The 2024 legislative session officially closed on March 8, 2024, with Senate Pro-Tem, Rodric Bray, declaring "sine die" around 9:30 in the evening. A total of 172 bills were passed by both chambers and signed by Governor Holcomb. Key priorities included education and protecting Hoosier health. Below is a summary of some of the bills from the 2024 legislative session, most of which are set to take effect July 1.
EDUCATION
HEA 1002, authored by Rep. Chris Jeter, provides that it is the policy of the State to provide equal, nonsegregated, and nondiscriminatory educational opportunities without regard to religion, among other previously identified characteristics. This bill also defines "antisemitism" and specifies that antisemitism constitutes discrimination on the basis of race, creed, religion, or national origin.
SEA 1 is targeted at improving reading proficiency in the State of Indiana. This bill requires schools to retain or hold back students who do not demonstrate reading proficiency by 3rd grade. It also requires schools to offer summer school courses to support students who are, or who are at risk, of not being reading proficient at certain grade levels.
SEA202 is perhaps the most controversial education bill that came out of the 2024 session. This bill prohibits colleges from offering tenure to, or promoting, faculty who have failed to foster a culture of free expression, who are unlikely to expose students to a variety of political or ideological frameworks, or who have exposed students to ideological viewpoints unrelated to the faculty member's discipline. The bill also requires colleges to promote both intellectual diversity and cultural diversity in its diversity policies and programming. According to the bill's author, Sen. Spencer Deery, the bill is intended to help conservative students feel more comfortable on university campuses. Sen. Deery cited Indiana's declining college attendance rate as evidence that many students do not currently feel comfortable on university campuses. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit in attempt to block this bill from taking effect.
HEALTH CARE
HEA 1070 expands the availability of grants for mental health services by allowing the division of mental health and addiction to award mental health grants to for-profit community mental health organizations if a nonprofit organization does not qualify for the grant.
SEA 9, a bill aimed at combating Indiana's rising health care costs, requires health care entities involved in a merger or acquisition with another health care entity with combined assets of at least $10,000,000 to notify the office of the Attorney General at least 90 days prior to the transaction. The purpose of the notice requirement is to give the Attorney General a chance to analyze potential antitrust concerns and to issue a civil investigative demand for additional information if warranted.
HEA 1058 focuses on breast cancer screening and requires a facility performing a mammogram to provide an assessment of the patient's breast tissue density using specified classifications and to provide written notice to the patient and the referring provider concerning the patient's breast tissue density classification.
BANKING
HEA 1284 provides that a deposit account agreement between a depository financial institution and a customer may be changed or amended from time to time, subject to the terms of the deposit account agreement. This bill makes it easier for financial institutions to update their terms and conditions. The customer's continued use of the deposit account after the effective date of the change or amendment to the deposit account agreement is prima facie evidence of the customer's acceptance of the change or amendment.
SEA 188 reduces the statute of limitations to file legal complaints related to deposit accounts. As of July 1, the statute of limitations for such causes of action will be reduced from 6 years to 2 years.
REAL ESTATE
HEA 1068 requires definitive expiration dates for real estate listing agreements and buyer agency agreements. This bill also prohibits unlicensed real estate solicitors from making solicitations to purchase a residential, single-family home without making certain required disclosures.
Under HEA 1183, certain individuals and businesses will no longer be able to purchase, lease, or acquire agricultural property in Indiana or property in Indiana that is located within a 10 mile radius of a military facility effective July 1, 2024.Those affected by the bill are individuals who are citizens of a foreign adversary (as defined in 15 CFR 7.5) and businesses headquartered in a foreign adversary or the majority ownership interest of which is held or controlled by citizens of a foreign adversary. Any property acquired by such individuals is subject to divestiture.
DEVELOPMENT
Under HB 1108, municipalities cannot prevent development projects on sites having a slope of less than 25%, except when the site is located within a watershed area of a reservoir that is a source of a municipality's drinking water. Although the bill states that municipalities may not prevent the development on a site with less than 25% slope, the bill's author and supporters seemed to concede that the bill would not prohibit municipalities from requiring significant engineering and erosion control measures that could come at a large expense.
HB 1383 was the first bill signed by Governor Holcomb during the 2024 legislative session. It follows changes to Indiana's classification system for wetlands, which was significantly revised in 2021 by SEA 389.Under HB 1383¸certain types of wetlands formerly classified as Class III wetlands (and therefore subject to the greatest level of protection), will now be classified as Class II wetlands. Despite generating widespread opposition from environmental groups, the bill was supported by IDEM.
UTILITIES
SEA 5, authored by Sen. Eric Koch, is perhaps one of the most significant utility bills adopted by the Indiana General Assembly in the past 5 years. The bill follows the EPA's 2021 revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule and the Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan to eliminate 100% of lead service lines in America.
SEA 5 requires owners of property served by lead service lines to replace or cause to be replaced the customer owned portion of the lead service line by either enrolling in a local utility's lead service line replacement program or replacing the lead service line using a contractor of the owner's choice. If a utility has adopted a lead service line replacement program, the bill provides certain enforcement levers such as the ability to disconnect a customer's water service for failing to make a required lead service line replacement. This bill took effect when it was signed by the Governor on March 11, 2024.
HEA 1352 limits the reasons for which a local health department or unit may inspect a septic system. The bill also allows a nonresidential septic system to be installed on a lot if there is at least one suitable location on the lot where the system can be placed. This builds on legislation from 2023 that applied to residential septic systems. Previously, many local health departments would require two suitable locations so there is a backup location for a replacement system if the initial septic system fails. That will no longer be required for residential or nonresidential septic systems going forward.
EMPLOYMENT
HEA 1093 modifies certain restrictions on employment of minors.Specifically, the bill provides exemptions from certain hour and time restrictions for the employment of a minor between the ages of 14 and 16 and allows minors between the ages of 14 and 16 to work past 7 p.m. from June 1 to Labor Day.The bill also repeals provisions concerning hour and time restrictions for the employment of a minor who is at least 16 years of age and less than 18 years of age and removes the prohibition on a minor from working in a hazardous occupation if the minor is between the ages of 16 and 18 and employed in agriculture.Finally, the bill repeals a provision concerning restrictions on an employer who employs a minor to work after 10 p.m. and before 6 a.m.Most of the changes outlined in this bill will take effect July 1, 2025.
FAMILY LAW
HB 1369 provides that ensuring the child's safety shall be the most important consideration in the determination of a child's best interests under family and juvenile law. The bill also provides that there is a rebuttable presumption that a child is a child in need of services if it is established that the child lives in the same household as an adult who was involved in a child fatality or near fatality that involved abuse, abandonment, or neglect.This bill took effect upon the Governor's signature on March 11, 2024.
ESTATE PLANNING
HEA 1034 automatically extends property and casualty insurance coverage on property transferred by a transfer on death instrument after December 31, 2024.The insurance will remain in effect for a period of sixty (60) days after the owner's death, unless the transferee procures his or her own insurance prior to the conclusion of such 60-day period. HEA 1034 also addresses responsibility for property taxes on property transferred by a transfer on death deed and states that, until the beneficiary notifies the county of the transfer by affidavit, the transfer on death beneficiary or beneficiaries named in the transfer on death deed and the estate of the deceased owner are jointly and severally liable for property taxes assessed with respect to the real property for assessment years beginning with the assessment year in which the owner's death occurs.
HEA 1209 extends the rule regarding how long trusts may last from 90 years to 360 years.Specifically, under the new law, a nonvested interest in the trust must vest within 360 years of the creation of the trust unless the terms of the trust expressly provide a shorter vesting period.The new rule applies to all trusts created after July 1, 2024, and trusts created prior July 1, 2024, if the following conditions are satisfied: (a) the trust is governed by IC 32-17-8-3 (without regard to the specific vesting period); and (b) the trustee has the full and unrestricted power to alienate trust property.
SEA 18 was the product of the probate code study commission and accomplished several changes regarding probate matters.Highlights include creating a procedure to transfer the interest of certain single member limited liability companies to a legatee or heir of the member upon the member's death, revoking by operation of law certain provisions in a will or revocable trust in favor of the testator's or trust settlor's former spouse upon dissolution or annulment of the marriage, and providing that a personal representative or a trustee is not required to distribute particular assets based upon the potential gain or loss that a distributee would realize if the assets were sold.
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