You may have seen a lot lately on social media about the controversy surrounding an Agricultural Development Bill in the Indiana General Assembly. That bill (House Bill 1333) would limit local public input for projects such as Data Centers and Solar Farms.
State Rep. Kendell Culp (R-Rensselaer), who wrote the bill, tells Hoosier Ag Today he isn’t happy with it either.
“I was looking at trying to find a new unique way to protect our farmland,” said Culp, who introduced the legislation.
He says the original intention of the bill was to protect Indiana’s prime farmland and encourage businesses to build on land with substandard soils instead. That’s until his bill reached the House Utilities Committee.
“That’s when the intent of the bill changed,” according to Culp. “That was certainly not the bill that I filed. Basically, they tried to make it a ‘Data Center Bill’. I worked very hard to make sure it had nothing to do with data centers except for the fact that we wanted them to start paying the Indiana state sales tax.”
In the current version of the bill, construction projects on those farmlands or properties with substandard soils would no longer require local input from public hearings or zoning changes.
As his bill began to move, Culp said he tried to make those changes to it.
“I offered an amendment in two committees on this bill. First, in the Ways and Means committee. I was also going to offer it in the second reading on the House floor when any member could make that amendment. It was drafted. It was filed. It was disappointing to me that I was not allowed to amend my own bill. That’s kind of unusual.
“So, my option then, was if this bill was to advance in this form—which I did not like this form—I would have to work on this with the Indiana Senate. So, I went to the Senate sponsor, Senator Eric Koch (R-Bedford). He gave me assurances that that provision of ‘loss of local control’ would go out of the bill, and that’s the right thing to do,” he said.
Koch, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Utilities, confirmed that in a statement issued on Thursday:
“The permitted use language in House Bill 1333 will not be moving forward.”
Culp added that if his bill is amended by the Indiana Senate comes back to the House and it’s still not to his liking, he said he’ll kill the bill altogether.
“That’s a commitment that I’ve certainly made, and I could tell you that I don’t think it will ever get that far, because I don’t think the Senate would probably vote for that,” he said.
As of Friday afternoon, the bill has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Utilities. The committee has not yet scheduled their next meeting for a hearing on the bill.
CLICK HERE to read more about House Bill 1333.
CLICK BELOW to hear Hoosier Ag Today’s complete interview with State Rep. Kendell Culp about House Bill 1333.
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BELOW is State Rep. Culp’s statement that was shared late Thursday evening on the Elect Kendell Culp Facebook page:
I work hard to represent my constituents and the communities of HD16. I listen to their concerns and engage in their communities, then formulate legislation in response.
I consistently hear concerns about losing our farmland to non-agricultural uses. I authored legislation in 2023 to take inventory of Indiana’s lost farmland. The results were astounding. Nearly 29,000 acres a year of Indiana farmland is lost to other uses and developments! If that trend continues, the average Hoosier will see a loss of 2.2 million acres during their lifetime.
As a result, I authored legislation in both the 2025 and 2026 session to initiate a statewide farmland protection program. Unfortunately, both bills failed to advance.
This year I tried a different approach by introducing HB1333. My intent was to incentivize development to move away from prime farmland. This bill would protect 84% of our ag land. Currently, none is protected. As the bill began to move, I realized the unintended consequences this specific approach would have on local control. As a former county official, I’m a strong advocate of local decision making. So I introduced an amendment to correct this, but the amendment was not accepted.
With the rapid speed this legislative session is moving and changes others made to the bill, it created challenges to improve the bill.
I have a commitment from the Senate sponsor to remove the controversial language that limits local control from the legislation that I also tried to do in the House. If that doesn’t happen, I’ve asked him to kill the bill completely.
I remain committed to work alongside farmers and local governments to protect Indiana farmland. I appreciate those who have weighed in with their comments. That provides helpful support as we look for responsible, effective solutions to limit the loss of Hoosier farmland.
Thank you,
Kendell Culp