republic-os/legislation/us/states/in/2024/sb-140.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Natural resources."
description: "Provides that a person may perform certain activities without obtaining a permit from the department of natural resources (department). Provides certain guidelines for cutting, relocating, or removing logs that are crossways in a channel. Provides that a person who removes a logjam from a river or stream: (1) is not required to cut a log or separate a tree from its root system if, in the opinion of the person, the cutting would create an unreasonable risk of bodily harm to the person; and (2) need not remove the dislodged logs from the floodplain if the logs are dried and burned so completely as to eliminate the potential for a new logjam. Permits a person to remove a logjam or mass of wood debris from a river or stream with mechanical equipment appropriate to the task of removing logjam or debris. Authorizes a person to remove debris from a stream under certain conditions without needing a permit from the department. Exempts the state and a county, city, or town from submitting various documents when applying for certain floodway permits. Requires the Indiana state department of agriculture to oversee and take all actions necessary to prepare and publish an updated version of the Indiana Drainage Handbook."
jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
session: "2024"
identifier: "SB 140"
citation: "Indiana SB 140 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["BOARDS", "COMMISSIONS", "AND COUNCILS; Newly Created", "ENVIRONMENT; Drains and Drainage", "NATURAL RESOURCES; Flood Control", "NATURAL RESOURCES; Rivers", "Streams", "and Waterways", "NATURAL RESOURCES; Timber and Timber Harvesting"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Beau Baird", "Jean Leising", "Jeff Raatz"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 30
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2024-01-08"
last_action: "2024-03-13"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f418c4eb-d120-4aff-af66-f07f2f527b35"
source_url: "https://api.iga.in.gov/2024/bills/sb0140"
source_hash: "785d65e1896196eab21b585bb47800b74460b69d47c97929fde0dfcf5ce13a5e"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
---

# Indiana SB 140 (2024) — Natural resources.

Provides that a person may perform certain activities without obtaining a permit from the department of natural resources (department). Provides certain guidelines for cutting, relocating, or removing logs that are crossways in a channel. Provides that a person who removes a logjam from a river or stream: (1) is not required to cut a log or separate a tree from its root system if, in the opinion of the person, the cutting would create an unreasonable risk of bodily harm to the person; and (2) need not remove the dislodged logs from the floodplain if the logs are dried and burned so completely as to eliminate the potential for a new logjam. Permits a person to remove a logjam or mass of wood debris from a river or stream with mechanical equipment appropriate to the task of removing logjam or debris. Authorizes a person to remove debris from a stream under certain conditions without needing a permit from the department. Exempts the state and a county, city, or town from submitting various documents when applying for certain floodway permits. Requires the Indiana state department of agriculture to oversee and take all actions necessary to prepare and publish an updated version of the Indiana Drainage Handbook.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Engrossed Senate Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2024/senate/bills/SB0140/SB0140.03.ENGS.pdf)
2. **Enrolled Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2024/senate/bills/SB0140/SB0140.05.ENRH.pdf)
3. **Introduced Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2024/senate/bills/SB0140/SB0140.01.INTR.pdf)
4. **Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2024/senate/bills/SB0140/SB0140.04.COMH.pdf)

## Votes

- SB 140 - Baird — **91–0** (pass) · lower
- SB 140 - Leising — **48–0** (pass) · upper
- SB 140 - Leising - 3rd Reading — **45–4** (pass) · upper
- SB 140 - Baird - 3rd Reading — **91–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Beau Baird — primary (person)
- Jean Leising — primary (person)
- Jeff Raatz — primary (person)
- Brad Barrett — cosponsor (person)
- David Abbott — cosponsor (person)
- J.D. Prescott — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-01-08** First reading: referred to Committee on Natural Resources `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2024-01-08** Authored by Senator Leising
- **2024-01-22** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2024-01-30** Amendment #2 (Leising) prevailed; voice vote `amendment-passage`
- **2024-01-30** Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2024-02-01** Senator Raatz added as second author
- **2024-02-01** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 84: yeas 45, nays 4 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2024-02-01** House sponsor: Representative Baird
- **2024-02-01** Cosponsors: Representatives Abbott, Barrett, Prescott
- **2024-02-02** Referred to the House `referral`
- **2024-02-12** First reading: referred to Committee on Natural Resources `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2024-02-22** Committee report: amend do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2024-02-26** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2024-02-28** Motion to dissent filed `filing`
- **2024-02-27** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 222: yeas 91, nays 1 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2024-02-28** Returned to the Senate with amendments `receipt`
- **2024-02-29** Senate advisors appointed: Taylor G and Raatz
- **2024-02-29** Senate dissented from House amendments
- **2024-02-29** Senate conferees appointed: Leising and Qaddoura
- **2024-02-29** House conferees appointed: Baird and Boy
- **2024-02-29** House advisors appointed: Abbott, Prescott and Jackson
- **2024-03-07** CCR # 1 filed in the Senate `filing`
- **2024-03-07** CCR # 1 filed in the House `filing`
- **2024-03-08** Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the House; Roll Call 329: yeas 91, nays 0
- **2024-03-08** Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the Senate; Roll Call 307: yeas 48, nays 0
- **2024-03-08** Signed by the President Pro Tempore `passage`
- **2024-03-11** Signed by the Speaker `passage`
- **2024-03-12** Signed by the President of the Senate `passage`
- **2024-03-13** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`
- **2024-03-13** Public Law 105 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/f418c4eb-d120-4aff-af66-f07f2f527b35`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).