State senators on Tuesday heavily amended a bill that overhauls Indiana’s road-funding formula, with the most significant changes coming to the allocation of funds from a state infrastructure grant program and township trustees’ offices.
House Bill 1461, authored by Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, retools the mechanisms of the Community Crossings Matching Grant program to both maintain a grant-based system but also give local communities excess funds based on lane miles and population. It also puts an onus on township trustees to pay for some road maintenance within their jurisdictions.
The Senate Homeland Security and Transportation Committee passed six amendments to the legislation before unanimously advancing it to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The other amendments made technical corrections and increased the required population for counties receiving half of the grant funds from 50,000 to 55,000.
Community Crossings changes
Rather than capping the Community Crossings grant program at $200 million—which a previous iteration of the bill would have done—Pressel’s Amendment No. 31 intends to keep all of the funds “in one bucket.”
The state comptroller would examine the balance of the fund on Dec. 31. The first $100,000 would be allocated for local infrastructure matching grants in the coming year. That would maintain the status quo of the grant program, which Pressel called “awesome.”
In 2026, all of the remaining funds would be deposited into a state highway road construction improvement fund for railroad crossing upgrades.
In later years, the funds left over after the $100 million allocation could go to Marion County for use on secondary streets. That provision has a maximum of $50 million and is only in effect if Marion County matches those funds with new funds.
The remaining funds would be distributed based on lane mileage to counties with at least 5,000 residents. The fiscal note prepared by nonpartisan legislative staff says Community Crossings ended 2024 with $304.5 million and is growing by about $50 million annually.
The same document says that Indianapolis will receive $50 million from this framework in both 2027 and 2028. Fiscal analysts expect the fund to have a remaining balance of $55 million in 2027 and $2.5 million in 2028 to dole out to counties based on lane miles.
Local units that receive a distribution based on lane mileage higher than the maximum grant amount would not be eligible to apply for a grant. The amendment also requires that at least half of the funds available in the grant fund go to counties with a population of less than 55,000.
Changes to township provision
Townships that meet certain requirements would be required under the legislation to create and pay into a township infrastructure fund before July 1. After June 30, all townships would be required to do so. The legislation is effective upon passage.
Those with a capital improvement fund of more than $200,000 and 150% of the township’s total annual budget for the ensuing year would be the first townships to contribute.
Under the legislation, all townships would be required to adopt a capital improvement plan annually. It would include the balance of unrestricted funds that exceed the township’s budget for the following year and the purpose of these unrestricted funds.
Thirty percent of those unrestricted funds that exceed the township’s budget for the following year would go toward a township roads and infrastructure fund. Townships would be required to enter into cooperative agreements with local cities and counties for the roadwork, which could only be within township boundaries and require township board approval.
Indiana Township Association Debbie Driskell testified that the organization is supportive of the changes. She thanked Pressel for getting the bill to “a place where we can have a win-win.”
Several township trustees, including some in Marion County, had signed up to testify about the legislation but ultimately did not. They indicated to the committee chair that they agreed with Driskell’s summary.
A previous version required that townships put 30% of their total annual budget into the fund. It also lacked the requirement to submit a capital improvement plan and the need for townships to report unrestricted fund surpluses. The changes come a few months after nonprofit and faith leaders released a report critiquing Marion County Trustees’ Offices, of which some have surpluses greater than $10 million.