These days we’re hooked on two dramas playing out in real life: the IU Hoosiers’ cinematic football turnaround that has led them to Monday’s national championship game, and the lightning-paced legislative action unfolding at the Statehouse.  

To borrow a phrase from IU Coach Curt Cignetti, both “would be a hell of a movie.” But if the former resembles a remake of the basketball classic Hoosiers, the latter is more like Rocky—one battle after another, to add yet another movie reference. 

Whether you’re a sports fan, movie buff, policy nerd, or some combination, break out the popcorn and read on. 

• On the Marquee (Housing Matters) 
• Going Frame by Frame (K-12 Education) 
• A League of Their Own (Township Reorganization) 
• Fan Favorite: The Sequel (Affordability) 
• Coming Soon to a Theater Near You (What We’re Watching Next Week) 
• Supporting Cast (Other Key Issues) 

On the Marquee  

Homelessness remains a top concern in Indianapolis —for the community broadly and especially for businesses located in and around Downtown. SB 285 is one of the session’s most closely watched – and hotly debated – bills. Authored by Republican Senators Cyndi Carrasco and Eric Koch, the bill would establish a statewide prohibition on unauthorized camping on public land, with a structured process that includes a warning, an offer of transportation, and – if noncompliance continues – a Class C misdemeanor. 

SB 285 also requires the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority to set eligibility criteria and requires organizations receiving federal Continuum of Care funding to report on their efforts annually. It also requires law enforcement agencies to report camping-related enforcement data to the state – provisions intended to improve transparency and help policymakers better understand what’s working to reduce unsheltered homelessness. 

Supporters argue the bill resembles a well-intentioned Coach Carter: creating firm but clear expectations for public space management will ultimately help communities address safety, health, and economic impacts. But critics argue it could strain local services, courts, and reporting requirements without adding funding – and focuses undue attention on short-term cleanups, rather than long-term housing solutions. 

🤔Indy Chamber’s Take: We support the goal of ensuring no one has to sleep outside in Indianapolis and that areas like the downtown of our capital city are safe and welcoming to all. We believe a clear prohibition on public camping can be part of achieving this – especially when paired with strong outreach and housing pathways like Streets to Home Indy. We also support the bill’s emphasis on diversion and services rather than automatic criminalization, and we see value in better statewide data and accountability around homelessness outcomes. 

At the same time, we have concerns about any provisions that create barriers to efforts like Streets to Home being successful, and we want to ensure that law enforcement is given the guidance and protection they need to be critical connectors of unhoused individuals to services. Enforcement tools should be used to support pathways to housing and treatment. 

We’ll continue to engage as the bill moves forward, with a focus on making sure Indiana gets both sides of the equation right: clear expectations for public spaces and strong, well-resourced routes off the street and into stability. 

Going Frame by Frame

We told you last week about HB 1423, authored by Republican Rep. Bob Behning, which would create a new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation (IPEC) to manage facilities and transportation for all schools within Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) boundaries while creating a common system of accountability for schools. The corporation is designed to ensure more consistency for families and schools in what has become a choice-rich but fragmented landscape of public charter, district-run, and Innovation Network Schools. The Indy Chamber supports the measure to ensure students have safe buildings, reliable transportation, and clear accountability – no matter which public school they attend. We also believe the bill will streamline systems to create greater efficiency for taxpayers. But the plan is nuanced – and novel – and some key details need to be resolved before the IPEC is ready for its premiere.  

• 💰Moneyball: Front and center in the editing room is how the money will flow. While the IPEC will be empowered to issue debt, the tax dollars would go to school districts and public charter schools, creating a challenge that will require creative solutions. There are also other nuanced issues to work out, such as what happens to buildings owned by public charter schools and financed by non-public dollars. (This occurs because charters receive less public funding and often rely on private philanthropy to help fill gaps for facilities.) Could these buildings also be subject to oversight by a public entity like IPEC? 
• 📽️Pulling back the curtain: A key priority for the Indy Chamber is ensuring transparency over school finances and financial decision-making so that taxpayers and business stakeholders understand how tax dollars are being spent. As policymakers work out the details around the IPEC, ensuring there’s a streamlined way to understand the financial details for so many schools and districts receiving funds will be key.  
• ⏰Timing: Building this complex new structure will take time, and it’s important to ensure steps are sequenced so that dollars are flowing to the right entities by the time consolidated services kick into effect. 

🤔Indy Chamber’s Take: We celebrate the progress and look forward to staying engaged behind the scenes as the final cuts of the bill come to life. This legislation and the new corporation have the potential to be game-changing for families, schools, and Indianapolis, creating a more efficient and collaborative system. 

A League of Their Own  

Bear with us as we reminisce about A League of Their Own, a cult sports classic following the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during World War II. The movie shows how different players and teams can thrive when given common rules, infrastructure, and a chance to compete on the same field. 

In a sense, that’s what HB 1315 is seeking to do in township government in communities meeting certain population and service criteria. The bill, authored by Republican Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler, is aimed at streamlining what lawmakers see as an outdated structure created for a more rural Indiana. Under the proposal, townships that do not operate fire departments, have fewer than 6,700 residents, and fail to meet certain thresholds for providing emergency financial assistance would be required to merge with another township or reorganize under a city or county. Townships that are largely surrounded by cities – at least 80% of their land and 50% of their population within city limits – would have their functions transferred to the city, unless they operate a fire department. 

Importantly, the bill pushes local governments toward consolidation, clearer accountability, and fewer overlapping layers, while still giving them a window to shape how that consolidation happens. 

Like A League of Their Own, independent teams don’t disappear, but they’re brought under one league structure with common rules, shared infrastructure, and centralized operations so the whole system works better. Each township gets a chance to choose its path and help shape the transition – but if it doesn’t step up to the plate in time, the league steps in and assigns the framework.  

Rep. Shonkwiler said the goal is to reduce overlap in services and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent more efficiently, especially where townships no longer provide core services like fire protection.  

Opponents, including township officials, counter that townships provide essential services such as emergency assistance for housing and utilities, cemetery maintenance, and in some cases fire protection and parks. They argue consolidation based on population thresholds risks disrupting services and representation, and they favor an alternative approach that would rely on performance metrics.  

Real life example: In Johnson County, three previously separate townships – Franklin, Union, and Needham – merged into a single township effective January 1, 2022, creating what’s known locally as Franklin-Union-Needham Township (“FUN”). All three township boards voted unanimously in favor of the merger in 2021, and the consolidated entity now serves nearly 30,000 residents and more than 12,000 households, making it the first township merger of its kind in Indiana. The consolidation was pursued to deliver services more efficiently, reduce duplication, and simplify interactions for residents – for example, eliminating confusion about which township office to visit for assistance and reducing redundant administrative costs. 

👀What to Watch: HB 1315 advanced out of the House Committee on Local Government and now heads to House Ways and Means for a review of its fiscal impact, with further debate expected as competing proposals move forward. 

🤔Indy Chamber’s Take: We’ve been supporters of eliminating township government writ large since the blockbuster Kernan-Shepard local government reform report was released in the early aughts. So, two thumbs up and a Critic’s Choice Award to this more balanced, nuanced approach. 

🏆And the Oscar Goes to…Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler, who has been equal parts courageous and ambitious in her efforts to take on this meaty topic early in her Statehouse career. 

Fan Favorite: The Sequel 

“Affordability” buzzed around the Statehouse again this week, and this time, the messenger was Gov. Mike Braun. He used his State of the State address to spotlight affordability, framed rising costs as the defining challenge for Hoosiers, and positioned his administration’s work as focused on making Indiana a place where “your dollar goes further.” 

Rather than unveiling a formal legislative agenda, Braun signaled support for bills already moving through the General Assembly. These include proposals to curb utility rate hikes, ease housing regulations to increase supply, limit cell phone use in schools, restrict public camping, and make it easier to hold some accused criminals pre-trial. On childcare, Braun acknowledged affordability challenges but pushed major action to the 2027 budget session, suggesting future solutions should involve employers having “skin in the game.” 

Braun also highlighted what he called tangible results: a property tax plan projected to save taxpayers $1.5 billion over three years, $465 million in Medicaid savings from tighter oversight, growing GDP outpacing the national average, improved reading scores, a record-high graduation rate, and continued job growth.  

📣 Critics’ Review: Democrats said Republicans are only now embracing affordability after years of resisting similar ideas. House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta said the governor is reacting to growing economic pressure on families, while Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder criticized the administration’s childcare policies, calling childcare “economic infrastructure,” not a side issue. House Speaker Todd Huston countered that Republican efforts have focused on reducing regulations and expanding supply rather than increasing government spending. 

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You  

Since we’re already writing the narrative for the IU football comeback movie, it should be no surprise that we’re also looking ahead to next week’s session calendar. Expect another busy week with multiple hearings on bills we’re following, including:  

• HB 1033, authored by Republican Rep. Danny Lopez, proposes a broad set of changes to how Marion County’s courts are governed and managed. It strengthens the role of a newly defined chief judge (renaming the current “presiding judge”), clarifies who appoints judges, magistrates, and court leadership, and gives the full body of judges more structured control over court administration. We’ll share more following a public safety meeting next week. 
• HB 1001, authored by Republican Rep. Doug Miller, would ease the process of building housing to increase supply, with the goal of making housing more accessible and affordable for Hoosiers. It aims to lower barriers and costs required to build new units through reforming the zoning process and loosening building regulations if local governments do not opt out of the lighter requirements. Though there’s early support, the bill’s hearing was pushed to next week due to time constraints.  
• HB 1002, introduced by Republican Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler, aims to make Hoosiers’ utility costs more affordable and consistent through budget billing plans, provisions to protect income-eligible customers from utility shutoffs during extreme heat, and three-year ratemaking plans. Testimony this week was largely technical, and while there’s general support, stakeholders shared significant input to shape the legislation.  
• HB 1098, authored by Republican Rep. Matt Commons, takes a step toward addressing liability concerns for employers seeking to employ youth under 18 – a key component of a statewide effort to let high school students get on-the-job experience. The bill aims to reduce uncertainty by clearly assigning liability when a student is placed with an employer through an intermediary. While the bill puts primary responsibility for legal and administrative claims on the intermediary, we believe employers should maintain liability, not intermediaries, as they are used to assuming the risk and intermediaries are nonprofits with limited capital. We also advocate for putting provisions in place to protect employers against liability and provide peace of mind. More to come in the House Insurance Committee next week. 

Supporting Cast 

We’re also watching these bills that have implications on the broader policy landscape: 

• HB 1055, authored by Republican Rep. Jennifer Meltzer, allows cities or towns to move elections to even-numbered years to align with federal elections, a move designed to increase voter turnout and streamline costs.  It advanced this week. 
• HB 1012, authored by Republican Rep. Ed Clere, makes Medicaid’s home- and community-based services waivers more transparent and easier to navigate for families and providers. It requires clearer billing statements, asks recipients to review their monthly statements and flag errors, and ensures people are told why they are denied Medicaid if that happens. The bill also creates a new Waiver Waiting List Assistance Fund, using unspent Medicaid waiver dollars to help people who are waiting for services get basic support in the meantime – rather than letting that money revert back to the general fund.  

That’s a wrap on today’s production. We’ll see you back here next week, and in the meantime, happy watching – on the field and in the Statehouse!