ICV Legislative Update: Week of March 21, 2025
While the legislative session continues, we’re also making plans to celebrate Earth Month in April.
The ICV team will be out and about at events all month, and we’re making it easy for you to find those events in your community with a new map on our website.
CATCHING UP WITH ICV
This week, our water expert Desi Rybolt testified neutral on Senate Bill 4, which establishes a permitting structure for significant water withdrawals.
It’s a solid step forward for water stewardship, but to be a robust, complete process it needs the categorical inclusion of groundwater and water quality considerations. We have made some recommendations for amendments, but it remains to be seen whether they will make it into the bill.
STUDENT STATEHOUSE DAY ON APRIL 1—SENATE BILL 10
Join students from across the state raising their voices against SB10, which will stop students at public universities from being able to use their college ID to vote.
If you sign up to attend this event, please be sure to include your permanent residence address so organizers can match you with your legislator.
BILL UPDATES
Things are moving quickly at the Statehouse! Make sure to take action before it is too late!
✅ SUPPORT: Senate Bill 422 supports technologies to make our energy grid more efficient and reliable for the future. SB 422 passed both chambers and was signed by House and Senate Leadership this week. It will head to the Governor’s desk next week.
😐 NEUTRAL: Senate Bill 4 establishes a permitting structure for significant water withdrawals. This is a fantastic step forward for water stewardship, but we feel it is incomplete without the categorical inclusion of groundwater and water quality considerations. We are working with leadership to offer recommendations for amendments.
➡️ SB 4 was heard in the House Utilities Committee on Tuesday, but it was not voted on yet. We expect it to be voted on next week after some committee discussion, so keep an eye out!
🛑 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. Use our link to action below to contact your legislators to vote NO on raising your monthly utility bills. ⬇️
➡️ SB 424 passed on third reading on Thursday, view the roll call here. Please thank your legislators if they voted NO. Now, the bill author, Senator Koch, can agree with the changes made in the House or disagree with the changes sending the bill to conference committee next week.
🛑 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.
➡️ HB 1037 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee on Monday, 3/24 at 10am Rm. 431. Take action below!
🛑 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!
➡️ SB 10 is still eligible for further committee discussion. It is important to take action before a potential reappearance!
🛑 OPPOSE: Senate Bill 287: 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.
➡️ SB 287 was engrossed on 2nd reading on Thursday. It will be eligible for 3rd reading on Monday.
🛑 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. Alert! This bill is being heard on Monday morning – so join the League of Women Voters of Indiana and ask lawmakers to vote NO! On HB1680.
👀 BILLS WE ARE WATCHING IN THE SECOND HALF 👀
😐 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 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. Use our link to action below to contact your legislators to vote NO on raising your monthly bills. ⬇️
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!
Ask Speaker Huston to Preserve Student Voter ID
ICV joined our coalition partners, All IN For Democracy, in signing an open letter to Speaker Huston agreeing with his skepticism about the numerous anti-voter bills moving through the House and asking him to oppose SB10, which would eliminate school ID as a valid form of voter identification—potentially disenfranchising thousands of students.
You can reach out, too! Help our partners at Common Cause Indiana thank him for saying that and ask him to kill SB10.
GOOD NEWS SATURDAY
SB 211 is still sailing through the legislature, aiming to establish invasive species management as a permanent use of Clean Water Indiana funds!
It passed through the House without change and is headed to the desks of Senate and House leadership to be signed, then to the governor. We love to see this important programming made permanent!
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 22: World Water Day Wetland Walk
March 29: Just Transition NWI: No False Solutions Action Meeting
April 1: Student Lobbying Day on Senate Bill 10
April 25: Pregúntele a un Organizador Comunitario / Ask a Community Organizer: Indiana Conservation Voters (Goshen Library)
