Indiana 2025 Regular Session Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 6 R · 2 D cosponsors

SB 426 — Water utilities.

Last action — Signed by the Governor

  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 13, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Mike Braun (Republican) on April 03, 2025.

Odds of enactment

High chance

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

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

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

Prognosis

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 8 sponsors

    4 primary, 4 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (6 R · 2 D) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

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

Summary

Includes water utilities within the scope of the statute that subjects wastewater utilities that: (1) are not under the jurisdiction of the Indiana utility regulatory commission (IURC) for the approval of rates and charges; and (2) have been issued one or more enforcement orders by the department of environmental management; to a series of oversight actions by the IURC for each additional enforcement order, including rate review, rate regulation, and the initiation of a receivership proceeding. Makes a conforming amendment to the statute that governs the process by which water utilities and wastewater utilities may withdraw from the jurisdiction of the IURC. Amends the statute governing the acquisition of water utilities and wastewater utilities to require the IURC to consider and authorize mechanisms to allow utility companies to integrate into their systems, invest in, and earn on acquired utility assets, subject to a finding by the IURC that the proposed mechanism is just and reasonable and in the public interest. Amends the statute governing the recovery of costs for eligible infrastructure improvements made by water or wastewater utilities to provide that, in the case of a public utility (as defined in the Indiana Code), "infrastructure improvement costs" eligible for recovery include: (1) deferred depreciation expense; and (2) post in service carrying costs; for the eligible infrastructure improvements. Adds language to the Indiana Code chapter governing public water supplies to provide that a complaint: (1) seeking damages from a water utility; and (2) arising out of an alleged exposure to drinking water supplied by the water utility; is barred if the water supplied by the water utility met applicable regulatory standards under specified federal and state law. Amends the Indiana Code section prohibiting the department of natural resources (department) from regulating certain activities within the 100 year flood level of a water supply reservoir owned and operated by a municipality or a public utility for the purpose of providing water utility service to the public to also prohibit the department from ordering the closure or removal, or the partial closure or removal, of: (1) a dam that forms such a water supply reservoir; or (2) a dam that forms or contains a body of water that is used to supply one or more private water wells; if the closure or removal, or the partial closure or removal, of the dam would impact the provision of water utility service to the public or the supply of water to one or more private water wells.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read SB 426 on the official Indiana source →

Action History

  1. Signed by the Governor

  2. Public Law 24

  3. Signed by the President of the Senate

  4. Signed by the President Pro Tempore

  5. Signed by the Speaker

  6. Returned to the Senate without amendments

  7. Third reading: passed; Roll Call 292: yeas 76, nays 15

  8. Representative Hamilton removed as cosponsor

  9. Representatives Shonkwiler and Hamilton added as cosponsors

  10. Second reading: ordered engrossed

  11. Committee report: do pass, adopted

  12. First reading: referred to Committee on Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications

  13. Referred to the House

  14. House sponsor: Representative Soliday

  15. Senators Leising, Ford J.D., Donato added as coauthors

  16. Senator Hunley added as third author

  17. Third reading: passed; Roll Call 108: yeas 46, nays 3

  18. Senator Doriot added as second author

  19. Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed

  20. Amendment #1 (Koch) prevailed; voice vote

  21. Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

  22. Authored by Senator Koch

  23. First reading: referred to Committee on Utilities

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

4 sponsors · 4 co-sponsors · 142 not signed on · 17 voted No

Sponsors (4)

Co-sponsors (4)

Not signed on (142)

142 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 142 →

"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

Votes

SB 426 - Soliday - 3rd Reading

Passed 76 Yea · 15 Nay · 9 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 64106
Democrat 111203
Unaffiliated 1200
Total 761509
% of votes cast 76%15%0%9%
How each member voted (100)
Member Party Vote
Boy — Nay
Dant Chesser — Yea
Garcia Wilburn — Nay
Alex Burton Democrat Yea
Carey Hamilton Democrat Yea
Carolyn Jackson Democrat Nay
Cherrish Pryor Democrat Nay
Chris Campbell Democrat Nay
Chuck Moseley Democrat Yea
Earl Harris Democrat Nay
Edward DeLaney Democrat Yea
Gregory Porter Democrat Nay
John Bartlett Democrat Nay
Justin Moed Democrat Yea
Kyle Miller Democrat Yea
Matt Pierce Democrat Nay
Maureen Bauer Democrat Nay
Mike Andrade Democrat Yea
Mitch Gore Democrat Not Voting
Philip GiaQuinta Democrat Yea
Ragen Hatcher Democrat Not Voting
Renee Pack Democrat Not Voting
Robin Shackleford Democrat Nay
Ryan Dvorak Democrat Nay
Sheila Klinker Democrat Yea
Sue Errington Democrat Yea
Tonya Pfaff Democrat Yea
Vanessa Summers Democrat Nay
Vernon Smith Democrat Nay
Alaina Shonkwiler Republican Yea
Alex Zimmerman Republican Yea
Andrew Ireland Republican Yea
Beau Baird Republican Not Voting
Becky Cash Republican Yea
Ben Smaltz Republican Yea
Brad Barrett Republican Yea
Bruce Borders Republican Yea
Chris Jeter Republican Yea
Chris Judy Republican Yea
Chris May Republican Not Voting
Cindy Ledbetter Republican Yea
Cory Criswell Republican Yea
Craig Haggard Republican Yea
Craig Snow Republican Yea
Dale DeVon Republican Yea
Danny Lopez Republican Yea
Dave Hall Republican Yea
Dave Heine Republican Yea
David Abbott Republican Yea
Doug Miller Republican Not Voting
Edmond Soliday Republican Yea
Edward Clere Republican Yea
Elizabeth Rowray Republican Yea
Ethan Lawson Republican Yea
Ethan Manning Republican Yea
Garrett Bascom Republican Yea
Gregory Steuerwald Republican Yea
Harold Slager Republican Yea
Heath VanNatter Republican Yea
Hunter Smith Republican Yea
J.D. Prescott Republican Yea
Jack Jordan Republican Yea
Jake Teshka Republican Not Voting
Jeffrey Thompson Republican Yea
Jennifer Meltzer Republican Yea
Jim Lucas Republican Yea
Jim Pressel Republican Yea
Joanna King Republican Yea
Julie McGuire Republican Yea
Julie Olthoff Republican Yea
Karen Engleman Republican Yea
Kendell Culp Republican Yea
Kyle Pierce Republican Yea
Lindsay Patterson Republican Yea
Lori Goss-Reaves Republican Yea
Lorissa Sweet Republican Yea
Mark Genda Republican Yea
Martin Carbaugh Republican Yea
Matt Commons Republican Yea
Matt Hostettler Republican Nay
Matt Lehman Republican Yea
Michael Karickhoff Republican Yea
Michelle Davis Republican Yea
Mike Aylesworth Republican Yea
Peggy Mayfield Republican Yea
Robb Greene Republican Yea
Robert Behning Republican Yea
Robert Heaton Republican Yea
Robert Morris Republican Yea
Ryan Lauer Republican Yea
Shane Lindauer Republican Not Voting
Steve Bartels Republican Yea
Tim Yocum Republican Yea
Timothy O'Brien Republican Yea
Timothy Wesco Republican Yea
Todd Huston Republican Not Voting
Tony Isa Republican Yea
Tyler Johnson Republican Yea
Wendy McNamara Republican Yea
Zach Payne Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SB 426 - Koch - 3rd Reading

Passed 46 Yea · 3 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 36201
Democrat 9100
Unaffiliated 1000
Total 46301
% of votes cast 92%6%0%2%
How each member voted (50)
Member Party Vote
Zay — Yea
Andrea Hunley Democrat Yea
David Niezgodski Democrat Yea
Fady Qaddoura Democrat Yea
Greg Taylor Democrat Yea
J.D. Ford Democrat Yea
La Keisha Jackson Democrat Yea
Lonnie Randolph Democrat Nay
Mark Spencer Democrat Yea
Rodney Pol Democrat Yea
Shelli Yoder Democrat Yea
Aaron Freeman Republican Yea
Blake Doriot Republican Yea
Brett Clark Republican Yea
Brian Buchanan Republican Yea
Chris Garten Republican Yea
Cyndi Carrasco Republican Yea
Dan Dernulc Republican Yea
Daryl Schmitt Republican Yea
Ed Charbonneau Republican Yea
Eric Bassler Republican Yea
Eric Koch Republican Yea
Gary Byrne Republican Yea
Greg Goode Republican Yea
Greg Walker Republican Yea
James Buck Republican Yea
James Tomes Republican Nay
Jean Leising Republican Yea
Jeff Raatz Republican Yea
Justin Busch Republican Yea
Kyle Walker Republican Yea
Linda Rogers Republican Yea
Liz Brown Republican Yea
Michael Crider Republican Nay
Michael Young Republican Yea
Mike Bohacek Republican Yea
Mike Gaskill Republican Yea
Randy Maxwell Republican Yea
Rick Niemeyer Republican Yea
Rodric Bray Republican Yea
Ron Alting Republican Yea
Ryan Mishler Republican Yea
Scott Alexander Republican Yea
Scott Baldwin Republican Yea
Spencer Deery Republican Yea
Stacey Donato Republican Yea
Susan Glick Republican Yea
Travis Holdman Republican Yea
Tyler Johnson Republican Yea
Vaneta Becker Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety environment
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 426 do?
Includes water utilities within the scope of the statute that subjects wastewater utilities that: (1) are not under the jurisdiction of the Indiana utility regulatory commission (IURC) for the approval of rates and charges; and (2) have been issued one or more enforcement orders by the department of environmental management; to a series of oversight actions by the IURC for each additional enforcement order, including rate review, rate regulation, and the initiation of a receivership proceeding. Makes a conforming amendment to the statute that governs the process by which water utilities and wastewater utilities may withdraw from the jurisdiction of the IURC. Amends the statute governing the acquisition of water utilities and wastewater utilities to require the IURC to consider and authorize mechanisms to allow utility companies to integrate into their systems, invest in, and earn on acquired utility assets, subject to a finding by the IURC that the proposed mechanism is just and reasonable and in the public interest. Amends the statute governing the recovery of costs for eligible infrastructure improvements made by water or wastewater utilities to provide that, in the case of a public utility (as defined in the Indiana Code), "infrastructure improvement costs" eligible for recovery include: (1) deferred depreciation expense; and (2) post in service carrying costs; for the eligible infrastructure improvements. Adds language to the Indiana Code chapter governing public water supplies to provide that a complaint: (1) seeking damages from a water utility; and (2) arising out of an alleged exposure to drinking water supplied by the water utility; is barred if the water supplied by the water utility met applicable regulatory standards under specified federal and state law. Amends the Indiana Code section prohibiting the department of natural resources (department) from regulating certain activities within the 100 year flood level of a water supply reservoir owned and operated by a municipality or a public utility for the purpose of providing water utility service to the public to also prohibit the department from ordering the closure or removal, or the partial closure or removal, of: (1) a dam that forms such a water supply reservoir; or (2) a dam that forms or contains a body of water that is used to supply one or more private water wells; if the closure or removal, or the partial closure or removal, of the dam would impact the provision of water utility service to the public or the supply of water to one or more private water wells.
Who sponsors SB 426?
SB 426 is sponsored by Alaina Shonkwiler (Republican), Edmond Soliday (Republican), Stacey Donato (Republican), J.D. Ford (Democrat), Jean Leising (Republican), Andrea Hunley (Democrat), Blake Doriot (Republican), and Eric Koch (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 426?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 13, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 426?
Track SB 426 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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