Net Metering

CAC and our coalition organizations are placing a big focus on net metering at the Statehouse this year. In 2017, the Indiana General Assembly decided to put an end to net metering with SEA309, which is a big impediment to rooftop solar in Indiana. As a result of this legislation, after July 1, 2022, net metering will no longer be made available to Hoosiers who want to go solar.

Net metering allows electric customers the ability to generate their own electricity with renewable resources, and to be fairly compensated for the excess energy sent back to the grid. This allows Hoosiers to gain energy independence, and to reduce reliance on monopoly electric utilities. It also allows households more control over energy costs and electric bills.

In the 2021 Session of the Indiana General Assembly, state legislators have an opportunity to right this wrong, at least temporarily. Three separate bills were introduced which will extend and expand net metering and help keep rooftop solar growing in Indiana. While each bill takes a different approach, CAC supports all three of these bills.

• HB1394: Net metering for electricity generation
• SB249: Net metering for electricity generation
• SB420: Distributed generation 

Please TAKE ACTION!

Urge your state legislators to protect Hoosiers' right to go solar by supporting these net metering bills.  Urge legislators and leadership to give these bills a committee hearing. For more detail and the status of these bills, visit our 2021 Consumer, Energy, and Utility Bill Watch List page. For more background on Net Metering in Indiana, visit https://www.citact.org/net-metering-indiana

CHOICE Home Care Funding Under Attack

CHOICE Home Care is a state-funded program that allows people who require just a few hours of care each day to remain in their homes with part time assistance, rather than being forced prematurely into round-the-clock nursing facilities. CHOICE Home Care costs Hoosier taxpayers only 4% of what nursing homes cost. People overwhelmingly say they do not want to end up in nursing homes.  The CHOICE program helps protect the dignity and independence of our elderly and disabled and saves Indiana money in the long run, and yet CHOICE funding is now under attack in the Indiana State budget.

The Governor’s budget proposes to cut CHOICE nearly $5,000,000 in each of the next two years. As of December 31, 2020, there is a statewide waiting list of nearly 2,000 people which has been increasing with state cutbacks due to COVID-19. This proposed cut to CHOICE funding will increase the number of people on the waiting list by 2,000 in the first year, and by another 2,000 in the second year. 

The population of older adults in Indiana is its fastest growing segment. One out of every five Hoosiers, or more than 20%, will be age 65 or older by 2030. In 2015, it was 15%.  In these hard economic times, and with a pandemic raging, Indiana cannot afford to reduce its investment in home and community based services like the CHOICE program.

Please TAKE ACTION!

Urge your state legislators to fully fund the CHOICE Home Care program. To learn more about the CHOICE Home Care program, visit https://www.citact.org/choice-home-care.