Environmental bills to watch in the 2020 legislative session (UPDATED)

January 16, 2020

Members of the state legislature are at the Indiana Statehouse to begin their yearly session to vote on and amend bills that could become the state’s newest laws.

Some of the bills introduced could have a direct effect on the state’s environment or help or impede Hoosiers from improving their own effect on the environment.

Senate Bill No. 6

Electric vehicle supplemental fee.
Author: Sen. Mike Bohacek

The bill proposes continuing the supplemental registration fee for electric and hybrid vehicles. In its current form, the bill would allow the state to continue imposing a $150 supplemental registration fee on electric vehicles and $50 for hybrid vehicles on top of standard state vehicle registration fees.

Senate Bill No. 33

School City of East Chicago Loan
Author: Sen. Lonnie M. Randolph

For the fourth year in a row, Sen. Lonnie Randolph introduced a bill that proposed the State of Indiana produce the funds to help East Chicago schools pay off a loan it received from the state to relocate students during the city’s lead crisis.

Since the 1980s, state and federal agencies have found evidence of lead contamination in residential areas surround the USS Lead Superfund site. In 2016, just weeks before the start of the new school year, officials from the School City of East Chicago announced it would close Carrie Gosch Elementary after U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials found parts of the property were contaminated with lead.

The $3 million emergency loan was used to renovate classrooms and bathrooms at an abandoned middle school to convert it into the new, uncontaminated Carrie Gosch Elementary.

Senate Bill No. 56

Homeowners associations and solar energy systems
Author: Sen. Linda Rogers

This bill would clarify which screening and preapproval powers homeowners associations in Indiana have over the installation of solar energy systems.

Under the bill, HOAs could require homeowners thinking about installing solar power systems to provide more information about those systems before installation. The bill would also delineate HOAs more power to prohibit installation or require system removal under certain circumstances, including if “a court” found the solar energy system threatens public health or safety or “violates a law.”

If stipulations in the law are met, HOAs would not be allowed to prohibit the installation of solar power systems.

Senate Bill No. 63

State forest commission and management plan
Authors: Sen. John Ruckelshaus, Sen. Eric Bassler and Sen. Greg Walker

This bill would establish a state forest commission that would be tasked with making up a 100-year plan for the management of the state’s forests.

If established, the commission would consist of two members of the general public chosen by the governor to serve as co-chairs, two members of the state senate and two members of the state House of Representatives. The commission would also include a governor-appointed commercial logging industry representative, environmental group representative, hunting/fishing representative, outdoor recreation representative, state forester, forest products industry representative and the commission director.

Senate Bill No. 73

Reports of potential violations to IDEM
Author: Sen. James Tomes

Senate Bill No. 73 could eliminate the option for concerned Hoosiers to anonymously report potential environmental violations to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Currently, IDEM gives users the option to omit personal information like name, address and other contact information when submitting a tip online, over the phone and by mail. That would change if the bill is passed.

The bill would force IDEM to program their site to not allow the submission of a report to the department unless the name and address form fields are filled in, and allow IDEM to reveal the reporting person’s name and address to the subjects of the complaint.

Senate Bill No. 99

Study committee on invasive species
Author: Sen. Susan Glick

The bill forwarded to the Indiana Senate’s Natural Resources Committee urges the legislative council to assign an interim study committee to study issues related to invasive species.

The study committee would have to examine the Indiana Invasives Initiative, an agreement between the Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management (SICIM) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to establish small partnership organizations called Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMA) to manage invasive plants locally.

The bill would also allow the study committee to investigate the possibility of making the Indiana Invasives Initiative a state agency.

Senate Bill No. 104

Designated wild areas in state forests
Author: Sen. Mark Stoops

Retiring State Sen. Mark Stoops introduced a bill that would set declare 13 areas inside state forests “designated wild areas,” or protected areas where logging, herbicide use, vehicle use and energy development and other disturbances are prohibited.

The bill would include a designated wild area of at least 800 acres in each of the state’s 13 state forests

Senate Bill No. 145

Office of outdoor recreation development
Author: Sen. Blake Doriot

The bill seeks to establish an Office of Outdoor Recreation Development within the newly established Indiana Destination Development Corporation. The new office would work to increase outdoor recreation-based economic development, tourism and ecotourism. It would also promote the growth of Indiana’s outdoor recreation economy and the health and social benefits of outdoor recreation.

Senate Bill No. 147

Campground matters
Author: Sen. Blake Doriot

The bill seeks to give campground owners the right to ask a campground guest to leave the property under certain circumstances like defaulting on fee payments, creating a disturbance that affects other guests and suspicion of violation of state, federal or local laws.

The legislation would guarantee a guest’s refund of fees, but would leave the guest open to criminal trespass charges if he or she does not comply with the request to leave.

Senate Bill No. 193

Prohibition of flavored e-liquids
Author: Sen. Ronald Grooms

This bill would ban the sale of “flavored e-liquid” to a person of any age in the state of Indiana and would also prohibit the manufacture, distribution and marketing of those products in the state.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently banned fruit and mint flavored e-cigarette products while still allowing the sale of tobacco and menthol flavored products.

Senate Bill No. 214

Testing of school drinking water for lead
Authors: Sen. Lonnie Randolph and Sen. Rick Niemeyer

This bipartisan legislation would require the testing of drinking water lead levels in every school building in Lake County at least once every two years.

Lake County has been home to heavy industry since the late 19th century and has a long history of environmental contamination. The county is home to seven Superfund sites, including the USS Lead Superfund site, a former lead smelter and lead refinery.

The site abuts commercial, municipal and residential areas, including at least one former school.

Currently, the state of Indiana offers free lead sampling for public schools, but districts and individual schools can choose not to take part.

Senate Bill No. 217

Inspection of petroleum products
Author: Sen. Mark Messmer

The bill seeks to amend the Indiana Code concerning health by reducing the volatility levels of gasoline allowed to be sold in the state of Indiana.

Volatility levels determine the evaporation characteristics of gasoline, which emit volatile organic compounds that are major contributors to ground-level ozone, also known as smog.

Lower volatility levels usually result in lower emissions of those potentially harmful compounds.

According to the EPA, 26 out of 46 Indiana counties that were monitored and 15 out of 17 monitored cities are experiencing more high level ozone days since 2015.

Senate Bill No. 248

Annual inspections of CAFOs
Author: Sen. Rick Niemeyer

The bill would make IDEM conduct an onsite inspection of concentrated animal feeding operations at least once a year.

CAFOs can provide a low-cost source of meat, milk and eggs, but can also negatively affect water sources and air quality.

Currently, IDEM’s Office of Land Quality inspects CAFOs during the first six months after being populated, during a change of regulatory status and after a transfer of ownership. IDEM also states that visits are “conducted as needed depending on the issues identified.”

Senate Bill No. 276

SPEA study of low-carbon and green industries
Author: Sen. Jean Breaux

This bill would require the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs to assess the potential for the development of low-carbon and green industries in Indiana. The study would look into the job creation, economic growth and wealth generation that could result for Indiana communities from those industries. The report would be due by Dec. 1.

Senate Bill No. 285

Lead testing of Medicaid covered children
Author: Sen. Jean Breaux

This proposal would require the Indiana State Department of Health to cooperate with the office of Medicaid policy to “take all necessary steps to increase by 100%” the number of children in the Medicaid program who are screened for lead poisoning.

The results of the screening would then be published on the ISDH web site.

Senate Bill No. 286

Lead poisoning prevention
Author: Sen. Jean Breaux

This bill reduces the amount of lead that needs to be detected in a person’s bloodstream in order to be declared an “elevated blood lead level.” Currently, an elevated blood lead level means a person has a blood lead level of at least 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood. The bill would reduce that amount to 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood.

The designation allows the state to initiate “public health actions” that vary depending on a child’s blood lead levels, ranging from arranging additional testing to requiring property owners to immediately remediate contaminated property.

The bill also requires that a student only be allowed to enroll in a school after being tested for an elevated blood lead level.

Senate Bill No. 321

The Lake Michigan shore
Author: Sen. Linda Rogers

In 2018, the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed that the Lake Michigan beach and shoreline up to the ordinary high water mark is publicly owned land open to recreational uses. Senate Bill 321, identical to House Bill 1031, proposes to add stipulations to that court finding to benefit private property owners along the Lake Michigan shore.

The bill would change the boundaries between public and private land and would call for the state of Indiana to recognize the existence of private property below the natural high water mark. The bill also seeks to define “recreational activities” as activities where people take up space on the beach temporarily, eliminating lying on the beach, camping and other “non-transient activities.”

Senate Bill No. 325

Sen. Susan Glick, Co-author: Sen. Karen Tallian

Senate Bill 325 would declare that the state of Indiana owns all of Lake Michigan within state boundaries “in trust for the use and enjoyment of all citizens of Indiana.”

The bill specifies that private property owners of land that borders Lake Michigan do not have the exclusive right to use the water or land below the ordinary high water mark, and is a direct contrast to Senate Bill 321, which states the opposite.

Senate Bill No. 338

Conservancy district restrictions
Author: Sen. Victoria Spartz

A conservancy district is a special taxing district through which landowners can address local issues related to water resources management like flood prevention and drainage improvements. Senate Bill 338 establishes a series of restrictions those districts.

The bill would impose restrictions on conservancy districts established after June 30, 2020 for any purpose other than providing for the collection, treatment and disposal of sewage and other liquid wastes. That includes a restriction on the district exercising eminent domain, fee restrictions and other restrictions related to the use of water bodies under the district’s control.

Senate Bill No. 368

Study of carbon sequestration
Author: Sen. Mark Stoops

Last year, the general assembly authorized a pilot project in Vigo County that would allow an ammonia plant to inject 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide into the earth, in a process known as carbon capture and sequestration.

The process prevents carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, but could have other significant consequences for people living near the site of the carbon dioxide injection.

This bill seeks to form an interim study committee to look into alternate forms of carbon sequestration, namely forest preservation and carbon farming.

Senate Bill No. 373

Vaping and tobacco
Author: Sen. Frank Mrvan

Senate Bill 373 seeks to prohibit persons under 21 years of age from buying or possessing cigarettes, tobacco products, e-liquid or e-cigarettes. The bill also sets the framework for fees and other restrictions.

In December, the federal government raised the age a person can purchase tobacco products to 21.

Senate Bill No. 374

E-liquid and electronic cigarette crimes
Author: Sen. Frank Mrvan

This bill makes it a Class C misdemeanor to sell an e-liquid or e-cigarette that contains a concentration that is more than 20 milligrams per milliliter. Class C misdemeanors can result in up to $500 in fines and 60 days in jail.

Senate Bill No. 375

Prohibition on e-liquids and electronic cigarettes
Author: Sen. Frank Mrvan

Senate Bill No. 375 would make it a Class B misdemeanor to intentionally sell, give or distribute an e-cigarette or e-liquid to another person. Intentional possession of an e-liquid or e-cigarette would be a Class C misdemeanor. Class B misdemeanors are punishable with up to $1,000 in fines and up to 180 days in jail. Class C misdemeanors can result in up to $500 in fines and 60 days in jail.

Senate Bill No. 376

Flavored e-liquids
Author: Sen. Frank Mrvan

Senate Bill 376 would ban the manufacture and sale of flavored e-liquids, defined as an e-liquid that “contains a constituent ingredient, agent, or other compound or concentrate that is added for the purpose of imparting a characterizing flavor.”

Senate Bill No. 397

Tobacco, e-liquids, and CBD
Author: Sen. Erin Houchin

This bill would make selling an e-liquid or e-cigarette with a nicotine concentration of more than 20 milligrams per milliliter or contains vitamin E acetate a Class B infraction.

Vitamin E acetate is an oily chemical added to some e-liquids to thicken or dilute them, is believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least 39 people and sickened more than 2,000 last year.

The bill would also require a license to sell low THC hemp extracts like cannabidiol oil, also known as CBD oil.

Senate Bill No. 414

Maximum contaminant levels for pollutants in water
Author: Sen. Eddie Melton

Senate Bill 414 would require the Indiana State Department of Health to establish state-level maximum contaminant levels for likely or known carcinogens and toxic chemicals likely to pose a substantial health hazard.

The bill would limit the amount of PFAS, chromium-6 and 1,4-dioxane in water provided by public water systems.

PFAS is the name for a group of manmade chemicals used in consumer and industrial products since the 1940s. PFAS have been linked to testicular and kidney cancer, liver damage and developmental problems in children.

Chromium-6, also known as hexavalent chromium, was used in chromate production, chromate pigment and chrome electroplating before the 1980s. It has been linked to lung, nose and sinus cancer. The chemical compound is also known as the “Erin Brokovich” chemical, due to its featuring in the 2000 Julia Roberts movie featuring the activist with that name.

1,4-Dioxane was used as a solvent and in cleansing and moisturizing cosmetic products. The compound was found by the EPA to be likely carcinogenic to humans.

Senate Bill No. 423

Smoking age
Author: Sen. Ronald Grooms

This bill would require a person to be at least 21 years of age to buy, possess or sell tobacco, e-liquid or e-cigarettes. The bill would also require persons to be 21 years of age to enter certain businesses where smoking is permitted.

Senate Bill No. 432

Producer recycling of waste packaging and paper
Author: Sen. Mark Stoops

Sen. Stoops’ bill seeks to lead to the recycling of 50% of all household packaging and printed paper by July 1, 2026 and 60% of all household packaging by July 1, 2026. The bill would require every producer of a product or material that results in waste packaging or waste printed paper to register with IDEM. Those companies would then be required to submit a producer recycling program plan to IDEM for approval.

Senate Bill No. 433

Removal of residences from certain flood plains
Author: Sen. Eric Bassler

The bill prohibits the DNR director from removing or eliminating a residence from a floodway under certain conditions.

Senate Bill No. 438

Regulation of pesticide use and application
Author: Sen. Jean Leising

Senate Bill 438 proposes several changes to state’s pesticide use and application regulations, including civil penalties the state chemist may impose for violations. The bill doubles the civil penalty amount for the first and second violations and raises the amount for third and subsequent violations to $2,500.

Senate Bill No. 450

Low head dams
Author: Sen. Justin Busch

Identical to House Bill 1099, this bill would require the state’s natural resources commission to establish a roster of low head dams in the state that are capable of creating hazardous currents that pose safety issues.

Low head dams create strong turbulence and recirculating currents that can push someone underwater. Indiana DNR currently has a map of the state’s low head dams, but the map does not note which dams are more dangerous than others.

House Bill No. 1006

Regulation of tobacco products
Author: Rep. Cindy Kirchhofer

House Bill 1006 proposes some changes to tobacco regulations in the state of Indiana. The bill would raise the legal age for tobacco purchases to 21 and raise increases the civil penalties for suppliers that sell tobacco products to anyone under 21.

House Bill No. 1031

The Lake Michigan shore
Author: Rep. Doug Miller

In 2018, the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed that the Lake Michigan beach and shoreline up to the ordinary high water mark is publicly owned land open to recreational uses. House Bill 1031 proposes to add stipulations to that court finding to benefit private property owners along the Lake Michigan shore.

The bill would change the boundaries between public and private land and would call for the state of Indiana to recognize the existence of private property below the natural high water mark. The bill also seeks to define “recreational activities” as activities where people take up space on the beach temporarily, eliminating lying on the beach, camping and other “non-transient activities.”

House Bill No. 1039

Inspection of petroleum products
Author: Rep. Jerry Torr

This bill is similar to Senate Bill 217. The bill seeks to amend the Indiana Code concerning health by reducing the volatility levels of gasoline allowed to be sold in the state of Indiana.

Volatility levels determine the evaporation characteristics of gasoline, which emit volatile organic compounds that are major contributors to ground-level ozone, also known as smog.

Lower volatility levels usually result in lower emissions of those potentially harmful compounds.

According to the EPA, 26 out of 46 Indiana counties that were monitored and 15 out of 17 monitored cities are experiencing more high level ozone days since 2015.

House Bill No. 1099

Low head dams
Author: Rep. Ethan Manning

This bill would require the state’s natural resources commission to establish a roster of low head dams in the state that are capable of creating hazardous currents that pose safety issues.

Low head dams create strong turbulence and recirculating currents that can push someone underwater. Indiana DNR currently has a map of the state’s low head dams, but the map does not note which dams are more dangerous than others.

House Bill No. 1101

Ban on single use Styrofoam carryout containers
Author: Rep. B. Patrick Bauer

This bill would impose a statewide ban on single-use polystyrene foam containers in restaurants, concession stands, food trucks and other facilities. If passed, anyone violating the law would be committing a Class C infraction, which can result in up to $500 in fines and 60 days in jail.

House Bill No. 1105

Agricultural conservation easements
Author: Rep. B. Patrick Bauer

This bill would require the Indiana Department of Agriculture to establish a program to help people create agricultural conservation easements for agricultural land and establish a fund to buy permanent agricultural easements.

Agricultural conservation easements are deed restrictions landowners place on land to protect resources like agricultural land, ground and surface water, wildlife habitat and other resources. They would, in effect, prevent the land from being used for other purposes, like development, beyond what the easement states.

House Bill No. 1119

Rep. Don Lehe
Author: Rep. Don Lehe

Much like Senate Bill 438, House Bill 1119 proposes several changes to state’s pesticide use and application regulations, including civil penalties the state chemist may impose for violations. The bill doubles the civil penalty amount for the first and second violations. This bill differs from the senate bill in that it adds more penalties for registration and licensure violations and the violation of a stop sale order issued by the state chemist.

House Bill No. 1170

Historic bridges
Author: Rep. J.D. Prescott

This bill would give a county executive the power to remove an uncovered bridge located on the county’s road system from the state’s historic register.

The county executive would have to give reasons for the removal and hold a public hearing no later than 30 days after submitting notice of the removal.

House Bill No. 1189

Use of firefighting foam containing PFAS
Author: Rep. Peggy Mayfield, Co-authors: Rep. Randall Frye, Rep. Jim Pressel, Rep. Dan Forestal

The bipartisan bill would prohibit the use of Class B firefighting foam containing PFAS chemicals for training and testing purposes unless the testing facility has implemented appropriate measures to prevent the release of the foam into the environment.

Class B foams are designed to combat fires produced by flammable liquids. Aqueous film forming foams have been used by military and civilian firefighting agencies since the late 1970s. Although extremely effective, the foams contained PFAS chemicals that could result in adverse health conditions in its users and others, if it seeped into drinking water.

PFAS is the name for a group of manmade chemicals used in consumer and industrial products since the 1940s. PFAS have been linked to testicular and kidney cancer, liver damage and developmental problems in children.

House Bill No. 1227

Supplemental fee on electric and hybrid vehicles
Author: Rep. Carey Hamilton

This bill seeks to eliminate the supplemental fee on electric and hybrid vehicles implemented by the state. Currently, people who own electric vehicles must pay a $150 supplemental registration fee and hybrid vehicles owners must pay $50 on top of standard state vehicle registration fees.

House Bill No. 1253

Violations of wildlife protection laws
Author: Rep. Terry Goodin

House Bill 1253 establishes a series of penalties for persons knowingly or intentionally taking a wild bird or wild mammal that is on the federal or state endangered species list.

If passed, violating the law would result in a Level 6 felony charge, which has a possible sentence of six months to two and a half years in prison. A conviction would also result in the immediate revocation of the person’s hunting license.

House Bill No. 1254

Flood control improvement district projects
Author: Rep. Justin Moed

This bill would, for a two-year period, allow money in the fund of a flood control improvement district to be used for a flood control works project outside the boundaries of the district.

House Bill No. 1257

Notice of environmental contamination
Author: Rep. Pat Boy, Co-author: Rep. Sue Errington

This bill seeks to make it mandatory for a person who causes a spill of certain substances to immediately report the spill to IDEM, the county’s health officer, water users downstream of the spill site, at least one emergency response agency and each park located in the county where the spill occurred.

Responding agencies and the person who caused the spill must then make that information publicly available.

House Bill No. 1265

Drinking water testing in Lake County
Author: Rep. Carolyn Jackson, Co-author: Rep. David Wolkins

This bill would require that the drinking water in every child care center, child care home, child care ministry site, child care institution and school building be tested for national primary drinking water regulations for lead and copper.

The bill would force the entities in charge of the facilities to reduce lead levels in drinking water to less than 15 parts per billion.

House Bill No. 1328

Elimination of net metering phase out
Author: Rep. Edward Delaney

This bill would eliminate the provisions that would end net metering by 2047. Net metering allows residential and commercial energy customers who generate their own electricity, through solar, wind or other means, to sell the electricity they don’t use back into the electrical grid.

House Bill No. 1337

Notification of water utilities and water facilities
Author: Rep. Ryan Hatfield

This bill would make the environmental rules board change spill rules in Indiana law. These changes would require timely notification to a water utility and water treatment facility in an area after a spill that could cause a threat to human health, the environment or impact operation.

House Bill No. 1338

PFAS in public water systems
Author: Rep. Ryan Dvorak

This bill would require the Indiana State Department of Health to establish a state maximum contaminant level for PFAS chemicals in water provided by public water systems.

PFAS are a group of manmade chemicals used in consumer and industrial products since the 1940s. PFAS have been linked to testicular and kidney cancer, liver damage and developmental problems in children.

Currently, there is no state or federal maximum contaminant level for PFAS, but there are unenforceable drinking water health advisories of 70 parts per billion for PFOA and PFOS, two chemicals that are part of the PFAS family.

House Bill No. 1357

Independent testing of Lake Michigan water
Author: Rep. Ragen Hatcher

The bill would require the IDEM commissioner to engage an independent testing service to test and analyze the waters of Lake Michigan within state boundaries at least four times per year for the presence and concentration of heavy metals, PAH, PCB, PFAS, PBDE and pollutants from human activity.

The results of the testing would have to be made publicly available.

House Bill No. 1366

Industrial waste
Author: Rep. Don Lehe, Co-author: Rep. Doug Gutwein, Rep. Sharon Negele

This bill would not allow IDEM to apply standards more stringent than federal standards when determining whether a biosolid or industrial waste product resulting from anaerobic digestion is evaluated as hazardous waste.

House Bill No. 1375

Homeowners association and solar power
Author: Rep. Mike Speedy

Similar to Senate Bill 56, this bill would clarify which screening and preapproval powers homeowners associations in Indiana have over the installation of solar energy systems.

Under the bill, HOAs could require homeowners thinking about installing solar power systems to provide more information about those systems before installation. The bill would also delineate HOAs more power to prohibit installation or require system removal under certain circumstances, including if “a court” found the solar energy system threatens public health or safety or “violates a law.”

House Bill No. 1414

Retirement of electric generation facilities
Author: Rep. Edmond Soliday

This bill would prevent a public utility from retiring, selling, transferring or terminating a lease at an electric power plant unless the utility first receives permission from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. The utility would have to convince the IURC that “public convenience” and “necessity” require the plant’s closing. Environmental and consumer policy organizations like the Sierra Club and the Citizens Action Coalition have already opposed the legislation, saying it would undo years of market-based progress in moving beyond outdated coal technology.

The text of bills introduced during the legislative session often changes, and more bills will be introduced. We'll keep you up to date.

Environmental bills to watch in the 2020 legislative session (UPDATED)

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