(INDIANAPOLIS) - A proposal that would have allowed large developers to build on certain agricultural land without rezoning or public hearings will not advance, according to state lawmakers, as first reported by WTHR-TV.
Sen. Eric Koch, a Republican who chairs the Senate Utilities Committee, confirmed to WTHR-TV that the controversial language in House Bill 1333 is effectively dead.
"The permitted use language in House Bill 1333 will not be moving forward," Koch said in a statement to 13News.
House Bill 1333, authored by Rep. Kendell Culp (R-District 16), included a provision that would have allowed development on some agricultural land deemed less productive or containing lower-quality soil without requiring local rezoning approval. In some cases, the bill would have bypassed public hearings altogether.
The proposal drew criticism from residents and local officials who argued it weakened public oversight and reduced opportunities for community input on large-scale developments, particularly data centers.
In addition to the farmland provision, the bill would have required certain data centers receiving state tax incentives to share a portion of those savings with local governments -- a trade-off critics said did not outweigh the loss of local control.
HB 1333 passed the Indiana House on Monday, Feb. 2, but now faces an uncertain future in the Senate. The Utilities Committee could still amend the bill to remove the disputed language or decline to advance it altogether.
The decision marks a significant retreat from one of the session's more contentious development proposals and signals resistance in the Senate to limiting local zoning authority.