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Committee holds Hoosier Homestead bill that would give century farms a local appeal against condemnation
Summary
Representative Greene presented House Bill 1265 to place the Hoosier Homestead program into statute and to create a limited remonstrance process allowing qualifying multi‑generation farms a local appeal against fee‑simple condemnation. The committee deferred the bill to allow technical amendments.
State Representative Greene introduced House Bill 1265, which would codify the Hoosier Homestead Farm Program and create a limited process for qualifying homestead farms to remonstrate at the local level if a fee‑simple taking by eminent domain is proposed.
The bill would put the current ceremonial Hoosier Homestead award program into statute, require ISDA to maintain an electronic registry of homestead farms, and trigger a notice to the local legislative body when an offer to acquire all or part of a designated homestead farm is rejected by the family. Representative Greene said the measure “simply gives a homestead farm the right to make one final appeal to their local legislative body to review the potential condemnation.”
Why it matters: testimony noted there are more than 6,000 Hoosier Homestead Farms and that many are multi‑generation family farms. Supporters said the bill offers a procedural check — a local review — when a public entity seeks to take family farmland by fee‑simple condemnation.
Testimony and agency position
- Linda Norton, an 8th‑generation farmer and Hoosier Homestead recipient, testified in favor of the bill and described the program’s importance to families who have preserved land for generations.
- Jason Abel, a fourth‑generation farmer and county commissioner, said policies like HB 1265 complement farmland‑protection proposals and can help communities that face rapid growth pressure.
- Quentin Hayes, legislative director for ISDA, testified the department is neutral on HB 1265. Hayes noted the Hoosier Homestead Award program is ceremonial, suggested technical changes (for example, whether property taxes must be current and how parcels are defined), and recommended specifying details of the registry and application process if the program is codified.
Committee action
Representative Greene indicated the authors were working with ISDA on technical changes. The committee did not take a final vote on HB 1265 and the author stated he would hold the bill until technical edits were addressed for a subsequent meeting. The clerk recorded: “I’m going to hold this until they get that worked out for our next meeting.”
What the bill would not do
- HB 1265 does not create a blanket bar to condemnation; the bill’s remonstrance process is limited to fee‑simple takings of designated homestead farm parcels and does not apply to easements, voluntary sales, or good‑faith negotiations.
Next steps
The author and ISDA will work on technical amendments; the bill will return to committee after those edits are drafted.
