ICV Legislative Update: Week of March 28, 2025
We are coming down to the last month of the session!
There will be many opportunities to make your voice heard as bills often move quickly toward the finish line. Please keep your eye on our social media channels and emails from ICV letting you know what’s going on.
There are many pieces of legislation still moving that will affect our electric bills and our air and water quality. We’ll be at the Statehouse looking out for Hoosiers, and we hope you’ll stay involved with our efforts to make Indiana a safe, healthy and affordable place to live.
CATCHING UP WITH ICV
Indiana Public Media featured our Third House tracker and comments from our community organizer Daniela Castellanos and consultant Kit Malone on how Hoosiers can use these meetings to communicate directly with lawmakers about their concerns and interests.
Daniela Castellanos, Indiana Conservation Voters community organizer, said the group is working to put out information in Spanish to help Latinos in Indiana better access these third house forums as well.
“Some of them don’t even know that those resources are available, and that they can come to their home district and try to voice their concerns. Or try to let them know, hey, this is our priority, these are our needs,” she said.
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Kit Malone is a political strategist working with Indiana Conservation Voters — which is tracking third house forums across Indiana.
“They’re a very easy way for constituents to meet and start a relationship with their lawmaker. And there’s just not a lot of opportunities like that anywhere else,” she said.
ICV’s Desi Rybolt testified in opposition to House Bill 1037, which would cut stormwater protections, putting Hoosiers at risk of increased flooding, pollution and crumbling infrastructure.
The legislation would exempt most construction sites from regulations—leaving communities to bear the costs. Take action against HB 1037!
BILL UPDATES
Things are moving quickly at the statehouse! Make sure to take action before it is too late!
😐 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 to make improvements.
➡️ SB 4 passed out of the House Utilities Committee on Tuesday, without beneficial amendments. It will be eligible for second reading on Monday.
🛑 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.
➡️ SB 424 passed out of the House and was concurred by the Senate, view the House roll call here and the Senate concurrence vote here. Please thank your legislators if they voted NO. (House roll call vote link is a correction from last week)
➡️ SB 424 is headed to the Governor’s desk next week, use our action below to urge Governor Braun to veto SB 424. ⬇️
🛑 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 was held in committee on Monday. It is scheduled for amend and vote only in the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee on Monday, 3/31 at 11am Rm. 431. It is important to take action now! ⬇️
🛑 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. ⬇️
➡️ HB 1007 passed out of the Senate Utilities Committee on Thursday. The committee removed beneficial sections of the bill that would have ensured large load customers pay some of their fair share. HB 1007 was recommitted to the Senate Tax & Fiscal Committee.
🛑 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 passed out of the House Elections Committee this week. It is eligible for second reading on Monday. ICV is joining other democracy partners in hosting a Student Lobby Day on April 1st to oppose the removal of student IDs. If you are a student, sign up here and share the information with your friends!
🛑 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, 3/20. It is still eligible for 3rd reading.
🛑 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, 3/31– 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 👀
✅ SUPPORT: Senate Bill 422 supports technologies to make our energy grid more efficient and reliable for the future. SB 422 will head to the Governor’s desk next week.
😐 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.
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS
🚨 Tell Indiana lawmakers and Governor Braun 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 is already on its way to Gov. Braun’s desk for action.
Contact your elected officials today and tell them you want utilities and big businesses to pay for their own research and development of experimental technologies. Email Gov. Braun and ask him to veto Senate Bill 424.
Hard-working Hoosiers can’t afford any more charges on their monthly bills!
ASK GOVERNOR BRAUN TO VETO SB 424
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!
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 29: Just Transition NWI: No False Solutions Action Meeting
April 1: Student Lobbying Day on Senate Bill 10
April 12: Brown Faces Green Spaces Shoreline Cleanup 2025
April 12: Northwest Indiana Earth Day 2025, 9am-1pm (Porter County Expo Center)
April 25: Pregúntele a un Organizador Comunitario / Ask a Community Organizer: Indiana Conservation Voters (Goshen Library)
April 26: Elkhart Earth Day, 10am-1pm (Elkhart Environmental Center)
