HOW THEY VOTED
House Enrolled Act 1210
Here’s a look at how area lawmakers voted on adopting the conference committee reports for HEA 1210 last week, passing the bill.
Yays: Reps. Robb Greene, R-Shelbyville; Craig Haggard, R-Mooresville; Peggy Mayfield, R-Martinsville; Sens. Rod Bray, R-Martinsville; Cyndi Carrasco, R-Indianapolis; Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis; Greg Walker, R-Columbus
Nays: Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland
INDIANAPOLIS — Governments will now have the option to post public notices on their websites beginning in July 2027.
Newspapers, along with their websites, remain an option too — but won’t be a requirement.
House Enrolled Act 1210 addresses several aspects of local government finances, including local income tax structures and budgets. After being amended days before the Indiana General Assembly session ended, the bill includes language making the publishing of local and state government public notices optional in newspapers. Governments would have the option to publish in the print or electronic edition of a newspaper, the print or electronic edition of a locality newspaper, or on the respective government’s website, effective July 1, 2027.
Other provisions include standardizing public notice formats; creating a standardized digital notice form by the Indiana State Board of Accounts; multiple fallback methods if a qualified newspaper fails or refuses to publish notices in a timely manner; updates to the deadlines to publish certain notices; and prohibitions on charging people to view notices online.
Pamela Wells-Lego, executive director of the Hoosier State Press Association, said the language added to HEA 1210 gives governments the option to replace a “proven, no-cost, third-party system with a government-managed alternative.” The Daily Journal and its sister AIM Media Indiana newspapers are members of the association.
“For more than two centuries, newspapers have fulfilled a critical public role by publishing notices that keep Hoosiers informed about actions taken by government and private entities — actions that directly affect taxpayers and property owners. This system works because it relies on an independent, third-party source: the locally-owned newspaper,” Wells-Lego said Friday.
“Indiana newspapers have further strengthened this process by creating and maintaining a statewide public notice website at no cost to the state or taxpayers. Newspapers upload all notices to this portal, giving the public 24/7 access on any computer or smartphone.”
The language was tucked into a 200-page amendment introduced by State Sen. Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville, and was adopted unanimously by the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee. Initially, the amendment had the changes take effect on July 1 of this year, but during a conference committee, the effective date was pushed back a year. This was after lobbying from HSPA.
The final conference committee report was adopted by the House 91-3 and the Senate 48-0 on Feb. 27. HB 1210 awaits Gov. Mike Braun’s signature as of Friday morning. By law, he has seven days to sign or veto the bill after receipt, and if he doesn’t sign it, the bill automatically becomes law on the eighth day. His office received the bill on Friday.
When a bill with similar language came up earlier this session, House Bill 1283, government associations expressed support for the changes. State Rep. Alex Zimmerman, R-North Vernon, the author of HB 1283, described the bill as a taxpayer savings bill.
Scott Bowling, executive director of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials, previously said HB 1283 would free up dollars for schools and give them more flexibility. Jake German, a lobbyist representing Indiana County Commissioners, acknowledged there are gaps with internet access in the state, but when counties look at tax policies after property tax revenue cuts from Senate Enrolled Act 1 of 2025, removing the requirement to publish public notices in newspapers would allow governments to stretch tax dollars in the most efficient way possible, he said during committee testimony.
HSPA leadership argues that the changes now on track to become law in HEA 1210 give an “unfunded mandate” to local governments. Each political subdivision would be responsible for developing and maintaining its own website, requiring clerks and staff to upload notices, Wells-Lego said.
“Hoosiers would then need to search multiple sites to find information, reducing accessibility and transparency,” Wells-Lego continued.
Over the next several months, HSPA plans to work collaboratively with stakeholders to modernize public notices while preserving transparency and independent oversight, Wells-Lego said. She also referenced comments from Jim Tarrant, executive director of the Public Notice Resource Center, who spoke of how public notice is a “cornerstone of transparency and accountability.”
“Public notice exists to ensure government is not the sole publisher of its own legal actions,” Tarrant said. “Eliminating independent publication removes a critical safeguard. Public notice is a cornerstone of transparency and accountability. Shifting it to a centralized government platform expands government control, eliminates independent oversight, and harms local businesses — without providing clear public benefit.”
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