Indiana 2026 Regular Session Status: Enacted 15 R cosponsors

SB 256 — Foreign agent registration, foreign terrorist organizations, and foreign adversaries.

Last action — Public Law 131

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 08, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Mike Braun (Republican) on March 05, 2026.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 62% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 15 sponsors

    4 primary, 11 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (15 R).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Provides that contracts entered into, amended, or renewed by a qualified entity for the provision of a technological product or service must contain a provision requiring the contractor to confirm that the contractor and any subcontractors working under the contract for the contractor are not prohibited persons. Requires certain persons acting on behalf of a hostile foreign country to register with the attorney general. Establishes a procedure to deny state benefits to persons who aid a foreign terrorist organization. Requires a state educational institution to meet certain requirements regarding the admission and enrollment of a foreign student into qualifying programs at state educational institutions. Requires an approved postsecondary educational institution to provide to the commission for higher education the number of foreign students currently enrolled in a qualifying program and the number of foreign students enrolled in a qualifying program for each academic year for the preceding 10 years. Prohibits certain individuals and business entities from acquiring real property located in Indiana. Provides that an agreement or cooperative agreement between a unit and a prohibited person is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable. Repeals existing statutes regarding foreign ownership of agricultural land.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Public Law 131

  2. Signed by the Governor

  3. CCR # 1 filed in the House

  4. CCR # 1 filed in the Senate

  5. Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the House; Roll Call 412: yeas 82, nays 13

  6. Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the Senate; Roll Call 316: yeas 49, nays 0

  7. Signed by the Speaker

  8. Senator Baldwin added as conferee

  9. Senator Taylor G removed as conferee

  10. Senator Baldwin removed as advisor

  11. Senator Alting added as coauthor

  12. Signed by the President Pro Tempore

  13. Signed by the President of the Senate

  14. Representative Judy removed as advisor

  15. Representative Garcia Wilburn removed as conferee

  16. Representative Judy added as conferee

  17. Senate advisors appointed: Randolph Lonnie M, Baldwin, Koch

  18. Senate conferees appointed: Garten, Taylor G

  19. Senator Brown L added as coauthor

  20. Senate dissented from House amendments

  21. Motion to dissent filed

  22. House advisors appointed: Judy, Jeter, Ireland, Burton

  23. House conferees appointed: Commons, Garcia Wilburn

  24. Senator Maxwell added as coauthor

  25. Returned to the Senate with amendments

  26. Third reading: passed; Roll Call 292: yeas 93, nays 1

  27. Amendment #2 (Commons) prevailed; voice vote

  28. Representative Ireland added as cosponsor

  29. Amendment #1 (Judy) prevailed; voice vote

  30. Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed

  31. Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

  32. First reading: referred to Committee on Judiciary

  33. Referred to the House

  34. Cosponsors: Representatives Judy, Jeter

  35. House sponsor: Representative Commons

  36. Third reading: passed; Roll Call 82: yeas 44, nays 0

  37. Senator Doriot added as coauthor

  38. Senator Byrne added as coauthor

  39. Senator Schmitt added as coauthor

  40. Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed

  41. Amendment #1 (Garten) prevailed; voice vote

  42. Committee report: do pass, adopted

  43. Coauthored by Senators Busch, Baldwin

  44. First reading: referred to Committee on Judiciary

  45. Authored by Senators Garten, Koch, Freeman

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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4 sponsors · 11 co-sponsors · 135 not signed on

Sponsors (4)

Co-sponsors (11)

Not signed on (135)

135 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 135 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety immigration housing labor education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 256 do?
Provides that contracts entered into, amended, or renewed by a qualified entity for the provision of a technological product or service must contain a provision requiring the contractor to confirm that the contractor and any subcontractors working under the contract for the contractor are not prohibited persons. Requires certain persons acting on behalf of a hostile foreign country to register with the attorney general. Establishes a procedure to deny state benefits to persons who aid a foreign terrorist organization. Requires a state educational institution to meet certain requirements regarding the admission and enrollment of a foreign student into qualifying programs at state educational institutions. Requires an approved postsecondary educational institution to provide to the commission for higher education the number of foreign students currently enrolled in a qualifying program and the number of foreign students enrolled in a qualifying program for each academic year for the preceding 10 years. Prohibits certain individuals and business entities from acquiring real property located in Indiana. Provides that an agreement or cooperative agreement between a unit and a prohibited person is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable. Repeals existing statutes regarding foreign ownership of agricultural land.
Who sponsors SB 256?
SB 256 is sponsored by Andrew Ireland (Republican), Chris Jeter (Republican), Chris Judy (Republican), Matt Commons (Republican), Ron Alting (Republican), Liz Brown (Republican), Randy Maxwell (Republican), Blake Doriot (Republican), Daryl Schmitt (Republican), Gary Byrne (Republican), Scott Baldwin (Republican), Justin Busch (Republican), Aaron Freeman (Republican), Eric Koch (Republican), and Chris Garten (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 256?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 08, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 256?
Track SB 256 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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