CAC remains committed to fighting for affordable utility bills, a clean environment, and a renewable energy policy that addresses climate change.
The 2024 session of the Indiana General Assembly is moving quickly. This year is a "short" session, meaning the legislature will adjourn no later than March 14th, rather than in late-April in a “long” session when the biennial budget is crafted. A complete list of the 2024 legislative deadlines can be found here.
As always, CAC continues to work on policies designed to speed Indiana's transition away from dirty, expensive fossil-fuels and toward clean, affordable renewable energy and energy efficiency. We remain committed to fighting for affordable utility bills with an eye towards vulnerable populations struggling to make ends meet and will continue our efforts to fight for Hoosiers’ right to go solar and have more control over their energy costs.
2024 Highlighted Bills CAC Opposes
Thankfully, there wasn't any egregious energy or utility legislation with legs this session, although we always keep an eye out for harmful language that could be inserted into any legislation at any time. That said, were some harmful bills passed this session that we would like to highlight.
HB1264 is a bill that claimed to be about "election security" that actually risks preventing lawful residents from being able to cast a ballot. Indiana already struggles with voter turnout. In 2022, we were 50th out of 51 for voter turnout, and in 2020, we ranked 46th in the nation. The Indiana General Assembly could pursue any number of policies designed to increase voter turnout: extending polling hours, making mail-in voting accessible to a larger population, or supporting automatic voter registration.
Instead, the IGA is passed House Bill 1264, which will allow the state to use third party credit bureau data to verify voter addresses, which has real potential to result in lawful voters losing their voter registration status over time. HB1264 also adds additional proof of residency requirements for first-time Indiana voters, which would make it more difficult for people to vote - particularly college students, people who recently moved to Indiana, and folks in assisted living facilities.
Senate Bill 52 would have upended IndyGo’s Blue Line, designed to connect Cumberland on the east side of Indianapolis to the airport on the west side. If passed into law, SB52 would have compromised federal funds and improvements for sidewalks, street paving, and ADA accessible ramps.
Making matters worse, the Indiana General Assembly was attempting to usurp local control and override the will of Indianapolis voters with SB52. In 2016, the Indianapolis community supported rapid transit via a ballot referendum. Effective and reliable public transit - and specifically rapid transit - helps to lift Hoosier families out of poverty by expanding employment opportunities and the ability to access basic necessities. Fewer cars on the road also improves our air quality, which in turn, improves public health.
State legislators received thousands of emails, and SB52 died toward the end of the session when House Speaker Todd Huston "reached an agreement with city and IndyGo officials to drop the bill in exchange for IndyGo prioritizing the maintenance of two lanes of traffic flow in each direction in its Blue Line plan," according the the IndyStar.
HB1383 continues Indiana's dangerous trend of wetland destruction at the behest of the Indiana Builders Association and other special interests by changing the definition of Class III wetlands, the most protected class.
Sadly, our state legislators fast tracked HB1383, and it was signed into law by Gov. Holcomb on 2/12/24, before most bills were even heard by the committees in their second houses.
With issues like LEAP and CCS, Hoosiers have made it abundantly clear that we want to protect our water. We want to make sure our water is readily available now and into the future, and we want to make sure that we protect water quality for our communities and our environment.
Wetlands are vital to protecting our water on both fronts. They help to filter and purify our water, replenish our ground water, and reduce flooding and erosion. We've lost more than 85% of the wetlands that Indiana had a century ago. In 2021, the Indiana General Assembly significantly cut state wetland protections, and Indiana lost more than 260 acres of wetlands as a result. HB1383 is going to make a big problem even worse.
2024 Highlighted Bills CAC Supports
There was a surprising amount of good legislation introduced that would have helped utility customers, communities, and our environment this year! Sadly, these bills did not pass the first hurdle and were not passed out of their originating committees.
Senate Bill 278 is a broad and strong consumer protection bill Hoosiers need and deserve! SB278 would have reduced utility disconnections in the heat of summer, eliminated disconnections on weekends, and prohibited monopoly utilities from imposing outrageous fees on customers struggling to make ends meet.
It also would have helped us continue monitoring the affordability crisis facing Hoosiers by requiring utilities to report critical data, like the number of households they disconnect and aggregated customer arrearage data.
House Bill 1193 would have authorized independent community solar in Indiana, which would help more Hoosiers save money with cheap and clean solar energy. Right now, community solar is nonexistent in Indiana for customers of an investor-owned utility because our current laws only allow the electric utilities to own and operate community solar facilities.
HB1193 would have given customers more choice by allowing customers of investor-owned electric utilities to subscribe to independently-owned and operated community solar facilities to receive credits on their monthly bills.
Senate Bill 131 was a response to the explosion of proposed carbon capture & sequestration (CCS) projects in Indiana. When a company wants to transport and store carbon dioxide (CO2) in a different county from where the CO2 was captured, SB131 would have required that company to receive approval from the county where they want to store, or sequester, the CO2.
This bill would have applied to all proposed CCS projects in Indiana except for the controversial Wabash Valley Resources project in West Terre Haute.
Senate Bill 249 and House Bill 1305 are companion bills introduced in response to public concern about the massive amounts of water the IEDC plans to pipe to the controversial LEAP district.
These bills create a permitting process at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to manage large water withdrawals and transfers, and give the public a chance to participate in this process.
Help us fight for Hoosiers at the Indiana Statehouse!
CAC 2024 Indiana General Assembly Halftime Update
Why CAC lobbies at the Indiana Statehouse
Monopoly utilities and large corporations have the resources to ensure their interests are well represented at the Indiana Statehouse. They have high-paid lobbyists in every corner of the Statehouse, they give massive campaign contributions to legislators, and they give lots of gifts to legislators like meals and event tickets.
This enables these industries to “get what they want with little or no questions asked,” as our Executive Director Kerwin Olson stated in the Journal Gazette.
In contrast, CAC remains dedicated to advocating for the needs of all Hoosiers throughout the legislative session. We monitor dozens of bills, testify at committee hearings, and lobby legislators for consumer friendly policies. We also work to give Hoosiers the information and tools they need to make their voices heard - a powerful and important way of countering the influence of big money.
