We need your help to continue our work on Green Energy, Sustainable Agriculture and 21st Century Transportation legislation. Donate Now!
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Upcoming Events
Lobbying Days:
Mass Transit Day at the Statehouse
Date: February 13
Venue: Indiana Statehouse
For more information, please contact Tim Maloney.
Webinars:
Save the Date! HEC's next webinar will come around the time that bills move from one house to the other!
Date: March 1
Venue: online
Register today!
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Bill Watch
HEC will be tracking and weighing in on dozens of bills during the legislative session. For more information on bills affecting Indiana's environment please visit us! You will find fact sheets, talking points, action alerts, and events - including Meet Your Legislator events around the state.
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Did you miss HEC's latest webinar?
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Contact Your Legislator on Important Environmental Legislation 
Thanks to your support, a few bills ( SB 88, HB 1475) that might have threatened Indiana's environment, public health, and the legal rights of citizens have stopped moving forward. But some of these bills are not yet gone for good...and we will need your help to keep them from progressing this session!
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Legislation that would Weaken Protections from Factory Farms (HB 1582, SB 571):
 Small-scale farms in Indiana have increasingly disappeared or been turned into enormous livestock confinements with lagoons of liquified manure and urine, and super-concentrated smells that can make living conditions unbearable for people who live nearby.
Agri-business lobbyists are also pushing for legislation to take away the ability of local governments to regulate factory farms and stealthily eliminate the property rights and ability of Hoosiers to protect their homes and families from foul odors, water contamination and other problems created by huge animal-feeding operations. Two such extremely concerning bills are SB 571 and HB 1582. Where is it now? HB 1582 has been assigned to the House Judiciary committee. SB 571 has been assigned to Senate Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee. Neither have been heard in committee yet. ACT NOW! - Send an email on the coordinated efforts to undermine Hoosier's property rights and legal rights through our Action Center!
- Call or email your legislators and urge them to oppose legislation that will protect big ag! You can find your legislators here.
- Contact the Chair of the House Judiciary committee, Representative Greg Steuerwald (R-Avon), and urge him not to hear HB 1582! You can reach Representative Steuerwald by email or call his office: (800) 382-9842.
- Contact the Chair of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committee, Senator Carlin Yoder, and urge him not to hear SB 571! You can reach Senator Yoder by email or call his office: (800) 382-9467.
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Conservation Funding:
HB 1001 - Representatives Tim Brown and Greg Porter
 The biennial budget will determine funding levels for all government programs and agencies for the next two years. Conservation funding - particularly for the Indiana Heritage Trust, the Bicentennial Nature Trust, and Clean Water Indiana - should be increased so that Indiana will have the funds needed to protect our precious natural areas and waterways. Where is it now? The budget bill, HB 1001, is being considered in House Ways and Means committee. Once it has made it out of the House, it will need to go through Senate Appropriations Committee as well. ACT NOW! Call or email your legislators and urge them to support reasonable funding for these programs: - $2 million/year for the Indiana Heritage Trust;
- $2.5 million/year for the Bicentennial Nature Trust; and
- $1.3 million/year for Clean Water Indiana and the Division of Soil Conservation.
More information on this funding recommendation and the need for these programs can be found at the Indiana Conservation Alliance.
You can find your legislators here. |
Phosphorus-Free Lawn Fertilizers:
SB 546 - Senator Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso)
HB 1202 - Representative Errington (D-Muncie)
 This bill will increase consumer education and awareness about the need to reduce our use of lawn fertilizers containing phosphorus to protect Indiana's waterways from nutrient runoff that leads to toxic blue green algae blooms. Where is it now? HB 1202 was assigned to the House Natural Resources Committee; SB 546 was referred to the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee. ACT NOW! - Contact your legislators and urge your State Senator to support SB 546 and your State Representative to support HB 1202. Find your legislators here. Or, visit our Action Center to send an email with just one click!
- Contact the Chair of the Senate Environmental Affairs committee, Senator Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso), and the Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, Representative Sean Eberhart (R-Shelbyville), and urge them to schedule a committee hearing for these bills -- SB 546 in the Senate committee (Charbonneau), and HB 1202 in the House committee (Eberhart).
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Thank you for taking action on these critical bills! If you need help reaching your legislator, or want more information on these bills, please write Falon French at ffrench@hecweb.org.
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Just a reminder that you're receiving this email because you signed up for our e-newsletter or expressed an interest in the Hoosier Environmental Council through a meeting or event. We hope that you'll appreciate staying in touch with us through monthly e-newsletters, and occasional calls to action. In return, we promise to keep you informed about the environmental happenings in Indiana. Rest assured, we're protective of your personal information and your time. Be sure to add comments@hecweb.org to your address book so we'll land in your inbox!
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