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Committee hears Hoosier Homestead bill; members hold measure for technical amendment
Summary
House Bill 1265 would put the Hoosier Homestead Farm Program into statute and create a local remonstrance process for family farms facing condemnation. Testimony emphasized preservation of multigenerational farms; the committee agreed to hold the measure for technical changes and consider an amendment at a later meeting.
A representative advancing House Bill 1265 told the Indiana House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee the measure would codify the Hoosier Homestead Farm Program and provide a narrow remonstrance process for farms designated as Hoosier Homestead Farms facing a fee-simple eminent-domain taking.
"House bill 1265 first puts the Hoosier Homestead Farm Program into statute," the presenter said, adding the bill would create an electronic registry and allow a homestead farm a local appeal to the county board of commissioners or the municipal legislative body if a fee-simple condemnation is proposed. The presenter framed the bill as limited: it would not affect eminent-domain acquisitions that are easements, voluntary sales or negotiated settlements.
Linda Norton, who described her family as an eighth-generation farm, said the award and recognition matter to families and urged support for statutory recognition. "We live in Johnson County and as I'm sure you're aware of the proximity to Indianapolis, there's continuing pressure for developers wanting to buy your farm ground," Norton said, and she said they value the Hoosier Homestead designation.
Jason Abel, a fourth-generation farmer and county commissioner, said HB 1265 and other preservation efforts "would provide another piece" of a broader strategy to keep agricultural heritage and support communities experiencing development pressure.
Quentin Hayes, legislative director at the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, testified neutral on HB 1265 and described the Hoosier Homestead Award as "ceremonial in nature and was instituted in 1976." Hayes recommended technical clarifications for the statute, including whether property taxes must be current and how the application and registry would be defined in statute.
Committee members discussed possible language changes and political balance on the proposed protection board. Representative Green (closing the bill) said staff and ISDA were working on technical edits and that the bill would be held until those changes are ready for the committee's next meeting.
Because the committee returned the measure for technical amendment rather than voting, there was no committee outcome recorded for HB 1265 at this hearing. The author and ISDA staff agreed to work on amendments and bring updated language to the committee in a future meeting.
Background: supporters cited the ISDA Hoosier Homestead recognition program and the recent ISDA inventory of lost farmland to argue for statutory recognition and a limited local review step before a fee-simple condemnation of a designated homestead farm.
Next steps: ISDA and the bill author will draft technical amendments; the committee indicated the item will appear on a future agenda once those edits are completed.
