TRUSTIN

ROAD FUNDING

• HB 1461 reforms the Community Crossings Matching Grant Program (CCMG). The program will now set aside the first $100M in the fund for the traditional CCMG program while lowering the match to 20% for smaller communities. CCMG will continue to not require a local wheel tax to access the program.
• The new portions of the program will set aside $20M per year for the next five years for the TRAX program, designed to fund rail grade separation projects. Another $50M is set aside for the city of Indianapolis if it can match it with new local funds. Estimates indicate that, in the first few years of implementation, the available formula funding will be around $180M statewide.
• This approach attempts to balance maintaining the current CCMG structure, which has been transformational for smaller communities while giving larger communities greater incentive to participate in the program. Importantly, the entirety of the community crossings fund will continue to exclusively fund local road projects.
• The bill also increases some tolling authority for the Governor and clarifies the differences in bridge maintenance responsibilities between the cities and the counties.
• HB 1461, authored by Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) and sponsored by Sen. Mike Crider (R-Greenfield), passed the House in its final vote on Thursday with a vote of 69-16 and will now be sent to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

UNSAFE BUILDINGS LAW

• SB 197 increases the time frame to 30 days in which a property owner can respond to an unsafe building violation before being fined. This is an increase from current law, which allows 10 days. Previous versions of the bill addressed issues with how the liens were handled, detailing the time limit at 90 days. The amended version of SB 197 is a significant improvement for municipalities.
• In the House, multiple amendments were added to the bill on other subject matters. The amendments included: restrictions on public camping and homelessness policies that would have affected many local ordinances and practices throughout the state, increased penalties for public dumping of trash, and voiding ordinances on utility data usage reporting. All of these additions were considered ineligible for SB 197 in the conference committee because they are not considered germane to the bill.
• SB 197, authored by Sen. Aaron Freeman (R-Indianapolis) and sponsored by Rep. Andrew Ireland (R-Indianapolis), was heard in a conference committee on Thursday and will be brought back for a final vote next week.

STATE BUDGET

• The updated revenue forecast was provided to the State Budget Committee on Wednesday projecting almost $2B less in revenue for the upcoming budget than was predicted in December 2024, spurring increased conversations about necessary cuts and new revenue options.
• Various programs that have been helpful for the Aim membership have already been removed from the budget and are unlikely to return given the revenue outlook, including READI, Next Level Trails, and certain programming funding for main street organizations. The revenue shortfall has also renewed conversations about the potential of a cigarette tax increase, with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce announcing their support for the increase within minutes of the revenue forecast becoming public.
• HB 1001, authored by Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton) and sponsored by Sen. Ryan Mishler (R-Mishawaka), is currently being discussed in conference committee and will likely be one of the final bills voted on during the 2025 session.

CABLE FRANCHISE FEES

• HB 1427 proposes to reduce all cable franchise fees by up to 1 point (if the current fee is 5%, it goes down to 4%, if currently at 4%, down to 3%, etc.). This constitutes a cut in cable franchise fees of between 20-50% depending on the current local rate. These fees are used for right-of-way maintenance and repair from cable work and installation.
• Given all of the revenue cuts from SB 1 and other changes this year, Aim opposes this change and is working with the legislature on removing this provision from HB 1427.
• HB 1427, authored by Rep. Craig Snow (R-Warsaw) and sponsored by Sen. Eric Bassler (R-Washington), is awaiting a date for conference committee and will likely be among the final bills voted on during the 2025 session.

Listen to more about this week on the fifteenth episode of the 2025 Market Street to Main Street Podcast Series, Aim’s legislative episodes of the Hometown Innovations Podcast and a supplement to this e-newsletter. In this episode, Jennifer is joined by Amy, Campbell, and Isabel to chat about key issues of the possible penultimate week of the 2025 Legislative Session.

To listen to Market Street to Main Street, please visit The Terminal post and click the “play button” on the audio player. Or you can subscribe to Aim Hometown Innovations Podcast on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.