PUBLIC LAW MONITOR

On Wednesday the City of Bloomington filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly purporting to terminate Bloomington’s annexation efforts and prohibit further annexation activities until 2022. The provision was dropped into the state budget bill just hours before the end of the legislative session. The language was designed to affect only Bloomington and the annexation effort underway there.

The lawsuit, which names Governor Holcomb as the defendant, claims the legislation is unconstitutional for two reasons. First, it targets Bloomington and only Bloomington. Article IV, Section 23 of Indiana’s Constitution prohibits so-called “special legislation” that singles out individual communities for regulation. Second, the provision was inserted into the state’s budget bill, which addresses state funding and administration. Article IV, Section 19 of Indiana’s Constitution requires that legislation cover a single subject, while the provision on one community’s annexation is unrelated to state funding or administration. The City is seeking a declaratory judgment on the constitutionality of the legislation and an injunction against enforcement.

With the conclusion of the 2017 Indiana legislative session, Jackson Kelly PLLC has compiled a comprehensive summary of enacted legislation impacting municipalities. Email jclaybourn@jacksonkelly.com for a copy of the summary.

The Indianapolis Star, Evansville Courier & Press, and several other Indiana publications carried an op-ed by me recently relating to Indiana’s home rule principle. Indiana’s Home Rule Act first passed in 1980 and generally grants municipalities the power to govern themselves as they see fit. Now state legislation places those ideals under greater attack than at any time since Hoosier home rule began. Click here to read the op-ed in full.

Residents of Terre Haute recently faced the possibility of a new county jail on prime riverfront property mere feet from parks and a children’s aquatic center. Jackson Kelly PLLC represented residents opposed to the proposed location. County Commissioners subsequently stopped the proposed rezoning and variance, helping preserve the riverfront for superior economic development opportunities. Click here for more from the Trib Star.