Spotlight HEC
Senate passes bill to protect ag rights
Lebanon, Zionsville officials join 14 others communities to back transit bills
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Upcoming Events
Lobby Days
Date: February 8
Time: 10:45 AM
Venue: Statehouse
Webinars
February 1st or 3rd
Meet Your Legislator
February 1
-Bloomington
-Crawfordsville
-North Vernon
February 3
-Columbus
February 7
-Shelbyville
-Valparaiso
February 8
-Evansville
-Goshen
-Lafayette
-Terre Haute
-Warren
PLEASE NOTE:Some Chamber-sponsored events are not open to the general public; for others, there is a cost to attend.
Find information on upcoming events HERE. |
We need your help to continue our work on Green Energy, Sustainable Agriculture and 21st Century Transportation legislation. Donate Now!
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Three Dangerous Bills Need Your Continued Opposition!
And Help Get the Transit Bill Out of the Senate! In this fast moving session, with just over a month to go, lawmakers are moving forward with three major pieces of legislation that will move our state in the wrong direction: one that weakens environmental protections overall, another that tilts public policy towards factory farm interests, and a third that significantly hurts Indiana's leading clean energy program. Whatever discouragement you may feel about bad public policy moving forward, we need to let our legislators know that the public's interest is the most important interest that lawmakers serve. Please take action to oppose these bills, and also support a mass transit bill in the Senate!The next week will be critical! With a hard deadline to pass dozens of bills in the House and dozens of bills in the Senate, this is our best chance to stop potentially damaging legislation! Please email or call your legislators today on these bills!
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HB 1143: Weakens Indiana's Environmental Agency's Ability to Protect Your Health
 HB 1143, dubbed "No-More-Stringent-Than," will significantly weaken state environmental protection and increase risks to public health by paralyzing Indiana's environmental agency from implementing state-level environmental and public health safeguards to address localized concerns that are not adequately regulated under federal law. In addition, this policy would make Indiana more, not less, dependent on federal regulation, thereby weakening state rights. This bill would make it illegal, for example, for Indiana's environmental agency to proceed on its own to tighten its drinking water standards beyond what the federal government does.
Where is it now?
HB 1143 passed out of the House Environmental Affairs committee on January 23, by a vote of 9-3 split along party lines, and passed out of the House by a vote of 68-28. HB 1143 will now go to the Senate, where it could be heard as early as February 8. ACT NOW!Call your Indiana State Senator and urge him/her to oppose HB 1143 if it makes it out of committee! You can find your legislators HERE, or send an email through our Action Center. |
SB 186: Gives Unfair Protections to Factory Farms Proceeds to the House!
 If you already called your legislator to SB 186, thank you. But we still need your help! This dangerous bill will force legislators, regulators and judges to favor factory farm interests over the public interest. That would unfairly shield factory farm owners from being held fully accountable for polluting our air and water, harming neighbors, reducing property values, and contributing to food-borne illnesses.
Where is it now?
Unfortunately, it passed out of the Senate last week almost unopposed and is on its way to the Indiana House of Representatives, where it is likely to be heard in committee on February 6. So, we need to act fast.
ACT NOW!
Call or email your State Representative TODAY and urge him/her to oppose SB 186! You can find your Representative here, or you can send an email with just one click through our Action Center. If you want to do more, please contact Speaker of the House, Brian Bosma, and ask him to assign this bill to the House Judiciary Committee, where it will get more review than the House Agricultural Committee.
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 SB 340 will seriously undermine the "Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard" (EEPS), the most ambitious energy efficiency program in the state's history, and Indiana's most important clean energy program. If passed, SB 340 will allow industrial users, who make up more than 50% of the total energy savings of the EEPS, to withdraw from this proven energy savings program.
Where is it now?
SB 340 passed the Senate Utilities committee on January 23 by a party-line vote. It will go to the full Senate for a vote early next week, and will then head to the House. ACT NOW!Tell your legislators that we should not be moving backwards - and urge them to oppose SB 340! Call your State Senator this week to stop SB 340 from passing out of the Senate...and if it does make it, call your State Representative and urge him/her to oppose this bill as well. Alternatively, send an email through our Action Center today! |
CRITICAL DEADLINE: Transit Bill to Hit the Senate Floor Tuesday for Defining Vote!
 The central Indiana transit bill -- SB 176 -- has passed out of committee in the Senate. But amendment language added in committee could threaten the bill's final passage in the Senate.
Read the Indy Star's report.
Mass Transit needs your support! Please contact your state senator TODAY and urge him/her to vote YES on SB 176.
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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.
Sincerely,
Jesse Kharbanda
Executive Director
Hoosier Environmental Council
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