Bills. Bills. Bills. - Legislative session update from our director, Amanda Shepherd

This session is all about the budget. Spending priorities for the next two years will be decided. The chapter supports Governor Holcomb’s allocations for conservation funding in his proposed budget, which includes:

• $25 million over two years for land conservation
• $50 million over two years for trail projects
• Increase of $2.2 million a year for the Division of Forestry and its programs to assist private woodland owners
• Increase of $7.2 million a year for fish and wildlife management, including the State Wildlife Action Plan focused on the 150 native Indiana fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need
• $3 million for a new visitors center at Prophetstown State Park
• Salary increases for DNR staff, including conservation officers

• HB 1453, the House version of SB 335 to establish a climate solutions task force
• HB 1190 will increase regulations and set standards for the disposal of coal ash, a hazardous contaminant that threatens the health of our air, soil, and groundwater
• HB 1218 requires the inspection of failing septic tanks before a property sale transfer, preventing damaged septic tanks from leaking sewage into our groundwater
• HB 1138 requires the testing of drinking water in preschool and childcare facilities, protecting our most vulnerable Hoosiers from dangerous contaminants
• HB 1219 tracks the amount of PFAS, dangerous “forever chemicals,” that are exposed to firefighters 
• HB 1193 creates a program to administer grants to towns, cities, and counties to conduct a greenhouse gas emissions inventory, allowing for data to be collected that can then guide emission reductions
• SB 91 requires inspections of CAFOs, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, that lead to large amounts of sewage and other pollutants, improving oversight and regulation

• SB 242 removes a requirement for counties to use the best available data from the state DNR when approving permits for new construction projects on floodplains, interfering with efforts to reduce flood risk - passed out of Senate and to the House.
• SB 472 would identify “advanced recycling facilities” as manufacturing facilities, a distinction that would help the industry avoid certain solid waste facility regulations - passed out of Senate and to the House.
• HB 1623 would increase the burden on the Indiana Department of Environmental Management by requiring them to jump through more hoops in order to pass & maintain rules to protect the environment. Additionally, an amendment has been proposed to this bill that would not allow the state to have protections more stringent than those at the federal level regarding the disposal of dangerous coal ash.

Sincerely,

Amanda Shepherd
Chapter Director

Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter