• Committee deadlines pass; bills that did not advance from committees in the opposite chamber are dead, though language from those bills may still surface in other live bills
• Building commission bill clears Senate (HB 1575)
• State budget moves to Senate floor (HB 1001)
• Next week are third reading deadlines for bills to pass the opposite chamber
  • April 17: 3rd reading of Senate bills in House
  • April 18: 3rd reading of House bills in Senate
  • by April 29: Adjournment

State Building Commission (HB 1575)

Establishes a more balanced commission of professionals with knowledge and expertise to cover the design, construction and inspection of structures regulated by the statewide building codes. The bill also establishes a code adoption process with a limit of 3 codes per year and no sooner than 5 years from when the last code was adopted. HB 1575 delays enforcement of new statewide building codes until 6 months after they’re adopted (currently 30 days) and prohibits local ordinances more stringent than the statewide building codes.

Position: Support. This IBA-priority bill is needed to address the imbalance on the state’s building commission, which has given architects, engineers, and fire service the upper hand and has resulted in an unprecedented attempt to fast-track the adoption of 8 new building codes in 2024.

Status: Passed the Senate 33-15 and returns to the House with amendments. The IBA and Indiana Apartment Association are working to secure support in the House for the concurrence vote.

Author:Rep. Tim O’Brien (R-Evansville) | Sponsor: Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger)

Housing Infrastructure Program (HB 1005) 

Establishes the residential housing infrastructure assistance program and revolving fund for political subdivisions to reduce the cost for infrastructure projects related to the development of residential housing. The bill requires the Indiana Finance Authority to prioritize applications for funding based on communities with housing-friendly zoning e.g., no mandated architectural standards, minimum setbacks, allow accessory dwelling units and encourage greater density. The bill was amended in the Senate to include language from SB 300 that removes the 1% growth cap for establishing a residential housing development program and a tax increment allocation area and eliminates the requirement to obtain approval from the school board. Additionally, the amended bill shortens the program termination date to twenty years (currently 25 years) and allows a county to designate an economic development target area (currently limited to a town or city). 

Position: Support. This IBA-priority bill is an outgrowth of the Housing Task Force’s comprehensive review of housing data that yielded 16 recommendations to improve housing supply – funding for housing infrastructure topped the list followed closely by greater flexibility in the use of residential TIF. Providing low-interest loans to communities to fund housing infrastructure, coupled with residential TIF are financing tools that could help attract investment, spur economic development, and help communities grow.

Status: Passed the Senate 32-16 and returns to the House with amendments. The IBA, Indiana Apartment Association, Indiana Association of Realtors®, and AIM are working to secure support in the House for the concurrence vote.

Author: Rep. Doug Miller (R-Elkhart) | Sponsor: Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger)

As it passed the Senate Appropriations Committee, the state budget HB 1001 includes funding for the residential housing infrastructure program that’s created in HB 1005 to provide a revolving loan fund for political subdivisions to reduce the cost for infrastructure projects related to the development of residential housing. Funding is also included for the Build Your Future Indiana program, administered by the Indiana Construction Roundtable Foundation, to encourage and promote careers in construction.

Position: Support. IBA will continue to advocate for this funding, which is critical to our mission of providing housing that’s safe and affordable for Hoosiers. 

Status: Passed Senate Committee on Appropriations as amended 10-2 and is scheduled for second reading in the Senate on Monday. 

New home warranties (HEA 1315)

Updates the new home construction warranties statute to include new single-family homes in build-for-rent communities as well as model homes. 

Position: Support. This clarifies that new home construction warranties begin at occupancy, regardless of whether the occupant is the owner or a renter, and the 10-year major structural defect warranty on a model home begins the date the home was first used as a model. 

Status: Passed Senate 48-0; House concurred on Senate amendments so the bill heads to the Governor

Author: Rep. Doug Miller (R-Elkhart) | Sponsor: Sen. Scott Baldwin (R-Noblesville)

Live streaming & archiving meetings (HEA 1167)

Beginning July 1, 2025, governing bodies of state and local agencies must livestream their meetings on publicly accessible platforms and archive the recordings with links to agendas and minutes for 90 days. 

Position: Support. Online access to public meetings keeps citizens and the regulated community informed on the topics and projects impacting their community. Live streamed, archived meetings are the most modern way to provide transparency and effective governance.

More publicly available videos from government meetings will enhance our free, member-benefit Cloverleaf, which scans through footage of public meetings within the last seven days and alerts users directly of relevant video clips. Contact support@cloverleaf.ai to activate your account or to learn how to customize it.

Status: House concurred on Senate amendments so the bill heads to the Governor

Author: Rep. Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn) | Sponsor: Sen. Jim Buck (R-Kokomo)

Land Use Task Force (HEA 1132)

Establishes a 13-member task force to study the following: 

(1) Growth trends in rural, suburban, and urban communities. 

(2) Economic and demographic factors that developers consider in siting projects.

(3) How rural, suburban, and urban communities can position themselves to attract economic development.

(4) Barriers to community growth. 

(5) Areas in Indiana in which food insecurity exists. 

Position: Support. The task force includes a seat for someone with experience in the residential construction industry, and we look forward to discussions on the importance of housing to the state's economic development. 

Status: Passed Senate 49-0 and returns to House without amendments, so the bill heads to the Governor

Author: Rep. Kendall Culp (R-Rensselaer) | Sponsor: Sen. Jim Buck (R-Kokomo)

Two bills that could improve the process for approval, installation, and inspection of residential onsite sewage systems (systems) are headed to conference committees:

1. HB 1402, authored by Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) and sponsored by Sen. Rick Niemeyer (R-Lowell), requires approval from the Technical Review Panel (TRP) to update the residential onsite sewage systems rule (rule) and to enforce local ordinances that pertain to new technology or vary from the rule.
2. HB 1647, authored by Rep. Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne) and sponsored by Sen. Gary Byrne (R-Byrneville), prohibits the installation of a system less than 25 feet from the edge of a sinkhole and allows a system to be installed if at least one site on the lot is suitable (currently 2 suitable lots are required). The bill also requires the local health dept. to issue a permit to install a system within 30 days under certain conditions and establishes a procedure and timeframe to address failing systems. Finally, the bill provides that an individual who is an IOWPA-licensed inspector or installer in at least one Indiana county is entitled to provide service in any county in Indiana but may be required to pay a county license fee.

Position: IBA supports both bills and has shared 2 concerns about HB 1402 with the author, Rep. Pressel: 1) a consistent timeline for updating the residential onsite sewage systems rule should be provided (e.g., every 5 years) rather than requiring the IDOH to update the rule “upon the recognition of new bulletins, standards, specifications, and industry standard practices”, and 2) ordinance approval requirements shouldn’t be delayed until Dec. 31, 2023 since local health departments have known since Mar. 2022 that that their ordinances would sunset on July 1, 2023.   

Status: House dissented on Senate amendments; Senate and House advisors and conferees have been appointed (see below); Conference Committees will be scheduled for both bills

HB 1402

Senate advisors: Niezgodski and Perfect | Senate conferees: Niemeyer and Yoder

House advisors: Morris, Morrison, Bauer M and Jackson | House conferees: Pressel and Errington

HB 1647

Senate advisors: Yoder and Byrne | Senate conferees: Garten and Niezgodski

House advisors: Soliday, Jeter, Pressel and Bauer M | House conferees: Morris and Errington

SB 242 repeals a provision that requires a local floodplain administrator to use the "best floodplain mapping data available" when reviewing an application for a permit to authorize construction in or near a floodplain. Allows an applicant for a permit authorizing the construction of a structure or other construction activity in or near a floodplain to choose whether: (1) mapping data provided by the department; (2) a federal flood insurance rate map; or (3) an engineering study provided by the applicant will be used by the local floodplain administrator when reviewing the person's permit application. The bill also requires an owner to disclose in a real estate disclosure form whether any portion of the real estate is located in a floodplain, as determined by a federal flood insurance rate map or a FEMA-approved local flood plain map.

Position: IBA supports the legislation to ensure property is correctly rated, land remains buildable, and homeowners are spared from paying high flood insurance premiums. 

Status: Amended on 2nd reading in the Senate to include a 2-year restriction on the use of "lidar", which is a remote sensing method that generates three-dimensional information about the surface characteristics of the land. Third reading in the House on Monday

Author: Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) | Sponsor: Rep. Beau Baird (R-Greencastle)

HB 1024, authored by Rep. Jerry Torr (R-Carmel) and sponsored by Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger), prohibits the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on public projects with a construction manager as constructor (CMc). 

Position: IBA supports open competition for taxpayer-financed construction projects. Public projects should be awarded fairly to contractors who can complete the work in a quality and cost-effective manner, regardless of their affiliation with a labor union. PLAs prevent non-union contractors from bidding on public works projects, reducing competition and increasing the cost of projects. 

Status: The bill was amended in the Senate Committee on Pensions and Labor to: allow a CMc to perform up to 30% of the work on the project (currently 20%), remove language that altered training requirements for certain contractors, and add bonding requirements for certain contractors, but won’t advance after a 5-5 vote. 

IBA supports a pair of bills authored by Rep. Steve Bartels (R-Eckerty) and Sen. Chris Garten (R-Charlestown) that are intended to add transparency and consistency to state agency rulemaking:

HB 1200 establishes a 10-member task force of state legislators to review external policies and standards of procedure implemented by agencies through Dec. 31, 2025. 

Status: The bill passed the Senate 48-0 and returns to the House with amendments. 

HB 1623 pertains to administrative rulemaking and requires: state agency review of a regulatory analysis of all proposed rules and rules adding or increasing fees, fines, or civil penalties; publication of the text of a proposed rule in the first comment period and allows a proposed rule to be adopted after one comment period if no substantive public testimony is received and the rule is not more stringent than applicable federal standards; rules to be readopted or expire in five years (currently seven years); agencies to webcast public hearings and allow remote testimony. The bill also allows a person to recover attorney fees if an agency issues an order that is based on an invalid rule or issued without legal authority. The bill also includes provisions on disposal of coal combustion residuals and restricted pesticides. 

Status: The bill is on third reading in the Senate on Monday. 

HB 1002, authored by Rep. Chuck Goodrich (R-Noblesville) and sponsored by Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond), as it left the House, expanded work-based learning, apprenticeship and internship opportunities in high schools and established accounts for students to pay for career training outside their schools. This is a priority bill for the House to “reinvent high school” with a more relevant secondary education that better prepares Hoosier students for the workforce. As amended in the Senate Appropriations Committee, the bill establishes the career advising grant program (program) and fund to provide grants to career advising providers for the purposes of providing career advising for students in grades 9 through 12. 

Position: IBA and the Indiana Construction Roundtable Foundation support efforts to align high school curriculum and career training with workforce needs. As it passed the House, the bill required high schools to offer a career fair annually, which is a critical component of our Build Your Future Program.

Status: Senate Appropriations heavily amended the bill.; Scheduled for second reading in the Senate on Monday. 

Resources for Navigating the Legislative Session

Builders Bill Track (attached) – List of bills tracked by IBA's Advocacy Team

Find a Bill | Find a Committee | Archived video

Floor Calendar for Senate & House | Committee Schedule for Senate & House 

Session Legislative Deadlines

Contact Your Legislators

Bills Sent to the Governor for Signature into Law