INDIANAPOLIS | Property tax relief is the undisputed heavyweight heading into the 2008 sitting of the Indiana General Assembly, but dozens of ideas -- both big and small -- will vie for attention in the nine-week legislative session that kicks off this afternoon.

Township government is assured a share of the spotlight. Rep. Dan Stevenson, D-Highland, wants to give the town of Griffith the opportunity to escape the tax shackles of Calumet Township, but the secession proposal is merely a fallback for his push to do away with all 1,008 Indiana townships.

"I think it's an issue that's gaining momentum," Stevenson said. "But the township level of government is still a very strong political force."

Legislative leaders, as well as Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, are pushing to abolish elected township tax assessors. But shifting other township duties to county government, particularly poor relief, could be a tough sell.

Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, said she worries a consolidated county operation would force low-income residents to make long treks to Crown Point to receive the services they need.

"It might be fine for some smaller counties," Rogers said. "But I have yet to see the dollars saved in making that change, and we need to balance that against the possible effects."

Abolishing township government is one the 27 sweeping local government reform recommendations made last month by a blue-ribbon panel led by former Gov. Joe Kernan and Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard. Lawmakers from both parties, including Daniels, argue the recommendations came too late to compete this session with the quest to ease residential tax bills.

"I would agree that the Kernan-Shepard report will be placed on the back burner," said Sen. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake.

But that's not to say other efforts cannot rise above the din of tax relief talks.

Landske, for instance, will author legislation allowing counties to scrap precinct polling places in favor voting centers. The concept, tested in a couple of Indiana counties last year, allows voters to cast ballots anywhere in the county while allowing election officials to staff a smaller number of polling places in high-traffic areas.

Landske and Rep. Don Lehe, R-Brookston, also plan to advance efforts to craft an equitable distribution formula for the contentious local income tax legislators want Lake County to adopt. Under legislation approved last year, local government cannot increase property tax spending until the Lake County Council adopts a 1 percent income tax dedicated to property-tax relief.

Other local proposals on tap for the 2008 session, which will run through mid-March, include Rogers' effort to coax high school dropouts back into the classroom. Meanwhile, Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Odgen Dunes, is pushing to finalize Indiana's participation in a Great Lakes water conservation pact with seven other states and two Canadian provinces.