First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
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HOUSE ENROLLED ACT No. 1149
AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning agriculture and
animals.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SECTION 1. IC 15-11-2-9 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
1, 2025]: Sec. 9. (a) As used in this section, "user" includes:
(1) a rural community;
(2) a farmer;
(3) an agribusiness; or
(4) any other individual or entity using the online portal
established under this section for the purposes described in
subsection (d).
(b) The department shall establish an online portal on the
department's website.
(c) The department shall administer the online portal.
(d) The purposes of the online portal shall be to:
(1) assist users in the successful navigation of agricultural or
related topics among various federal and state agencies;
(2) provide a single source for users to access agricultural or
related federal and state funding opportunities;
(3) provide a searchable data base of available federal and
state grants with information on eligibility and deadline
criteria; and
(4) provide regular updates to reflect changes in federal and
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state funding opportunities.
(e) The online portal shall include links that will facilitate the
navigation of the websites of various federal and state agencies,
including the following:
(1) The United States Department of Agriculture.
(2) The United States Department of Agriculture's Natural
Resources Conservation Service.
(3) The United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(4) The department of environmental management established
by IC 13-13-1-1.
(5) The Indiana state board of animal health established by
IC 15-17-3-1.
(6) The office of state chemist (and by virtue of office, the
state seed commissioner under IC 15-15-1-26) established by
IC 15-16-2-24.
(7) The office of community and rural affairs established by
IC 4-4-9.7-4.
(8) Any other federal or state agency, the interaction with
which would be helpful to users.
(f) To accomplish the purposes described in subsection (d), the
online portal shall do the following:
(1) Provide a series of regulatory checklists for users that are
considering diversifying into new markets to assist users in:
(A) the navigation of agricultural and related regulations;
and
(B) the avoidance of punitive enforcement actions before
they arise.
(2) Assist users in collaborating with:
(A) the Purdue University cooperative extension service;
(B) the state climate office hosted by Purdue University;
and
(C) the United States Department of Agriculture;
to create a one stop venue that will help connect users with
responsive data visualization tools and technical assistance
programming.
(3) Provide a one stop venue where users may gather
information regarding, and apply for, available federal and
state agricultural and related funding opportunities.
(4) Include a link to provide users with ongoing updates on the
status of land that was identified as lost farmland included in
the department's inventory of lost farmland, and as reported
by the department, under IC 15-11-9-1.1 (before its
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expiration) or IC 15-11-9-1.3.
(5) Include a formal venue to collect comments from the
public regarding federal regulations that impact Indiana's
rural economy with the goal of assisting the state in providing
vigorous advocacy on behalf of the public.
(6) Include a formal venue where users may provide to the
department reviews and feedback regarding the usefulness of
the online portal.
SECTION 2. IC 15-11-9-1.3 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
1, 2025]: Sec. 1.3. (a) As used in this section, "farmland" refers to
property described in IC 14-22-11-1(a)(2).
(b) Beginning in 2029, and every fifth year thereafter, before
November 1, after the most current release of the United States
Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics
Service's Census of Agriculture, the department shall:
(1) conduct an inventory of all farmland lost in Indiana
during the five (5) years following the department's prior
report; and
(2) identify the primary cause of the reduction of farmland
under subdivision (1).
(c) After conducting each inventory under subsection (b), the
department shall issue a report to the legislative council containing
the department's findings and recommendations, including any
recommended legislation, in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6
before November 1 of the year in which the inventory is conducted.
Within thirty (30) days after issuing the report required under this
subsection to the legislative council, the department shall upload
the report to the online portal.
HEA 1149 Speaker of the House of Representatives
President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Governor of the State of Indiana
Date: Time:
HEA 1149