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.
2024 Highlighted Bills
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.
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.
House Bill 1264 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.
House Bill 1264 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.
House Bill 1383 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.
House Bill 1264 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.
House Bill 1264 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.