Committee hears bill to codify Hoosier Homestead program and create remonstrance process for eminent domain

A House Agriculture Committee hearing reviewed legislation to place the Hoosier Homestead Farm program into statute and to give homestead farms a narrow local remonstrance right when a fee‑simple condemnation is proposed.

Representative Green, sponsor of House Bill 1265, told the committee the measure formalizes the Hoosier Homestead Award Program—created administratively in 1976—and would require ISDA to maintain an electronic registry and provide a local remonstrance process for farms eligible for the award. “1265 simply gives a homestead farm the right to make one final appeal to their local legislative body to review the potential condemnation,” Representative Green said.

Under the bill as explained by its sponsor, the remonstrance applies only to a fee‑simple taking and does not apply to easements, voluntary sales, leases, or compensation negotiations during a good‑faith eminent domain process. The sponsor said the local body (typically a county board of commissioners or a city/town council) would still consider whether a proposed taking lacks a feasible and prudent alternative.

Linda Norton, an eighth‑generation farmer who said her family farm will be a bicentennial farm in 2029, testified in support and said the program recognizes multigenerational farms and their cultural importance. “We live in Johnson County and…there’s continuing pressure for developers wanting to buy your farm ground,” Norton said. Jason Abel, a fourth‑generation farmer and county commissioner, said the bill complements other farmland protection proposals and would help communities facing rapid growth pressures.

Quentin Hayes of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture testified neutrally and described the Hoosier Homestead Award as largely ceremonial, noting application requirements used by ISDA and suggesting possible statutory clarifications such as adding tax payment status and application details to statute. “The program is ceremonial in nature and was instituted in 1976,” Hayes said, and he listed program eligibility details ISDA recommends for statutory language.

Why it matters: Supporters said codifying the program would better document century farms and give families one additional local review step before a fee‑simple condemnation. Committee members discussed the scope of protections and sought technical clarifications; ISDA suggested statutory language to define the parcel covered and other administrative details.

Next steps: The sponsor indicated staff and ISDA were working on technical amendments and that the bill would be held until those changes could be drafted for a future agenda.