ICV Legislative Update: Week of January 5, 2026

We hope you had a good holiday season and happy new year!

With mid-decade redistricting in the rearview mirror, the regular 2026 legislative session got underway this week.

This was always going to be a “short session”—the term for a non-budget year—but this year’s session will be even shorter than usual. Lawmakers are expected to adjourn the last week in February. That means bills will move extremely fast.

Indiana Conservation Voters will be present every step of the way, making sure you’re updated on the latest bill activity and calls to action to make sure your voice is heard. These weekly legislative updates will be sent on Saturday mornings throughout the remainder of session.

ON THE BLOG

With a compressed session timeline, there will be moments in the session when we’ll need to move fast to deliver feedback to lawmakers.

To help you advocate effectively from the jump, we recently hosted a special webinar, “Becoming an Environmental Champion,” designed to equip you with the strategies you need to influence policy. Check out our latest blog post to watch the recording and learn how you can hit the ground running to protect our environment during these critical few weeks. Read the blog post.

Before the holiday break, we joined with Citizens Action Coalition to launch the Help Hoosiers Now: Ratepayer Relief Plan to address Indiana’s worsening energy affordability crisis.

We’re urging state lawmakers to prioritize meaningful, immediate relief for ratepayers during the 2026 legislative session while also enacting long-term reforms that will stem rising costs for years to come and provide Indiana with a reliable framework for future energy needs.

We’re tracking legislation that’s been introduced this session that aligns with the Ratepayer Relief Plan on our blog.

RENEWABLE ENERGY DAY 2026

Join us on Jan. 20 for Renewable Energy Day 2026, an annual day of action dedicated to promoting energy freedom and advancing homegrown clean energy. The day of action at the Statehouse will feature a renewable energy fair, a free lunch and the opportunity to meet directly with legislators to urge the General Assembly to support renewable energy.

Don’t let distance keep you from making your voice heard—we’ve got your ride covered. Bus transportation is available to ensure advocates from all corners of the state can attend.

If you are coming from the Evansville, Fort Wayne or Merrillville areas, simply RSVP by Jan. 16 to reserve your seat on a bus near you! RSVP today.

WATER STEWARDSHIP DAY

Looking ahead to next month, we hope you’ll join Indiana Conservation Voters and our partners at Water Stewardship Day on Feb. 9 for a day of water advocacy and action at the Statehouse. RSVP today.

During Water Stewardship Day, you’ll:

• Meet with lawmakers to share why water protection matters to you and your community
• Hear from scientists, conservation experts and local leaders who are working on real solutions
• Participate in hands-on activities to learn how policy and personal stewardship go hand in hand
• A complimentary lunch will be provided, and everyone who cares about the future of clean water in our state is welcome!

BILL UPDATES

As the session progresses, we’ll list bills here that we’re supporting or opposing. Sometimes, we’ll take a neutral position. Whatever our stance, we’ll make sure we explain our reasoning in this weekly newsletter.

PRIORITY BILLS

✅ SUPPORT: HB 1084/SB 74 Plug-In Solar. Enables Hoosiers to begin offsetting their energy with plug-in solar panels without unnecessary added utility costs that come with rooftop solar. Utah was the first state to pass legislation last year and we hope Indiana will be the second. Contact your legislators to support plug-in solar.

✅ SUPPORT: SB 196 Community Energy Facilities. Enables community energy, such as community solar, in Indiana which allows residents and businesses to benefit from small community energy projects directly on their utility bills. Contact your Senator and urge them to support community energy.

✅ SUPPORT: HB 1110 PFAS Chemicals. Requires IDEM to establish water quality standards for several PFAS chemicals, sets fines for permit violations, and establishes a mechanism where PFAS polluters would help pay for some mitigation and testing measures. Contact your legislators to support this polluter-pay approach.

ENERGY BILLS

✅ SUPPORT: SB 234 Energy Utility Matters. Bans utility rate recovery for lobbying, politics and public relations. Additionally, it requires large load users, such as data centers to pay for all their allocable costs.

✅ SUPPORT: SB 152 Utilities Matters. Bans utility rate recovery for lobbying, politics and public relations. It also requires IURC approval before a public utility sale or merger and requires utilities to provide a breakdown of fees and charges of a customer’s bill.

✅ SUPPORT: SB 257 Electricity Rate Increases due to Data Centers. Prevents the IURC from approving rates or charges due to a data center.

😐 NEUTRAL: HB 1002 Electric Utility Affordability. Establishes a low income energy assistance program and prohibits shutoffs during extreme heat days to customers who qualify for energy assistance programs. The bill also includes language to change how utilities file for electric rate increases and sets three performance incentives for utilities to focus on affordability and resiliency. We still have some concerns about how certain elements of the bill as written may affect ratepayers, and we hope the bill will undergo changes from stakeholder feedback in order to strike a balance and ensure ratepayers see the relief they have requested. HB 1002 will be heard in the House Utilities Committee Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 10:30 a.m. in Room 156-A.

There are so many bills this year focused on energy affordability, utility accountability, and transparency, we cannot list them all here. Please check out our updated blog post on our Ratepayer Relief plan, which lists all the bills prioritizing ratepayers. 

WATER BILLS

✅ SUPPORT: HB 1062 Wake Boarding and Wake Surfing. Establishes responsible restrictions on wake boarding and wake surfing on public freshwater lakes. This could help protect the shorelines, wildlife and plant life of our public lakes.

✅ SUPPORT: HB 1190 Line of Duty Disability from PFAS Exposure. Determines that firefighters that develop health issues caused by PFAS use are considered to be disabled in the line of duty. This would allow some recourse for our servicemen and servicewomen injured by an occupational hazard.

✅ SUPPORT: HB 1043 Data Center Water Regulation. Requires a water consumption permit to be obtained from the Department of Natural Resources prior to any data center operations. Sets permit application requirements and procedures.

✅ SUPPORT: SB 6 Extension of Water Services. Requires a public water utility to provide additional public outreach opportunity before condemning land to extend a water or wastewater main.

✅ SUPPORT: SB 79 Requires data centers to submit quarterly electricity usage reports for public review. Requires data centers to disclose energy and water usage to local authorities.

🛑 OPPOSE: HB 1416 Preemption of Local Regulation. For the entirety of nine different titles (subject matters) in Indiana Code, bans municipalities or counties from adopting or operating local rules unless permitted by state law. This includes Title 14, which includes anything relating to Natural and Cultural Resources.

🛑 OPPOSE: SB 237 PFAS Chemicals. contains an industry-written definition of these harmful chemicals that would exclude many of the most commonly used PFAS chemicals from any future regulations, including testing, communication of risk and more important tasks.

DEMOCRACY BILLS

🛑 OPPOSE: SB 12 Prohibition of Ranked Choice Voting. Bans future lawmakers and local governments from adopting “ranked choice voting.” This is a style of election that allows voters to rank all of the potential candidates by order of preference, and many democracy advocates believe that it does a better job of producing winners that have broad popular support. While it would be a major change to Indiana elections, there has never been a serious attempt to pass this alternative voting system here. Still, SB 12 would pre-emptively bar future lawmakers from considering the option, even such a change had popular support. SB 12 will be heard in the Senate Elections Committee Monday, Jan. 12, at 8:30 a.m. in Room 233.

🛑 OPPOSE: HB 1096 Various Election Matters. Would require voters to declare a political affiliation in order to vote in Indiana’s primary election. Historically, Indiana has had open primaries allowing all eligible voters to select which party’s primary they will vote in. This allows independents and voters without a deep party affiliation to vote for the primary candidate that they feel best represents them. Because many Hoosiers live in districts that are “safe” for one party or another, the party primary is often their only real opportunity to vote for a candidate. HB 1096 has been assigned to the House Elections Committee.

BILLS WE ARE WATCHING

At times, there may be bills we’re still learning about or that might be important later on in the session, but we haven’t determined yet whether to support, oppose or remain neutral on them. We’ll list that legislation here each week so you’re in the loop on what we’re watching:

SB 277: Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Amends and makes changes to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management including permitting and rulemaking such as more “burdensome” requirements. We are still working to understand the full scope of changes and impacts. SB 277 will be heard Monday, 1/12, at 9:30 a.m. ET in Room 431.

SB 224: Department of Natural Resources. Amends and makes changes to the Department of Natural Resources. Another large bill we are still working on fully analyzing. SB 224 will be heard Monday, 1/12, upon adjournment of Senate Agriculture in Room 130.

HB 1414: Forest Management. Requires the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to establish state forest entrance fees and investigate other revenue sources to fund management practices. Also sets requirements for maintaining populations of juvenile and old-growth trees.

GOOD NEWS SATURDAY

In a surprise move Monday, Congressional negotiators unveiled a funding package for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that significantly exceeds both the President’s Budget Request and House-passed levels.

A few key provisions:

• The bill allocates $3.3 billion to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy—$2.2 billion above the President’s request and $1.3 billion over the House bill.
• Funding is restored for Solar, Wind and Hydrogen programs that were previously zeroed out in the President’s request.
• The NNSA, EM and Office of Science (SC) will see funding increases over current enacted levels; however, the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) received no funding.
• Report language introduces new restrictions on grant terminations.

UPCOMING EVENTS

January 20: 2026 Renewable Energy Day at the Statehouse

January 28: Democracy Day (League Day at the Statehouse)

February 6: Indiana Sustainability and Resilience Conference (ISRC)

February 9: 2026 Water Stewardship Day

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