Staff Report
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS — Legislation that could lead to the expansion of broadband internet service in rural areas passed the General Assembly before the clock ran out on the session Wednesday.
House Enrolled Act 1065, which is on its way to the governor for action, was the top legislative priority of the Indiana Farm Bureau in 2018.
The bill authorizes the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to study broadband expansion and tools to assist in its deployment. It also establishes a grant program for broadband deployment.
The Farm Bureau said other bills that helped the state’s agriculture business, including:
- HEA 1089 – Makes changes to the authority of the St. Joseph River Basin Commission. Includes surveyors and Soil and Water Conservation District staff on the commission.
- HEA 1115 – Protects landowners from liability if someone goes through or on their property for the purposes of accessing a trail or greenway.
- HEA 1227 – Adds waterhemp, marestail, Palmer amaranth, Powell amaranth, smooth pigweed, rough pigweed and poison hemlock to the noxious weed list.
- HEA 1233 – Authorizes a study committee to review government programs and research related to non-point source impacts on water quality. It also approves the use of purple marks as a way to expand the options for marking the property to provide notice against trespassing.
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