Indiana bill roundup: Here’s what happened to legislation IBJ followed this session

A basket of bills sit next to the Speaker's podium in the Indiana House of Representatives. (IBJ Photo/Cate Charron)

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed his final slate of bills Tuesday, sent to his desk by the General Assembly after the legislative session ended in the early hours of April 25.

Braun signed 243 bills into law during this year, including more than 60 on Tuesday. The first-year governor didn’t veto any bills this year, nor did he let any pass into law without his signature.

Lawmakers learned a week before they passed the final version of the 2026-27 biennial budget that they had to cut $2 billion out of their previous plans after new estimates included a significant drop in projected revenue. Braun signed House Bill 1001 on Tuesday.

“This budget will preserve our reserves, maintain our AAA credit rating, and deliver on key priorities—including education, public safety, and tax relief for Hoosiers,” Braun said in a Tuesday afternoon post on X (formerly Twitter). “Grateful to our fiscal leaders for their work navigating a tight revenue forecast and ensuring government stays efficient and focused on what matters most.”

Over the 2025 session, the Legislature approved bills that would overhaul the property tax system, provide more road funding to Indianapolis, greenlight new investment in nuclear energy and increase scrutiny of large hospitals. 

Not all bills passed were intensive policy changes. Lawmakers also approved a commission to consider absorbing disgruntled Illinois counties, made way for regulations for bare-knuckle fighting, approved possible tax breaks ahead of this summer’s WNBA All-Star game and expanded pull tab gaming for veteran associations.

Here’s what happened with the bills that IBJ followed this session.

Economic development

After eight years of former Gov. Eric Holcomb’s development-focused tenure, Braun—an entrepreneur and former CEO—wanted a greater focus on entrepreneurship and small businesses.

House Bill 1601

• Expand data center tax exemption to include quantum computing research, advanced computing and defense infrastructure with at least a $50 million investment in five years
• Author: Rep. Edmond Soliday, R-Valparaiso
• Last action: Signed, May 1
• Status: Law, effective immediately

House Bill 1489

• Creates an Indiana-Ireland commission to advance trade relations
• Author: Rep. Timothy O’Brien, R-Evansville
• Last action: Signed, May 1
• Status: Law, effective immediately

Senate Bill 516 

• Creates the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and establishes certain provisions for land purchases by the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
• Author: Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon
• Last action: Signed, May 1
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Senate Bill 431

• Prohibits a company from a foreign adversary from building a data center in Indiana without an electricity usage study and requires the project to generate its own electricity
• Author: Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford 
• Last action: Signed, April 10
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Workforce 

Over the past few years, state leaders have overhauled the state’s high school curriculum and graduation requirements to prioritize career coaching and alternative paths to higher education. The state has also been working to boost training and certificate programs for young and adult learners.

Senate Bill 448

• Requires the Department of Education to prepare a plan to develop a market-driven credential program with at least three priority industry pathways
• Author: Sen. Greg Goode, R-Terre Haute
• Last action: Signed, May 1
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Child care

Child care—and the lack of available and affordable options—has been plaguing families in Indiana and across the country. Business leaders now worry the price and lack of options will prevent new workers from moving to the state and remove others from the workforce.

House Bill 1253

• Allows a single-owner child care company or nonprofit, including YMCAs and school-affiliated organizations, to open multiple locations under one license
• Bill author: Rep. Dave Heine, R-Fort Wayne
• Last action: Signed, May 1
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Senate Bill 463

• Adds employee training, scholarship programs and compensation for employees with a higher level of training to the permitted uses of funds under the employer child care expenditure tax credit; also sets staff ratios and maximum group sizes based on certain age ranges in licensed child care centers
• Author: Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso
• Last action: Signed, May 1
• Status: Law, effective immediately

Indianapolis

The capital city is a demographic and political outlier in Indiana, sometimes causing the Republican supermajority to target legislation toward conflicting priorities and initiatives. But also, as the state’s largest city, some legislation impacts its government and residents more than others.

House Bill 1461

• Address road-funding disparities through a range of funding mechanisms, including an increase to the maximum rate for county wheel and vehicle excise tax and required county bonding abilities
• Author: Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie
• Last action: Signed, May 1
• Status: Law, effective July 1

House Bill 1006

• Establishes a special prosecutor unit, prosecutor review board and public prosecution fund, in part to investigate whether prosecuting attorneys are “noncompliant” with state laws. Similar legislation has previously been used to target Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears.
• Author: Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers
• Last action: Signed, May 1
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Senate Bill 142

• Alters whether certain eviction records can be disclosed
• Authors: Sens. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne; Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis; and Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores 
• Last action: Signed, May 1
• Status: Law, effective July 1

House Bill 1131

• Classifies the town of Cumberland as an excluded city, no longer part of the consolidated city of Indianapolis
• Author: Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart
• Last action: Signed, April 10
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Taxes

Braun and legislative leaders have prioritized changes that would reduce property taxes and could have a significant impact on local government spending.

Senate Bill 1

• Reforms how the state collects property taxes, establishes a 10% credit (capped at $300) and includes a charter school revenue-sharing bill (previously Senate Bill 518)
• Author: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle
• Awaiting: Signed, April 15
• Status: Law, goes into effect over the next four years

Senate Bill 451

• Continues to decrease the adjusted gross income tax rate if the state hits high revenue targets. 
• Author: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle 
• Awaiting: Signed, April 16
• Status: Law, cuts cannot start until 2030

Health

Reducing the cost of health care is a major priority for policymakers. The debate comes as the state’s Medicaid costs continue to balloon, making the low-income health insurance program a budgetary concern.

House Bill 1004

• Threatens to strip Indiana’s largest hospital systems of their state nonprofit status if their aggregate charges exceed the state’s average prices.
• Author: Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne
• Last action: Signed, May 6
• Status: Law, effective immediately

House Bill 1003

• Enacts a range of measures to increase health care transparency
• Author: Rep. Brad Barrett, R-Richmond
• Last action: Signed, May 6
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Senate Bill 2

• Reels in Medicaid’s Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP, by applying coverage limits and work requirements
• Author: Sens. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka; Chris Garten, R-Charlestown; and Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso
• Last action: Signed, May 1
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Senate Bill 3

• Installs measures to push insurers and related financial officials to act in the best financial interests of their clients
• Author: Sen. Justin Busch, R-Fort Wayne
• Last action: Signed, April 16
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Water policy & utilities

The state’s management of its natural resources and energy systems has risen to public consciousness thanks to questions about water for the LEAP Research and Innovation District and debates about electricity for data centers.

House Bill 1007

• Creates a tax credit for expenses in the manufacturing of a small modular nuclear reactor
• Author: Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso 
• Last action: Signed, May 6
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Senate Bill 4

• Requires the leaders of projects that will move significant amounts of water to obtain a permit
• Author: Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford
• Last action: Signed, April 22
• Status: Law, effective immediately

Senate Bill 424

• Establishes a framework for small modular nuclear reactor development in Indiana
• Author: Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford
• Last action: Signed, April 10
• Status: Law, effective July 1

And everything else

Senate Bill 157

• Makes it easier for property owners to oust squatters in certain circumstances where trespassing law may not cover
• Author: Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton
• Last action: Signed, May 6
• Status: Law, effective July 1

House Bill 1073

• Provide regulations for bare-knuckle fighting, professional wrestling, boxing and sparring through the Indiana Gaming Association
• Author: Rep. Craig Haggard, R-Mooresville
• Last action: Signed, May 6
• Status: Law, effective July 1

House Bill 1008

• Creates a boundary adjustment commission that would study whether to recommend the absorption of Illinois counties that want to secede from the Democrat-led state
• Author: House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers
• Last action: Signed, April 30
• Status: Law, effective July 1

Senate Bill 209

• Legalizes use of electronic pull-tabs largely for use at veteran associations
• Author: Sen. Kyle Walker, R-Lawrenceburg
• Last action: Signed, April 16
• Status: Law, effective July 1