ICV Legislative Update: Week of February 28, 2025
We’re doing a little housekeeping because it’s crossover week, and we would like to know in what language you prefer to receive content from ICV.
Estamos organizando algunas cosas porque es la semana de transición y nos gustaría saber en qué idioma prefieres recibir contenido de ICV.
ICYMI: OUR THIRD HOUSE MEETING CALENDAR IS LIVE!
As we enter the second half of the legislative session, we compiled a calendar of “third house” events, where lawmakers hold meetings in their home districts to get feedback from their constituents.
If you know of a third house event in your community that we missed, please respond to this email and let us know the details so we can include it in our list. Learn more about Third House meetings in this blog post.
BACK TO THE STATEHOUSE! ARE YOU FOLLOWING US ON SOCIALS?
Crossover week is over, which means legislators will return to the Statehouse this coming week to resume the second half of session.
Things will be moving much faster in the second half of the session than the first, which means by the time our weekly emails come out each Saturday, you might have missed some of the action. We encourage you to stay up to date on the latest by following us on different social media platforms.
👀 BILLS WE ARE WATCHING IN THE SECOND HALF 👀
✅ SUPPORT: Senate Bill 422 supports technologies to make our energy grid more efficient and reliable for the future.
😐 NEUTRAL: Senate Bill 4 establishes a permitting structure for significant water withdrawals.
😐 NEUTRAL: Senate Bill 423 Small modular nuclear reactor pilot program. We are encouraged by SB 423’s pilot project model which allows multiple stakeholders to bear the financial risk and advance this new technology in Indiana. However, it contains identical language from SB 424 allowing utilities to bill ratepayers upfront for project development costs and does not require financial risk sharing between public/private partners.
🛑 OPPOSE: Senate Bill 424 creates a pathway for utilities to bill ratepayers up front for SMR project development costs before anything is built and does not require project completion.
🛑 OPPOSE: Senate Bill 425 Energy Production Zones. This bill includes language to incentivize land re-use for new energy projects by limiting local control of project siting. Unfortunately, it excludes wind and solar energy from participating in energy production zones.
🛑 OPPOSE: House Bill 1007 shifts costs of small modular nuclear reactors (SMR) and outdated coal generation costs on to ratepayers and taxpayers.
🛑 OPPOSE: House Bill 1037: Stormwater management. This bill could remove the ability for localities to require stormwater permits for construction projects under an acre. This could significantly increase flooding and pollution and reduce water quality across the state, costing taxpayers money.
🛑 OPPOSE: Senate Bill 10: Voter Registration. This bill removes student ID from the list of acceptable voter ID, and unnecessarily discourages young people from participating in elections. Take action: Our partners at Stand Up Indiana have made it easy to let your lawmakers know that you oppose SB10!
🛑 OPPOSE: House Bill 1680: This sweeping election bill creates additional voting barriers for naturalized citizens, opens the door to increased voter intimidation, burdens houseless people and disenfranchises independent voters by closing Indiana primaries.
🛑 OPPOSE: Senate Bill 287 and House Bill 1230: By injecting partisan politics into Indiana school board races, these bills will increase political division in schools and make it difficult for ordinary citizens and members of the military to serve their communities.
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS
🚨 Tell Indiana lawmakers consumers can’t afford to bankroll utilities + big business! 🚨
Indiana lawmakers currently are considering multiple bills that would shift the enormous potential costs of development and deployment of untested energy production onto ratepayers. One bill would even allow utilities to charge ratepayers for losses if the state forces them to keep burning dirty, expensive coal.
Contact your representative today and tell them you want utilities and big businesses to pay for their own research and development of experimental technologies. Hard-working Hoosiers can’t afford any more charges on their monthly bills!
Say no to paying for developers’ messes!
Developers are asking lawmakers to sign off on shifting cleanup costs from their messes to taxpayers. Without proper measures in place, these messes send dirt and sediment into our waterways and sewers, backing them up and causing flooding and poor water quality that end up costing YOU more money to fix. Tell your senator today that you don’t want to pay for developers’ messes!
GOOD NEWS SATURDAY
📢 Energy innovation should benefit ALL Hoosiers, not just utility companies. We’re grateful to Gov. Mike Braun for standing up for ratepayers and making it clear: utility companies should bear the risk, not pass the cost to customers. Hoosiers already are hurting from utility rate hikes and inflation. This is not the time to be raising their bills even more. 👏
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 4: Virtual Sharing Your Story: How Renewable Energy Is A Part Of Indiana’s Past, Present And Future (Homegrown Hoosier Power)
March 10: 2025 Audubon Great Lakes: Advocacy Day at the Indiana Statehouse
March 17: Confront the Climate Crisis: We Rise Together Statehouse Day
March 17: NAACP Advocacy Day 2025 (10 a.m. at the Statehouse)
