INDIANAPOLIS -- The House approved a modified version of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels' property tax relief and restructuring plan Thursday with near unanimous support and lots of accolades for working with a spirit of bipartisanship.

The Democrat-controlled chamber voted 93-1 for the sweeping, 935-page bill and sent it to the Republican-ruled Senate, which has passed some varied parts of Daniels' plan. The two chambers will try to reach compromise on a final plan by a March 14 deadline for adjourning.

"This is really an historic event," House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said after the House vote. "There has never been this kind of a restructuring bill to leave either body with this kind of a vote, and it bodes well for a final conclusion."

Some House Republicans, outnumbered 51-49, objected to some provisions Democrats added to the bill and others they did not include, but said it was a major step in the right direction toward immediate, significant and lasting property tax relief.

"There is a lot more positive here than not," said House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis.

The original bill incorporating Daniels' plan would reduce homeowners' property tax bills by about a third on average statewide, according to the Legislative Services Agency, and much of the initial proposal remains intact. That includes raising the sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent to pay for some of the relief.

The bill would cap homeowners' property tax bills at 1 percent of their homes' assessed value beginning in 2009, with 2 percent limits for rental property and a 3 percent cap for businesses. The caps mean that someone with a home valued at $150,000 would pay no more than $1,500.

The bill would increase homestead credits this year to provide some immediate relief; the state would assume all costs for school operating and transportation expenses and child welfare services; and referendums would be required on some major, locally bonded capital projects.

Stricter spending controls would be placed on local governments; additional homestead deductions would be provided on a graduated basis depending on the assessed values of homes; and township assessors would be eliminated and their duties transferred to the oversight of a single county official.

Taking over the local school and child welfare levies would cost the state about $3 billion, to be paid for through various means, including revenue from the higher sales tax and using about $2 billion in property tax subsidies the state now pays to local governments.

Democrats sought and won several changes to the bill that they said would benefit more people and make the relief more equitable.

They included freezing property taxes for certain lower-income seniors with homes valued below $200,000; increasing the earned income tax credit for lower-income working residents; and increasing the renter's deduction from $2,500 to $5,000.

Republicans said Democrats added about $350 million in spending to the bill, something Bosma said his caucus was concerned about. Even a Democrat questioned some of the added provisions.

"We loaded up this bill with a whole bunch of pretty ornaments ... that probably weren't necessary and we probably can't afford," said Rep. Dennis Avery, D-Evansville, who still voted for the bill.

House Republicans also said they were disappointed that Democrats removed major school construction projects related to learning from the referendum requirement, saying bonding debt for school construction was a huge driver of higher property taxes.

House Democrats said that major projects not related to learning, such as school stadiums, gyms and swimming pools, would still require referendums.

They also said that projects related to learning could still be challenged under a current process in which opponents and proponents gather signatures, with those getting the most winning.

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, also said he was disappointed that the House excluded some school projects from referendums. But he said he was still optimistic the chambers would reach a compromise on an overall package in the end.

Rep. Craig Fry, D-Mishawaka, was the lone House member who voted against the bill. He said past efforts the General Assembly had made to provide property tax relief did not result in the savings promised, and called this bill a big tax increase.

House Ways and Means Chairman William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, said the changes to the bill did put some legislative fingerprints on Gov. Daniels' plan, but said most of it was still intact.

Daniels issued a brief statement thanking House leadership and those who cast "this overwhelming vote."

"Indiana's biggest tax cut ever is a long step nearer to reality," he said.

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