Indiana Democrats’ Statehouse roundup: utilities, property taxes, public lands, DCS safeguards, and Guard/ICE accountability

Written from press releases

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — January 28, 2025

A cluster of Indiana Democratic press releases this week touched on issues with direct relevance for Bloomington and Monroe County residents — from electric and gas bill affordability to property-tax transparency, child-welfare oversight, public-lands planning, and debates over expanded enforcement powers at the state and federal level.

class="wp-block-heading">Yoder links Minneapolis deaths to expanding ICE visibility in Indiana

Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, issued a statement criticizing aggressive federal immigration enforcement tactics after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, and as she said Hoosiers are seeing more visible ICE activity around the state. Yoder argued that broad authority and limited oversight can escalate encounters and erode trust, discouraging crime reporting and cooperation with law enforcement.

Recent reporting has identified Pretti as a U.S. citizen and ICU nurse who was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026, with DHS facing scrutiny and new details emerging about the shooting.

Yoder’s SB 67 passes Senate, aims to tie public lands to health and disaster planning

In a separate release, Yoder announced that Senate Bill 67 passed the Senate and would direct the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to study how public lands can improve public health outcomes and reduce costly damage from natural disasters, using existing resources and without new taxes or mandates.

House Democrats push (and largely lose) a slate of utility-bill amendments on HB 1002

Several House Democratic releases focused on House Bill 1002, a high-profile utility affordability measure moving this session.

Democrats said they offered amendments aimed at immediate bill relief and consumer protections — including limiting rate increases, restricting winter shutoffs, ending (or pausing) the sales tax on residential utility bills, requiring more public hearings, requiring reimbursement for certain outage-related losses, and tightening oversight of utility-company financial moves. Among the lawmakers highlighted:

• Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, promoted amendments aimed at medical-device shutoff protections, senior payment-assistance disclosures, outage reimbursement, and more utility oversight.
• Rep. Carey Hamilton, D-Indianapolis, backed “community energy” language (solar/wind/battery storage) she said could lower bills by generating power locally.
• Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster, pushed multiple accountability measures (including caps and seasonal shutoff restrictions) while citing steep increases faced by NIPSCO customers in Northwest Indiana and ongoing complaints about billing spikes after meter installations.
• Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, criticized House Republicans for blocking—on procedural grounds—an amendment that would bar utilities from passing lobbying/political costs onto ratepayers.

For readers trying to track what HB 1002 does overall, the bill has been covered as a significant attempt to reshape portions of Indiana’s utility affordability framework, including billing predictability and other changes.

Porter amendment would add “savings” line item to 2027 property-tax bills

Rep. Gregory W. Porter, D-Indianapolis, said he passed an amendment requiring county treasurers to list whether a homeowner saved money — and how much, if applicable — on their 2027 property-tax bill. Porter argued it would provide transparency about impacts of the property-tax changes lawmakers approved, saying many homeowners will not see lower bills versus what they paid in 2025.

Garcia Wilburn’s HB 1036 advances, would require in-person check before DCS case closure

Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn, D-Fishers, said House Bill 1036 passed unanimously out of the House Judiciary Committee. The bill would require DCS caseworkers to see a child in person within 30 days before closing or discharging a case, prompted by high-profile child welfare tragedies, she said.

Gary real-estate flexibility bill (SB 232) clears Senate unanimously

Sen. Mark Spencer, D-Gary, said SB 232 passed the Senate unanimously and would give the City of Gary more flexibility in disposing of certain real property, which he argued could support lakefront development and job creation.

Niezgodski’s SB 228 passes Senate, supports long-term South Bend trails/commission work

Sen. David Niezgodski, D-South Bend, said SB 228 passed the Senate unanimously to strengthen the Midwest Continental Divide Commission, tied to long-term planning for a trail system and regional connectivity in St. Joseph County.

DeLaney and Pierce warn against National Guard “military police” expansion in HB 1343

Two releases — from DeLaney and Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington — targeted HB 1343, which would authorize the Indiana National Guard to establish a military police force and grant police powers under certain conditions.

DeLaney said his amendment would have required local agreement before Guard military police could be deployed to enforce civil laws in a city; he said it was rejected. Pierce said his amendment would have removed language he views as allowing deployment of a paramilitary force into communities without local consent; he tied his warning to events in Minneapolis.

Pierce said, “This is the most dangerous thing I’ve ever seen moving through the legislature. It’s playing with fire. It allows the Governor to deploy a paramilitary force, with little training compared to civilian police, in our neighborhoods anytime the Governor considers it necessary. What happens when you deploy a poorly trained paramilitary force in our communities? All you need to do is look at Minneapolis, Minnesota. You get a mother shot in the head after dropping her child off at school. You get a young ICU nurse shot in the back at point-blank range. You turn on the TV and see the videos, and you ask yourself,  ‘How can this happen in our country?’ We see the tragedies that occur when one person has unchecked power. We are living in a time when the federal government is deploying paramilitary forces to communities it doesn’t like, and people are getting killed. Then, government officials lie to the American people about what happened,” said Pierce.

“Why in God’s name would you give that kind of power to Indiana’s governor? The House should reject this dangerous bill. This is not who we are as Americans or Hoosiers,” said Pierce.

The post Indiana Democrats’ Statehouse roundup: utilities, property taxes, public lands, DCS safeguards, and Guard/ICE accountability first appeared on The Bloomingtonian.