Fabio
91 lines
9.2 KiB
Markdown
91 lines
9.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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type: "Bill"
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title: "Water utilities."
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description: "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."
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jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
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legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
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session: "2025"
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identifier: "SB 426"
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citation: "Indiana SB 426 (2025)"
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classification: ["bill"]
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subjects: ["AGENCIES; Department of Natural Resources (DNR)", "AGENCIES; Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC)", "ENVIRONMENT; Water Pollution", "HEALTH; Drinking Water", "NATURAL RESOURCES; Dams and Levees", "NATURAL RESOURCES; Lakes", "Ponds", "and Reservoirs", "UTILITIES; Generally", "UTILITIES; Water"]
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status: "enacted"
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primary_sponsors: ["Andrea Hunley", "Blake Doriot", "Edmond Soliday", "Eric Koch"]
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version_count: 4
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action_count: 23
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vote_count: 2
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first_action: "2025-01-13"
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last_action: "2025-04-03"
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source: "openstates"
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source_identifier: "ocd-bill/c49a866d-e14e-431a-a364-3decbb2ef932"
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source_url: "https://api.iga.in.gov/2025/bills/sb0426"
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source_hash: "ccbec0a6e89691b089fc7a3cf64c851ff08567caf819ad8e8eccb2eda75fbf0f"
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vintage: "2026-07-01"
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source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
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retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
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confidence: "reported"
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tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
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---
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# Indiana SB 426 (2025) — Water utilities.
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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.
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## Version chain
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The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
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1. **Engrossed Senate Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/senate/bills/SB0426/SB0426.03.ENGS.pdf)
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2. **Enrolled Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/senate/bills/SB0426/SB0426.05.ENRH.pdf)
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3. **Introduced Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/senate/bills/SB0426/SB0426.01.INTR.pdf)
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4. **Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/senate/bills/SB0426/SB0426.04.COMH.pdf)
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## Votes
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- SB 426 - Soliday - 3rd Reading — **76–15** (pass) · lower
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- SB 426 - Koch - 3rd Reading — **46–3** (pass) · upper
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## Sponsors
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- Andrea Hunley — primary (person)
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- Blake Doriot — primary (person)
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- Edmond Soliday — primary (person)
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- Eric Koch — primary (person)
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- Alaina Shonkwiler — cosponsor (person)
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- J.D. Ford — coauthor (person)
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- Jean Leising — coauthor (person)
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- Stacey Donato — coauthor (person)
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## Timeline
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The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
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- **2025-01-13** First reading: referred to Committee on Utilities `reading-1, referral-committee`
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- **2025-01-13** Authored by Senator Koch
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- **2025-02-06** Committee report: amend do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
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- **2025-02-10** Amendment #1 (Koch) prevailed; voice vote `amendment-passage`
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- **2025-02-10** Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed `reading-2`
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- **2025-02-10** Senator Doriot added as second author
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- **2025-02-12** Referred to the House `referral`
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- **2025-02-11** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 108: yeas 46, nays 3 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
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- **2025-02-11** Senator Hunley added as third author
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- **2025-02-11** Senators Leising, Ford J.D., Donato added as coauthors
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- **2025-02-11** House sponsor: Representative Soliday
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- **2025-03-03** First reading: referred to Committee on Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications `reading-1, referral-committee`
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- **2025-03-13** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
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- **2025-03-17** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
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- **2025-03-21** Returned to the Senate without amendments `receipt`
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- **2025-03-20** Representatives Shonkwiler and Hamilton added as cosponsors
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- **2025-03-20** Representative Hamilton removed as cosponsor
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- **2025-03-20** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 292: yeas 76, nays 15 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
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- **2025-03-24** Signed by the Speaker `passage`
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- **2025-03-24** Signed by the President Pro Tempore `passage`
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- **2025-03-27** Signed by the President of the Senate `passage`
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- **2025-04-03** Public Law 24 `became-law`
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- **2025-04-03** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`
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## Source
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OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/c49a866d-e14e-431a-a364-3decbb2ef932`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).
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