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Bill to codify Hoosier Homestead program and allow local remonstrance against condemnation held for amendment
Summary
House Bill 1265 would put the Hoosier Homestead Farm Award into statute, create an ISDA registry and allow a limited remonstrance process at the local level before fee-simple condemnation of registered homestead farms; committee discussion ended with agreement to return with technical amendments.
Representative Green presented House Bill 1265 to place the Hoosier Homestead Farm Program into statute and to give qualifying multi-generational family farms a limited local remonstrance process in cases of fee-simple condemnation.
The bill would require ISDA to maintain an electronic registry of homestead farms and to codify program eligibility requirements that currently exist administratively. Representative Green said the program recognizes farms owned continuously by the same family for 100, 150 or 200 years and would provide a local notice and review step before a fee-simple taking by eminent domain. "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. He told the committee the process would not create a blanket exception to eminent domain and local bodies would still weigh whether a feasible and prudent alternative existed.
Witnesses included multiple Hoosier Homestead award recipients and county officials who described the program's cultural significance and the pressure family farms face from development. Linda Norton, an eighth-generation farmer and past honoree, described the genealogy and local history work families complete when applying for the Hoosier Homestead designation.
Quentin Hayes of ISDA testified neutral on HB1265 and recommended statutory clarifications, such as adding tax-payment requirements to the application process and clarifying that protection applies to the designated parcel. Committee members discussed the precise scope of the remonstrance right and whether changes should be made to the draft language.
Ending: Committee members and the bill author agreed to technical edits and to bring an amendment back at a later meeting; the chair held the bill pending those changes rather than taking a final vote.
