The bill requiring property tax assessment board of appeals members to live in Indiana passed unanimously out of the House on Monday.

Senate Bill 187, authored by State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, states the term of anyone serving on county PTABOA who isn’t an Indiana resident will expire July 1. The fiscal body, which is the council in Lake County, would then be required to appoint a new member to finish out the member’s term.

The bill maintains Indiana’s current PTABOA law that states a member has to be at least 18 years old and be “knowledgeable in the valuation of property.” The bill also maintains that a majority of the members must have the certification of a level two or level three assessor-appraiser.

The bill was amended in the Senate Local Government Committee to include language State Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, proposed to ensure that the PTABOA member lives in Indiana throughout his or her four-year term.

Dernulc said he drafted the bill after learning Cook County Board of Review commissioner and Lake County PTABOA member Samantha Steele was arrested for driving under the influence in Chicago late last year.

Steele wasn’t reappointed to her seat and left the PTABOA board in early January, said Lake County Assessor and PTABOA secretary LaTonya Spearman. The Board of Commissioners appointed Warren Reeder, a local realtor, she said.

Steele had served on the Lake County PTABOA since 2020, Spearman said. Steele declined to comment on her leaving the PTABOA board.

In her Cook County Board of Review biography, Steele states she is a level three assessor and appraiser with more than 15 years of experience in property valuations.

Dernulc said Monday that “the person that this started with” had the qualifications to serve on the PTABOA, but he felt the board members should live in Indiana.

“I just want Hoosiers to be in these positions,” Dernulc said.

Senate Bill 187 passed 90-0 out of the House Monday.

Lake County Councilman Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, previously said conceptually the PTABOA bill makes sense, and he supports it. The members of the board should live in the community they are serving, he said.

But Bilski said he hopes the bill doesn’t make it more difficult to find PTABOA members because it’s not always easy to find level two or level three assessor-appraisers.

“(The bill) makes sense. I have no issues with it. I hope it doesn’t impede our ability to fill the board,” Bilski said.

Lake County Council President Christine Cid, D-East Chicago, previously said she told Dernulc she supports the bill. Cid said the county uses a state website to find level two and level three assessors, so it would be easy to find qualified people who live in the county or state that could serve on the PTABOA.

“I believe there are plenty of qualified people here, not just in Lake County but in Indiana, that could serve,” Cid said.

akukulka@post-trib.com