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Committee hears bill to codify Hoosier Homestead program and allow local remonstrance to some eminent‑domain takings
Summary
House Bill 1265 would put the Hoosier Homestead award program into statute, create a registry and permit a local legislative body to hear a remonstrance before a fee‑simple condemnation of a designated homestead farm; ISDA testified neutral and the bill was held for amendment.
A proposal to codify the Hoosier Homestead program and give qualifying multi‑generational farms a formal local remonstrance in fee‑simple eminent‑domain proceedings drew testimony and was left in committee for technical amendment.
House Bill 1265 would place the Hoosier Homestead Farm Program into statute, require ISDA to maintain an electronic registry of homestead farms and create a process by which a homestead farm may seek review by the local legislative body before a fee‑simple taking is carried out. The bill’s sponsor characterized the proposal as a limited procedural protection: it applies only to fee‑simple takings and not to easements, leases, voluntary sales or negotiated acquisitions.
Testimony in support came from multiple farm families and local officials. Linda Norton, who said her family’s operation would be an eighth‑generation farm by 2029, described the Hoosier Homestead recognition as a “symbol of generational grit” and urged codification of the program to preserve farms near fast‑growing urban areas. Jason Abel, a fourth‑generation farmer who also serves as a county commissioner, told the committee policies like HB 1265 and farmland‑preservation proposals such as House Bill 1234 could help communities manage growth pressures and maintain agricultural vitality.
Quentin Hayes, legislative director for ISDA, testified the Hoosier Homestead award is ceremonial in origin, instituted in 1976, and that ISDA would support statutory changes but recommended specific technical additions. Hayes suggested the legislature consider requiring property taxes to be paid up to date and incorporating the application process into statute. He also said the program’s protections would apply to the parcel designated as the homestead farm.
Sponsor remarks described HB 1265 as a narrow, local‑level check that would trigger notice to the local legislative body — typically the county board of commissioners in unincorporated areas or a city/town council in incorporated areas — to review whether a proposed condemnation leaves no feasible and prudent alternative. Proponents emphasized the bill does not create a categorical exemption for homestead farms; local bodies would still apply the usual eminent‑domain legal standard.
The committee held the bill to permit technical changes and an amendment, which the sponsor and ISDA staff said they were working to finalize. No committee vote on HB 1265 was taken at the hearing.
Ending: The sponsor said technical edits were forthcoming and that the bill will return to committee with a chairman’s amendment. ISDA and supporters indicated they will work on statutory language clarifying registry requirements, application criteria and tax/parcel standards.
