2026 Week 4 Statehouse Report
Week four of the legislature is already here, and the pace is a full sprint to sine die, the last day of the legislature, which is due to arrive at the end of February. As a reminder, the 2026 legislative session is the "short" session during which an array of topics, other than the biennial budget, may be considered by the legislature. This year has been dubbed by many, including Governor Mike Braun, as the “affordability” session. Of course, the details in the vast array of legislation will determine whether these items could truly be considered “affordable” by the Indiana public.
The Governor mentioned utility affordability during his State of the State speech on Wednesday, specifically noting House Bill 1002 and its author, Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler (R-Noblesville). Gov. Braun also mentioned data centers during his speech, pointing to I&M Power’s $7 Billion Generation plan for Amazon and Meta data centers, which we noted does not follow the 80% cost assignment to data centers, as promised by the legislature and Gov. Braun himself.
Given the expedited timeline the Speaker and Senate Pro Tem have set for the legislative session, it is an exceptionally busy time at the Statehouse, with more than 15 hearings in just one day this week. CAC staff testified on SB277, HB1002, HB1265, SB240, SB241 and SB258. We attended multiple hearings and coalition meetings this week and we’re following more than 50 bills in addition to our work in the field and at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
On Tuesday, we testified before the House Utilities Committee on HB1002, the House Republicans’ attempt to make utility bills more affordable, though the forthcoming amendments will determine whether it truly lessens the massive increases in utility bills Hoosiers have experienced over the last year. HB1002 attempts to reform the rate case process. It also institutes a summer disconnection moratorium for income-qualified households and provides desperately needed assistance to vulnerable households struggling to make ends meet. CAC supports the intent of the bill, and especially the measures designed to provide assistance to low-income Hoosiers and families. However, we oppose the bill in its current form. The way the bill currently reads, it will not achieve the legislation's stated goals and could exacerbate Indiana's utility affordability crisis. More on HB1002 from WISH-TV’s Garrett Bergquist here.
We testified in support of House Bill 1256, authored by Rep. Ed Clere (R-New Albany), which would require county clerks’ offices to post campaign finance information within the local office and its website. We supported this transparency initiative along with our colleagues at Common Cause and the League of Women Voters.
In the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee, we testified in opposition to Senate Bill 277, authored by Sen. Rick Niemeyer (R, Lowell), which has been coined the "Red Tape Reduction Act." It is a massive 175-page omnibus agency bill that “cleans up” Indiana’s environmental laws and eliminates more than 250 “unnecessary” mandates, though nothing could be further from the truth.
CAC's biggest concern about SB277 is the elimination of any IDEM oversight related to the radioactive, hazardous and toxic waste resulting from the operations of nuclear reactors, including removing the authority of the IDEM Commissioner to call a public hearing to discuss the risks to public health and safety that come from nuclear reactors. SB258, which was heard in Senate Utilities on Thursday, is a stand-alone bill that includes only the nuclear language, which is also included in SB277. Our testimony on both bills spoke to the fact that the State of Indiana has absolutely zero experience when it comes to operating a commercial-scale nuclear reactor. The Chicago Post-Tribune and Indiana Public Media covered the hearing on SB258.
Also in Senate Utilities last week, we testified on SB240, which, if passed, would allow for surplus interconnection service (SIS) to be included in utility Integrated Resource Plans, as of 2029. We originally intended to testify as neutral on the bill because we had some concerns about it. But the bill was amended in committee to apply only to facilities owned by the utility and makes it optional for utilities to seek information from third-party facility owners about possible SIS use. Additionally, the bill reduces the scope of issues the Utility Regulatory Commission must study related to SIS. These amendments addressed our concerns, so we were able to testify in support of the bill.
There will not be another meeting of the Senate Utilities until after the halftime switchover of bills.
Much of the Statehouse was centered on legislative priority bills including Senate Bill 1, a "messaging" bill that achieves very little but professes to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in Indiana’s Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) programs. The author of SB1 neither acknowledged nor mentioned the failure written into the bill, which was quickly pointed by our colleagues at Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. SB1 references broad based categorical eligibility (BBCE), which is not even utilized in Indiana to determine eligibility for these programs, thus prompting more questions about the practicality of the legislation.
State Rep. Carey Hamilton has authored House Bill 1084 and Sen. J.D. Ford has authored Senate Bill 74, bills that authorize plug-in solar. Plug-in solar refers to small, do-it-yourself solar kits with microinverters that plug directly into a standard household outlet to offset electricity use. Please contact your state representative about these bills, and urge them to ask for a hearing on this important legislation.
Items upcoming this week
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The House Utilities Committee will meet Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. to discuss House Bill 1333 a landmark land use bill which we are hearing will be significantly amended from the introduced version. Also scheduled for an amend-and-vote-only meeting is HB1002, for which we anticipate numerous amendments—some of which will receive discussion, some may not. Assuming the bill moves out of the Committee, the full House will hear it on Second Reading as soon as Thursday.
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The Senate Appropriations Committee will entertain SB277 on Thursday.
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On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee will hear HB1116, an anti-fraud initiative we supported during the first week of the legislature.
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Upcoming deadlines:
Monday, January 26: Committee report deadline
Wednesday, January 28: Second reading deadline
Thursday, January 29: Third reading deadline
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Lookup your legislators here and bookmark their contact page to quickly contact them in the future.
The very best way to get a message to your State Senator and Representative is to call and leave a message with their Legislative Assistants, You will find the contact information to do so below.
Indiana Legislator Direct Phone Numbers and Emails:
Respectfully submitted,
The CAC Team
