The Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on June 1, 2023.
State Sen. Spencer Deery began the 2024 Indiana General Assembly with one goal in mind—put a policy on the books that would prevent gigantic water withdrawals from his community, including the 100 million gallons a day that the state’s economic development agency wants to send via pipeline to a massive planned business park in Boone County.
That’s what led sophomore lawmaker Deery, of West Lafayette, to co-author Senate Bill 295. The legislation aimed to put some legislative oversight and transparency requirements on the Indiana Economic Development Corp., which has been under increased scrutiny due to a proposed 52-mile pipeline that would carry water from a Wabash River aquifer to Boone County’s planned LEAP Research and Innovation District. (LEAP is an acronym for “Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace.”)
The session ended just as a six-way Republican race for governor picked up speed, however, and lawmakers appeared to pump the brakes on the topic. Prominent players involved in the project, like former IEDC leader Brad Chambers and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, are now in the race.
Deery, a Republican who worked directly with former Gov. Mitch Daniel at Purdue University for more than a decade, attributes the stall, at least in part, to the upcoming election.
“I think unquestionably, it being a governor year [where] you have multiple individuals with ties in one way or another to IEDC, I think there was not a lot of desire to wade into that debate this year,” Deery told IBJ.
The bill passed through the Senate with a 44-5 vote, but did not receive a hearing in the House, where it was assigned to the Ways and Means Committee.
Committee Chair Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, did not respond to a request for comment.
The legislation would have required that the IEDC allow legislative leaders to add two non-voting members from within the Statehouse to the organization’s board. It also would have required the IEDC, which spent more than $125 million to acquire 1,577 acres of land in Boone County in 2022 alone, to disclose plans to purchase land totaling more than 100 acres to local residents.
Deery said he plans to reintroduce similar legislation in 2025. From his viewpoint, the organization has become too focused on big deals that can give it a bad reputation.
His community has soured to the concept of economic development, “and that should concern anybody who is supportive of economic growth as being a value that we prioritize in the state.” He told IBJ he wants to see more focus on attracting the highest number of jobs at the lowest cost.
Sen. Brian Buchanan, another co-author of SB 295, is less certain that the competitive primary made an impact on the bill. But like his colleague, he wants to keep it on the table.
“I think [Senate Bill 295] could be helpful both to the IEDC and to local communities as well,” Buchanan told IBJ. “So it’d be a win-win, in my opinion.”
In late February, legislative leaders had little to say about the future of the legislation and gave no indication of why it didn’t move forward. Both House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, both told reporters during media availabilities that they weren’t sure what the future of the legislation might be.
It’s not completely unusual for legislators to hold off on certain measures due to an election year. Also this session, they opted against a measure that would limit the ability of an attorney general candidate to run for office if they receive a disciplinary action resulting in license suspension. Lawmakers said the provision wasn’t intended to target current Indiana Attorney Todd Rokita, but University of Indianapolis associate professor of political science Laura Merrifield Wilson said it’s often hard to separate the person from the position.
“Brad Chambers is not the IEDC, nor is Todd Rokita the Attorney General’s Office, but it would be hard to look at any changes they propose and not think that’s in direct response to the person who held or is holding that office, in my opinion, even if it isn’t intentional,” Wilson told IBJ.
How the topic is playing out in the GOP primary
While Chambers’ competitors have attacked him for what they perceive as top-down, secretive practices at the IEDC, he’s made clear attempts to defend the strategy.
In 2022, Intel chose Ohio over Indiana for a $20 billion semiconductor plant. Chambers pointed to that loss, which occurred early into his time as leader of the IEDC, as a reason for the aggressive strategies of the state economic development agency.
“We would be pouring concrete, directing steel and hiring 1,000s of high wage jobs for Intel, today, if Indiana was ready. I put us in a position to be ready with the LEAP District,” Chambers told reporters during a press conference Monday.
He also defended the IEDC’s practice as part of “playing to win.” He said states like North Carolina, Ohio and Texas all fight for projects like the $4 billion investment in the LEAP District from Eli Lilly and Co.
Still, other candidates echo the sentiment of the supporters of the bill. During a forum on business and government Tuesday, they called for reeling in the IEDC’s power in exchange for more local control and transparency.
Eric Doden, who led the organization from 2013 and 2015, said the current strategies are indicative of government overreach.
“I’ve been very clear on this that the IEDC should not be acting as a developer,” Doden said.
Crouch, whom Chambers has argued had the opportunity to study water availability during her nearly eight years in office, called for a strategy shift to put more power in local communities.
Curtis Hill, the former Indiana attorney general, said the IEDC was well intended but cast astray and that its focus should be on uplifting economically stalling communities rather than “spending billions of dollars to target an area that’s growing anyway.”
The primary election is May 7.
By Taylor Wooten, Indianapolis Business Journal
