The Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill late Thursday that would allow almost any two local political units to merge without state legislative approval.
House Bill 1362, offered by Rep. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo, sets out which government units could unite, including a city and a county, two townships or even two counties.
one of two ways: either the two units' legislative bodies would each adopt resolutions or 10 percent of registered voters could sign a petition.
Next, the legislative bodies of each unit, such as the Vanderburgh County Commissioners and the Evansville City Council in the local example, would set up a committee to draft the plan to consolidate.
Under the bill, the plan must include:
A description of the new setup of taxing districts under the merged units.
A listing of what services will be provided in which areas.
A plan for how the bonds and other debts and assets of the two units would come together.
A description of who would run the newly merged government and how they would be elected.
A plan for what will happen to all personnel and labor agreements with the two units.
Once the plan is drafted, it must go before the voters as a ballot question and must pass each unit's set of unique voters. For example, with the local consolidation discussion, the city voters must pass the plan and the noncity, county residents must pass the plan.
The House vote on the plan was 73-23. Local Reps. Dennis Avery, Dave Crooks, Suzanne Crouch, Phil Hoy, Trent Van Haaften and Troy Woodruff voted yes. Rep. Russ Stilwell did not vote.
The bill includes a provision that allows consolidation proceeding undertaken under any other law to remain valid, meaning if the Vanderburgh County-specific bill also passes, local consolidation backers could choose to push forward under either model. Currently House Bill 1344, which covers just the local merger discussions, count passage of the final plan in a general, countywide vote, meaning its chances for passage would be much higher.
But several House members said they won't vote for House Bill 1344's final passage unless it counts noncity, county residents' votes separately. The House will take up the bill next week.