Committee approves bill letting towns annex parcels separated only by railroad tracks

A Senate Local Government Committee unanimously approved House Bill 1058 after proponents and railroad representatives said the measure clarifies long-standing annexation questions where a railroad track separates a town from a contiguous parcel.

The bill, presented by a member of the House, would allow a municipality to annex property that is contiguous except for a separating railroad track without requiring the railroad’s consent, while explicitly prohibiting the municipality from annexing the railroad right-of-way itself. The presenter said the change applies only to the contiguity requirement and leaves other annexation law intact.

“Currently, under current law, if a town wants to annex a piece of property that would be contiguous but is separated by a railroad track, they have to get the railroad’s permission,” the representative said in presenting the measure. The presenter added that the bill contains two safeguards: it treats the parcel as contiguous while forbidding annexation of the rail right-of-way.

Derek Slobut, testifying for Norfolk Southern, said freight railroads operate long linear corridors that often create practical barriers to contiguity and that the bill would remove railroads “from that equation” without changing the remainder of annexation law. Mindy Westrick Brown, representing the Indiana Railway Coalition, said the railroads support the legislation for similar reasons.

Committee members asked whether the change affects other aspects of annexation and were repeatedly told it does not. After brief additional discussion, a committee member moved the bill. The chair called the roll; the committee recorded ten affirmative votes and no negative votes. The motion carried 10–0.

The committee’s approval advances the bill to the next step in the legislative process.