2015 House Bill Tracker
HB 1020
Authored by Rep. Ronald Bacon.
Co-Authored by Rep. Robert Cherry, Rep. Ben Smaltz, Rep. David Niezgodski.
Removal of obstructions from streams. Amends the law providing for the removal of obstructions from mutual
drains and natural surface watercourses to make the law apply also to the removal of obstructions from streams.
Provides that the owner of a tract of land that is adversely affected by an obstruction in a stream may petition the
drainage board of the county in which the obstruction is located for the removal of the obstruction, even if the
owner's tract of land is not located in the county in which the obstruction is located. Provides for an investigation
by the county surveyor in response to the petition. Requires the drainage board to order the removal of the
obstruction if it finds that removal of the obstruction: (1) will promote better drainage of the petitioner's tract of
land or alleviate an adverse effect of the obstruction upon the petitioner's tract of land; and (2) will not cause
unreasonable damage to the owners of the tract of land on which the obstruction is located. Provides for the cost
of removing the obstruction to be paid by the owners of all tracts of land that are located in the county over which
the drainage board has jurisdiction and are benefited by the stream. Provides for judicial review of the drainage
board's order.
HB 1030
Authored by Rep. Doug Gutwein.
Sales tax exemption for drainage water management system. Provides that a component of a drainage water
management system intended for use on agricultural land used for crop production is exempt from sales tax if the
person acquiring the component is engaged in the business of agriculture.
HB 1064 - Did not move out of House
Authored by Rep. Ronald Bacon.
Co-Authored by Rep. Vernon Smith.
Sewer fees incurred by tenants. Provides that municipal sewage user fees are payable by the person who occupies
the real property against which the fees are assessed. Provides that a lien does not attach for user fees assessed
against real property occupied by someone other than the owner.
HB 1097 - Did not move out of House
Authored by Rep. Mike Aylesworth.
Large scale discharges into state waters. Makes it a Class C infraction for a person to discharge more than 20
million gallons of water per day into any waters of the state without the approval of the director of the
department of natural resources.
HB 1111
Authored by Rep. Steven Stemler.
Wabash, White, and Ohio Rivers aquifer study. Requires the department of natural resources (department) to: (1)
identify, gather, and study information about the aquifers directly connected with the Wabash River, the White
River, and the Ohio River; (2) establish and maintain a common data base containing the information gathered
about those aquifers; (3) submit a status report concerning the information gathered and the study conducted to
the interim study committee on environmental affairs (committee); and (4) identify and develop water
conservation measures for the river basins of the Wabash River, the White River, and the Ohio River that are
consistent with water conservation measures developed by the department for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River
basin. Requires the committee to study issues concerning water distribution systems relevant to the river basins of
the Wabash River, the White River, and the Ohio River and to identify and examine measures necessary to the
development of a plan to create a stable grid linking those water distribution systems.
HB 1239
Authored by Rep. Philip GiaQuinta.
Municipal water utility liens. Provides that rates and charges of a municipally owned water utility constitute a lien
against property served by the utility. Provides that the method for attachment and enforcement of municipal
water utility liens is the same as the method for municipal wastewater utility liens.
HB 1292
Authored by Rep. Mike Aylesworth.
DNR director authority over dewatering wells. Amends the law concerning the emergency regulation of ground
water rights to: (1) include within the definition of "dewatering well" a water well or pump system that is used as
part of a mining project to remove water from an area being mined; (2) authorize the director of the department
of natural resources (director) to declare a ground water emergency when an investigation discloses that a
dewatering well has caused a significant ground water withdrawal facility to fail to produce water in a quantity
sufficient for the beneficial use for which the facility owner uses the water; and (3) provide that, in the case of a
ground water emergency arising from the failure of a significant ground water withdrawal facility caused by a
dewatering well, the timely and reasonable compensation that the director may order for the benefit of the facility
owner is limited to: (A) restoring the affected significant ground water withdrawal facility to the facility's former
water production capability; or (B) providing to the facility owner an alternative supply of water to replace the
water lost through the facility's failure.
HB 1319
Authored by Rep. Eric Allan Koch.
Acquisition of distressed utilities. Provides that the utility regulatory commission may allow a utility company that
acquires certain water or wastewater utilities to include any cost differential in the utility company's rate base.
HB 1328
Authored by Rep. Harold Slager.
Liens on real property. Provides that if: (1) a person intends to acquire a lien on real property after June 30, 2015;
and (2) there is no requirement under any other state law that the person or another person must notify the
owner of the real property of the person's intention to acquire the lien; the person who wishes to acquire the lien
must file a sworn statement and notice of the person's intention to acquire the lien in the county recorder's office
of the county in which the real property is located. Requires the county recorder to: (1) record a copy of the
statement and notice of intention in the appropriate record book of the county recorder's office; (2) send by first
class mail a copy of the statement and notice of intention to the owner of the real property; and (3) collect a fee of
$2 from the person who filed the statement and notice of intention for each statement and notice of intention
that is sent by first class mail.
HB 1350
Authored by Rep. David Wolkins.
Sponsored by Sen. Ed Charbonneau.
Environmental variances and other matters. Makes the following changes concerning variances from
environmental rules: (1) If a variance would be in effect for more than one year: (A) the application for the
variance must include a demonstration of how the applicant would come into compliance with the rule within the
period for which the variance would be in effect; and (B) the variance, if granted, includes a schedule requiring the
person to come into compliance with the rule within the period for which the variance will be in effect, and the
variance may be revoked for failure to comply with the compliance schedule if the person fails to meet the
requirements of the compliance schedule and, after the end of the variance period, the person is given a
reasonable opportunity to meet the requirements of the rule and still does not come into compliance with the
rule. (2) Eliminates the renewal of variances, except for variances from certain water quality standards. Authorizes
the department of environmental management (department) to require the submission of information or
documents electronically. Requires the department to offer certification examinations for certain water treatment
plant operator and water distribution system operator certifications at least once per year. Authorizes the
commissioner of the department to authorize independent third parties to administer additional certification
examinations. Allows the commissioner to provide certain notices to persons by a means other than by mail.
Provides that the offsite location of compensatory mitigation required of a person proposing a wetland activity in a
state regulated wetland may be within a designated service area established in an approved in lieu fee mitigation
program. Provides for solid waste disposal fees and state solid waste management fees to be remitted to the
department on a quarterly basis and for hazardous waste disposal fees to be paid to the department on or before
March 1 of the year following the year in which they accrue. Eliminates the requirement that a manufacturer of
video display devices report annually to the department the total weight of video display devices sold to
households.
HB 1496
Authored by Rep. Greg Beumer.
Sewer connection matters. Provides that a not-for-profit public sewer utility or a regional sewage district may not
require a property owner to connect to the utility's or district's sewer system if certain conditions are met.
Requires a not-for-profit public sewer utility or regional sewage district to: (1) provide property owners with a
form for use in applying for an exemption under those certain conditions; (2) respond in writing to each exemption
application; (3) if denying an application, explain to the applicant why the application is denied and what steps the
applicant must take to qualify for the exemption; and (4) allow an applicant 270 days after receiving a response
within which to qualify for the exemption by taking those steps. Prohibits a local health department from denying
a property owner's application for the installation of a residential onsite sewage system if the property owner
demonstrates to the local health department that the property, with the installation of the proposed residential
onsite sewage system, will meet the conditions for an exemption from the requirement to connect to the sewer
system of a not-for-profit public sewer utility or a regional sewage district. Provides for the members of the board
of trustees of a regional water, sewage, or solid waste district to be elected at an annual meeting of the owners of
property located in the district. Eliminates provisions concerning the appointment of board members. Provides for
the filling of a vacancy on a board. Requires that the terms of the members of a board be staggered so that no
more than 1/3 of the members are elected in any year. Provides that, for purposes of rates and charges for the
sewage works of a regional district, the sewage works are to be considered as benefiting only properties
connected to the sewer system, not properties that are not yet connected. Provides that if a lien for rates or
charges assessed by a regional sewage district is the only lien being collected on a property, the lien may not be
foreclosed at a tax sale or otherwise.