INDIANAPOLIS - The Senate approved a handful of changes Tuesday to a bill that would provide the framework for local government consolidation.
A significant change in the legislation would give noncity residents of populated counties additional influence on whether a consolidation referendum would be successful.
House Bill 1362 once had a specific provision for counties with populations of 170,000 or above. It allowed those counties to merge, after several steps, based on a simple majority of voters.
Some legislators, however, said rural residents feel such a structure would leave them without a voice if city support for consolidation is strong.
So on Tuesday, Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, added a provision he called a compromise. It would still count the referendum as a simple majority countywide, but a merger would be blocked if 65 percent of voters in the city or outside the city vote against the plan.
"This way rural Indiana will still have a voice," Delph said.
Even before voters could consider consolidation, however, the legislation requires several preliminary steps. Voters can initiate consolidation by a petition drive, which the legislative bodies would have to endorse. Or the legislative bodies of both units could pass a resolution to undertake merger talks.
Then the legislative bodies would appoint a committee to draft a detailed plan. It would have one year to do so. The legislative bodies could vote to accept the plan or bounce it back to be rewritten. If the legislative bodies accept the plan, it would go before the voters as a ballot question. Sen. David Long, R-Fort Wayne, also changed the provision for the local legislative bodies rejecting a merger plan. If after the original plan was drafted, either legislative body voted no on it, it would still bounce back to the committee for a redo.
But the attempts to redo and pass it could only last another year. If either legislative body still rejects it, a petition drive with 10 percent of registered voteres could take the merger plan to a ballot question anyway.
House Bill 1362 is eligible for Senate review today.