We are inching our way towards the legislative halftime with the deadline for bills to receive a hearing - the Committee Report deadline - this coming Thursday, the 23rd of February in the Senate, and this coming Tuesday, the 21st of February, in the House. This past week we monitored the House Utilities Committee and testified in the Senate Utilities Committee and both the House Government Regulatory Reform Committee and the House Environmental Affairs Committee.

We joined our colleagues at Earth Charter Indiana and Hoosier Environmental Council in testifying in opposition to the amendments on House Bill 1623, a bill dealing with administrative rulemaking, which would restrict the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) from implementing stricter requirements than federal law on Indiana coal plants - specifically coal combustion residuals, or coal ash. HB1623 would allow electric utilities to further manipulate loopholes in the existing EPA rule regarding coal combustion residuals. This is a dangerous prospect for Hoosiers since we have more coal ash ponds than any other state, and our ponds are leaking toxins that threaten our water supply. The bill left the committee thanks to a 9-1 vote. Rep. Pat Boy (D-Michigan City) attempted to fix the bill on Second Reading, but her amendment was rejected. As lack of coal ash cleanup continues to dominate the news, HB1623 may face a House vote as soon as Monday.

We also testified in support of Rep. Carolyn Jackson’s (D-Hammond) House Bill 1138 in the House Environmental Affairs Committee. HB1138 is a follow up bill to her 2020 Legislative Session House Bill 1265, which is now state law requiring lead testing in schools. Since daycares were not included in the 2020 bill, the sole aim of HB1138 is to include those daycares, though the committee chose to exclude faith based daycares from the bill. HB1138 passed unanimously and will be on Second Reading on Monday.

In our last report we told you about SB221 passing out of Senate Appropriations. It has now passed the Senate unanimously. SB221 recommends the state conduct an energy audit of the Indiana Capitol Complex.

Senate Bill 298, a bill we supported that addresses the cost recovery of infrastructure improvements by municipal and non-profit water and wastewater utilities passed the Senate unanimously and heads to the House for further action.

Last week we discussed House Bill 1547 which would raise existing rates on large subprime loans from 25% to 36% plus additional fees as high as $200 per loan. We were on the way to the House Financial Services Committee when we learned that the hearing was canceled. We’ll continue to monitor for HB1547 since we see a number of Hoosiers sadly being forced to choose these loans as an solution to pay for unaffordable utility bills. While the bill seems to be in limbo, it could reappear on the committee schedule this coming week.

The House Utilities Committee met to discuss a telecom and utility easement bill, House Bill 1429, but no action has been taken as of yet.

The Senate Utilities Committee met to hear an update from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission regarding the securitization pilot program stemming from Senate Enrolled Act 386 passed during the 2021 legislative session. 

They also heard Senate Bill 180, authored by Senate Utilities Chairman, Sen. Eric Koch, which would allow recently acquired distressed wastewater utilities to link a small portion of the costs associated with environmental investments, like wastewater treatment plants, to water customers, with IURC approval. SB180 moved out of committee 8-1 and will be up for Second Reading in the Senate on Tuesday.

After the week’s work came to a close, late on Friday, the House majority announced their budget proposal. 

Upcoming This Week

Exciting news first thing Monday morning: the Climate Solutions Task Force bill, SB335, will be heard in the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee. SB335 is not scheduled to receive a vote, but we’ll be there in support of our colleagues at Confront the Climate Crisis, that have been working 24/7/365. SB335 would create a climate solutions task force to study and make recommendations on how Indiana can take steps to reduce the severity of climate change; be resilient in the face of severe storms, increased rainfall and flooding, and other climate-related changes.

House Bill 1420 remains on the House Calendar for the second week in a row. HB1420 would grant utilities what is known as the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) for most transmission projects built in their monopoly service territory. The bill will further undermine competition against monopoly utilities that is essential to controlling electric bills, by effectively blocking competitive bidding on the maintenance, operations, and ownership of highly expensive transmission projects. 

House Bill 1417 also remains on the House Calendar for the second week in a row. HB1417 is a dangerous piece of legislation that will unquestionably lead to unaffordable utility bills for all utility consumers (including electric, gas, water, and wastewater) by significantly eroding IURC authority. The bill will allow utilities to self-approve and book any expenditures they make, and all but guarantees that they will recover those costs from ratepayers in a future rate case, including financing costs and return on investment (profit margin) for those investments.

The House and Senate Utilities Committees have not announced meetings yet for next week but we are expecting them to announce hearings.

To follow these bills in real time, make sure you follow us on Twitter. We tweet throughout the week as to the progress of bills we mention in our reports and on the Indiana General Assembly page of our website. 

Respectfully Submitted,

Lindsay Haake & Kerwin Olson