The 2024 Indiana Legislative Session began on Monday, January 8th. For additional resources, click the images below.
Indiana General Assembly
Bill Watch 2024
Oppose
SB 52: Prohibiting dedicated bus lanes
Public transit in Marion County and throughout Indiana was under threat with SB 52! Authored by Sen. Aaron Freeman (R-Indianapolis), SB 52 sought to prohibit IndyGo from dedicating one or more lanes for the exclusive use of buses as it builds out the Blue Line. There was a similar effort regarding the Red Line a few years ago. That was defeated by a concerted effort of HEC and allies to preserve the best plans for public transportation in Indianapolis. The Blue Line will serve as a rapid transit link between the city and the international airport, and it will also provide a vital connection for citizens to get to work, do business and travel for fun and recreation. In short, transit is essential, and this bill would have denied that essential service to residents and visitors.
While there was an amendment to the bill on 1/18 clarifying that there would be an exemption for IndyGo's Red and Purple Lines, it remained clear that this bill would halt STATEWIDE, for at least one year, all rapid transit planning that would include consideration of dedicated lanes. In the House Roads and Transportation Committee, SB 52 was amended further, and would have only applied to Marion County.
Final Update (as of 3/11):
An agreement has been reached between Speaker Huston and IndyGo, preserving the Blue Line and killing SB 52! Read the statement from Speaker Huston.
Support
SEA 246: Assessment of wetlands classified as wildlands
Authored by Sen. Sue Glick (R- LaGrange) with Sen. Blake Doriot (R- Goshen) and Sen. Shelli Yoder (D- Bloomington), SEA 246 would expand an existing program to create a voluntary incentive for wetland preservation. Property owners who preserve wetlands on their property do a service for the broader community since their wetland helps store stormwater which reduces flooding and it helps the stormwater soak in and replenish groundwater supplies. This bill would give the wetland property owner lower property taxes.
Final Update (as of 3/11):
SEA 246 was signed by Governor Eric Holcomb and has become law!
Take Action:
Check out how your legislators voted, and if they voted for SEA 246, please thank your state legislators for supporting this legislation.
Support
SEA 5: Customer owned lead service lines
Authored by Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) with Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R- Valparaiso) and Sen. Andrea Hunley (D- Indianapolis), SEA 5 will make it easier and less expensive for drinking water utilities to replace lead service lines. Replacing the lines is important for reducing the risk of lead getting into drinking water.
Language from HB 1117 was amended into this bill early in the process, but was removed later at Representative Jackson's request due to some technical difficulties.
Final Update (as of 3/11):
SEA 5 has been signed by Governor Eric Holcomb and has become law!
Take Action:
Check how your state legislators voted below, and thank them for their support of this legislation.
Oppose
HB 1399: PFAS
Introduced by Rep. Shane Lindauer (R- Bedford), HB 1399 would have limited the definition of PFAS chemicals. This legislation would have limited Indiana's ability to regulate these chemicals in the future.
PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of thousands of chemicals that have been used heavily in firefighting foams, but have also been used in many consumer products, including nonstick pans, stain-resistant fabrics, food packaging, wire coatings, medical devices, and in the manufacturing of semiconductors. They can cause liver or immune system changes, high cholesterol, and kidney or testicular cancer. Once released into the environment, they don’t break down, so they are also referred to as “forever chemicals”. They were the subject of the true legal case portrayed in the book Exposure by Robert Bilott and the 2019 movie Dark Waters. Because they are used so extensively, they are finding their way into drinking water and into people’s bodies. Once the PFAS chemicals are released to the environment or get into the human body, they are very persistent, which increases their potential for harm. Learn more about the health effects of PFAS.
Final Update (as of 3/11):
During the final week of Session, there was an attempt to resurrect HB 1399 and add it to another bill in conference committee. HEC and our partners vigilantly watched this legislation to ensure it was not included in the final version of the bill. Thankfully, this dangerous PFAS language was not included in the final report, meaning it did not advance!
Take Action:
Check out how your state rep. voted and share your thoughts about their vote.
Oppose
HEA 1108: Development on Slopes
Authored by Rep. David Hall (R- Norman, Dist. 62), HEA 1108 will limit local options for regulating construction on slopes. Construction on slopes can lead to erosion which carries harmful sediment into waterways. Local governments are in the best position to understand the issues with their local terrain, soil types, and waterways, but HEA 1108 will prohibit local regulation if a slope is less than 25%. The bill has an exemption allowing local regulation if the slope leads to a drinking water reservoir.
Final Update (as of 3/11):
HEA 1108 has been signed by Governor Eric Holcomb and has become law.
Take Action
Check out how your your state legislators voted below and share your thoughts with them about their vote.
Neutral
HB 1003: Administrative Law
HB 1003 would affect administrative law by eliminating the the Office of Environmental Adjudication and placing all challenges to agency rules and decisions within the general office for administrative law judges. This may reduce the environmental expertise associated with disputes over natural resources and permitting. The bill also changes the standard courts use in review of administrative law judge decisions. Courts will no longer defer to the agency interpretation of the law with respect to its own rules.
HEC is neutral on HB 1003, and we will watch closely as it moves through the legislative process.
Update (as of 3/13):
HB 1003 has passed the House and Senate, and is now headed to Governor Eric Holcomb for his signature.
Oppose
SB 297: Administrative rulemaking
Authored by Sen. Chris Garten (R- Charlestown) with Sen. Liz Brown (R- Fort Wayne) and Sen. Eric Koch (R- Bedford), SB 297 would require the Office of Management and Budget to review administrative rules that would cause over $1 million in implementation or compliance costs, and further would require legislative approval of all such rules.
This bill was amended to exclude a narrow set of provisional rules for emergencies or for compliance with federal law. Despite this amendment, SB 297 remains objectionable. HEC opposes this bill which would limit government agencies ability to protect Hoosiers through common sense regulation.
Update (as of 3/13):
Anything can happen at the end of Session, and that's what we saw this year with SB 297! Despite failing to advance because it was not heard in the House Judiciary Committee, a provision from SB 297 that required budget committee review over all agency rules that might have compliance or implementation costs (over 2 years) of greater than $1M was added to another bill, SB 4. SB 4, with these provisions from SB 297, passed the House and Senate, and is now headed to the Governor for his signature.
Take Action:
Check out how your state rep. voted and share your thoughts with them about their vote.
Oppose
SB 241: Bobcat hunting season
Introduced by Sen. Scott Baldwin (R-Noblesville) with Sen. Michael Crider (R- Greenfield) and Sen. Chris Garten (R- Charlestown), SEA 241 forces the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to write and adopt rules to establish a bobcat hunting season no later than July 1, 2025. This legislation does not dictate the details, and DNR will be able to determine where, when, and how a season will be put in place.
Despite a lack of solid scientific data on bobcat population and geographic dispersion, the Senate is advanced this legislation. Sen. Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis) offered two amendments requiring DNR to ensure that hunting, if started at all, would not be detrimental to a sustainable population of bobcats, but both were defeated.
Final Update (as of 3/13):
SB 241 has been signed by the Governor.
Take Action:
See how your state legislators voted below and reach out to them about their vote.
Oppose
HEA 1383: Wetlands
HEA 1383 will reduce the number of wetlands that are protected in Indiana by changing the definition of the Class III wetlands, the most protected class. This legislation is authored by Rep. Alan Morrison (R- Brazil) and co-authored by Rep. Doug Miller (R- Elkhart), Rep. Timothy Wesco (R- Osceola), and Rep. J.D. Prescott (R- Union City). Indiana cannot afford to deregulate wetlands further in this fashion. In 2021, the Indiana General Assembly added many new exemptions to the wetland law. The result was that 75% of the wetland acres destroyed by construction since 2021 have been lost without any mitigation to replace their functions.
Representative Errington offered an alternative to HEA 1383 that would restore some wetland protection while also making the wetland permitting process faster, easier and more consistent, but the House Environmental Affairs Committee did not adopt it. On Jan. 17, they passed HEA 1383 along a party-line vote. There is positive wetlands legislation moving as well this legislative session - check out SB 246!
Final Update (as of 2/13):
Despite bipartisan opposition, HEA 1383 has been signed by the Governor. This is the first bill in the 2024 Session to both reach the Governor's desk and to be signed. Thank you to everyone who spoke up and made your voice heard for wetlands! The fight is not over - there is positive wetlands legislation still moving this Session, and it needs our support! Check out SB 246.
Take Action:
Please contact your state legislators and share your thoughts on how they voted on HEA 1383.
HEA 1383 House Vote Sheet (1/23/24), HEA 1383 Senate Vote Sheet (2/6/24)
