to federal tax data.