The Indiana House Local Government Committee, in its Tuesday morning meeting, amended a Senate bill that aims to merge some of the state’s townships.
State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, authored Senate Bill 270, which would require the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance to compile data on each township, except those in Marion County, by Dec. 31.
According to the bill, the department will assign points to each township, and one with at least four points would merge with one that has fewer than four points. The department will assign points for various reasons, including if a township did not provide assistance in 2023 or 2024, if it doesn’t manage fire protection or emergency medical services on Jan. 1, 2025, or if it didn’t file an annual finance report to the State Board of Accounts in 2023 or 2024.
The bill was heard once by the committee, but it was heard one more time to “help clean up the bill,” state Rep. Chris May, R-Bedford, said.
Previously, some state representatives — including state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary — said the bill is similar to House Bill 1315, authored by state Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler, R-Noblesville, which would dissolve certain townships statewide by Jan. 1, 2028, and transfer powers, duties, offices and properties to a municipality or county. Shonkwiler’s bill passed the House in a 55-44 vote on Feb. 2 and is in the Senate Local Government Committee.
State Rep. Karen Engleman, R-Georgetown, presented the lone amendment at Tuesday’s committee meeting. Engleman’s amendment passed in an 11-2 vote before the bill goes to the House floor.
Engleman called the amendment “a compromise between the House and Senate’s different approaches to township consolidation.”
According to the amendment, townships with more than four points and that share at least 80% of their borders and 51% of their population with a municipality will reorganize within House Bill 1315’s process, instead of merging with another township. The change will help keep government services centralized, Engleman said.
The committee also cleaned up provisions in township criteria, Engleman said, which she believes helped “better align the legislative intent with the letter of the law.”
“The amendment also strengthens the review criteria for townships that are unable to field candidates for elections,” Engleman said. “The amendment allows for townships to appeal their point totals in case of disasters instead of just inaccuracies, helping to account for events outside of anyone’s control.”
The merger timeline is also extended in the amendment, Engleman said, and it would require townships to provide the DLGF with information on their local coverage, including if it has a fire district.
“This bill is here for a good reason,” Niemeyer said. “I really appreciate all the hard work that was done on this bill over the weekend on both sides of the aisle.”
During the 2025 legislative session, Engleman authored House Bill 1233, which aimed to dissolve township government and give an elected county trustee powers and duties regarding township trustees, fire protection and emergency services, according to Post-Tribune archives. The bill also said that on Jan. 1, 2027, all fire protection districts and territories would dissolve, and fire services would be provided in accordance with a county plan.
The bill was sent to the House Local Government Committee but was never heard further.
In 2011, former Gov. Mitch Daniels and the Kernan-Shepherd report called for the complete elimination of township government, spotlighting ways to make government more cost-effective and efficient, according to Post-Tribune archives. The proposal was never passed by the legislature.
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/indiana-house-committee-amends-township-mergers-bill/
