Senate Agriculture Committee approves rewrite of grain-buyers law, sends SB 461 to appropriations

Senator Leising, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, opened a lengthy hearing on Senate Bill 461, saying the measure fixes a drafting omission and revises the state's grain buyers and indemnity statutes. The committee adopted Senate Amendment No. 1 by consent and voted to advance the amended bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee by a roll call of 8 yeas, 0 nays, 1 excused.

The bill rewrites the grain buyers statute to replace a loosely defined "failure" regime with a clearer, tiered process that triggers required agency action, witnesses said. "This process now ... trigger[s] action by the agency once a licensed entity's performance falls below the thresholds," said Josh Trenary of the Indiana Pork Producers Association, who described the months-long stakeholder working group that produced the draft.

Why it matters: The changes are intended to reduce uncertainty after a 2020 license surrender and a subsequent Huntington Superior Court decision that, witnesses said, found the agency's earlier practice gave too much unfettered discretion. Supporters told the committee the rewrite aims to protect farmers who store or deliver deferred-price grain to licensed dealers while giving the licensing…