Legislation authored by State Sen. John Waterman (R-Shelburn) to preserve Indiana's historic barns unanimously passed the full Senate on Tuesday.
Senate Bill 293 would provide a 100-percent property tax deduction for barns originally constructed prior to 1950 that are in poor conditions and no longer being used.
"These types of barns are still being assessed for value, even though they aren't being used," Waterman said. "People tear down these barns because they don't want to pay taxes on them. I hope this bill would give Hoosiers the opportunity to save these barns and potentially restore them in the future."
Waterman credited Vince Sellers, director of the Daviess County Historical Society, with suggesting the idea.
"I wanted to remove any incentive to those who own historic barns and plan to bulldoze them because they don't want to pay property taxes," Sellers said. "I hope it encourages them to preserve the buildings because we are losing many of our historic barns in Indiana. I appreciate Sen. Waterman's effort to work with the DNR and me to get the bill through the Senate."
SB 293 now moves to the House of Representative for further consideration.
