With only two more weeks of committee meetings remaining, calendars quickly filled up this past week while Committee Chairs worked to clear their schedules of bills.

Much of the attention in the Statehouse was on the biennial budget, House Bill 1001 and the transportation bill, House Bill 1002.

CAC monitored meetings of the Senate Homeland Security and Tax and Fiscal Policy committees; House Family, Children, Human Affairs Committee; and the House Utilities Committee.

In addition, we marked the progression of legislation we’re watching on floors of the House and Senate including House Bill 1287. HB1287 passed the Senate 28‐20 last Monday. It will provide more flexibility in the program’s administration by allowing initial assessment to be targeted around the specific unmet needs of individuals in need of services, according to the Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

Senate Bill 154 was heard in the House Family & Children Services Committee this past Wednesday but it did not receive a vote. The bill will be held for 1‐2 weeks to give committee members time to write amendments to the bill. The Indiana Institute for Working Families has more information here.

In House Utilities Committee this week the bulk of time was spent on telecom bills including Senate Bill 213, authored by Sen. Brandt Hershman. The bill was heard but did not receive a vote.

We continued our work on Senate Bill 309, which would end Indiana’s net metering rule. Net metering has enabled hundreds of Hoosier small businesses, farms, households, places of worship, and schools to install renewable energy systems on their property and save tens of thousands of dollars by generating their own energy.  

Upcoming this Week

If you are interested in coming to the Statehouse to testify on SB309 or simply want to watch the hearing, mark your calendar for Wednesday March 22nd at 9am. The hearing will take place in the House Chambers before the House Utilities Committee, and is chaired by Rep. Dave Ober (R‐Albion).

In addition we will be watching legislation moving through the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee and Senate Utilities Committee including House Bill 1471, authored by Rep. Sally Siegrist (R‐West Lafayette). HB1471 would transfer the administration of the 211 Connect 2 Help dialing code from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.

Upcoming Solar Rally

April 1st at noon we will join the Indiana Sustainable Energy Coalition in organizing and attending the Rally to Save #IndianaSolar at the Statehouse. Plan on attending this family friendly event which will feature speakers from all over Indiana. The focus is to heighten awareness about Senate Bill 309.

Respectfully Submitted,
Lindsay Shipps & Kerwin Olson