First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE ENROLLED ACT No. 1616
AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning natural and cultural
resources.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SECTION 1. IC 6-1.1-24-3, AS AMENDED BY P.L.27-2023,
SECTION 2, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 3. (a) This section does not apply to vacant or
abandoned real property that is on the list prepared by the county
auditor under section 1.5 of this chapter.
(b) When real property is eligible for sale under this chapter, the
county auditor shall post a copy of the notice required by section 2 of
this chapter at a public place of posting in the county courthouse or in
another public county building at least twenty-one (21) days before the
earliest date of application for judgment. In addition, the county auditor
shall, in accordance with IC 5-3-1-4, publish the notice required in
section 2 of this chapter once each week for three (3) consecutive
weeks before the earliest date on which the application for judgment
may be made. The expenses of this publication shall be paid out of the
county general fund without prior appropriation.
(c) At least twenty-one (21) days before the application for
judgment is made, the county auditor shall mail a copy of the notice
required by section 2 of this chapter by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to any:
(1) mortgagee;
(2) purchaser under an installment land contract recorded in the
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office of the county recorder; or
(3) person who claims a substantial property interest of public
record;
who annually requests, by certified mail, a copy of the notice.
(d) The notices mailed under this section are considered sufficient
notice of the intended application for judgment and of the sale of real
property under the order of the court.
(e) For properties not sold at their initial tax sale, the county auditor
may omit the descriptions of the tracts or items of real property
specified in section 2(b)(1) and 2(b)(5) of this chapter for those
properties when they come up for sale at subsequent tax sales if:
(1) the county auditor includes in the notice a statement that
descriptions of those tracts or items of real property are available
on the website of the county government or the county
government's contractor and the information may be obtained in
an alternative form from the county auditor upon request; and
(2) the descriptions of those tracts or items of real property
eligible for sale a second or subsequent time are made available
on the website of the county government or the county
government's contractor and may be obtained from the county
auditor in an alternative form upon request in accordance with
section 3.4 of this chapter.
(f) If taxes assessed on a mineral interest (as defined in
IC 32-23-10-1) remain unpaid and the mineral interest is eligible
for sale under this chapter, in addition to the notice requirements
described in subsections (b) and (c), the county auditor shall do the
following at least twenty-one (21) days before the date of
application for judgment:
(1) Post a copy of the notice required in section 2 of this
chapter on the county's website.
(2) Provide a copy of the notice required in section 2 of this
chapter to the department of natural resources.
SECTION 2. IC 6-3.1-22-8, AS AMENDED BY P.L.166-2014,
SECTION 28, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 8. (a) Subject to section 14 of this chapter, and
except as provided in section 15.5 of this chapter, a taxpayer is
entitled to a credit against the taxpayer's state tax liability in the taxable
year in which the taxpayer completes the preservation or rehabilitation
of historic property and obtains the certifications required under section
9 of this chapter.
(b) The amount of the credit is equal to the lesser of ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) or twenty percent (20%) of the qualified
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expenditures that:
(1) the taxpayer makes for the preservation or rehabilitation of
historic property; and
(2) are approved by the office.
(c) In the case of a husband and wife who:
(1) own and rehabilitate a historic property jointly; and
(2) file separate tax returns;
the husband and wife may take the credit in equal shares or one (1)
spouse may take the whole credit.
SECTION 3. IC 6-3.1-22-15 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 15. (a) The amount of
tax credits allowed under this chapter may not exceed two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($250,000) in a state fiscal year beginning July 1,
2001, or thereafter.
(b) If the total credits approved by the office in a state fiscal
year under this chapter equal the maximum amount allowable in
the state fiscal year under subsection (a), the office shall not
approve an additional application for the credits in that state fiscal
year.
(c) If a credit allowable under section 8 of this chapter results in
credits being granted in excess of the maximum amount allowable
in a state fiscal year under this section, the office shall approve a
credit of the maximum amount allowable under this section for
that state fiscal year minus the previously approved credits for that
state fiscal year.
(d) For purposes of this section, a credit allowed for qualified
expenditures incurred before July 1, 2024, and approved by the
office before March 10, 2025, shall be treated as being allowed for
a state fiscal year beginning before July 1, 2024.
SECTION 4. IC 6-3.1-22-15.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 15.5. If:
(1) a taxpayer was granted a credit under this chapter by the
office before March 10, 2025, for a qualified expenditure; and
(2) the expenditure was claimed in a taxable year other than
the year in which the preservation or rehabilitation of the
historic property was performed;
the credit described in this section may be claimed in the first
taxable year beginning after December 31, 2024, and may be
carried forward as set forth in section 14 of this chapter.
SECTION 5. IC 14-8-2-1.1 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
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1, 2025]: Sec. 1.1. "Abandoned property", for purposes of
IC 14-31-4, means:
(1) a submerged aircraft;
(2) a submerged watercraft, including a ship, boat, canoe,
skiff, raft, or barge;
(3) the rigging, gear, fittings, trappings, and equipment of a
submerged aircraft or watercraft;
(4) the personal property of the officers, crew, and passengers
of a submerged aircraft or watercraft; or
(5) the cargo of a submerged aircraft or watercraft that has
been deserted, relinquished, cast away, or left behind;
for which attempts at reclamation have been abandoned by the
owners and insurers.
SECTION 6. IC 14-8-2-126.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 126.5. "Historical value", for
purposes of IC 14-31-4, means the quality of significance
exemplified by:
(1) an object;
(2) a structure;
(3) a site; or
(4) a district;
that is included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register
of Historic Places.
SECTION 7. IC 14-31-4 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS
A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
1, 2025]:
Chapter 4. Submerged Lands Preserves
Sec. 1. The purposes of this chapter are to:
(1) fulfill the requirements to be met by the state under the
federal Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987; and
(2) provide special protection in perpetuity for abandoned
property and features and formations in:
(A) Lake Michigan; or
(B) the Ohio River;
that have historical, archeological, recreational, ecological,
geological, environmental, educational, scenic, or scientific
value.
Sec. 2. (a) The department may establish a submerged lands
preserve for any area of submerged lands in Lake Michigan or the
Ohio River that:
(1) contains:
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(A) a watercraft; or
(B) an aircraft;
of historical value;
(2) contains:
(A) a watercraft; or
(B) an aircraft;
constituting abandoned property; or
(3) contains other features of historical, archeological,
recreational, ecological, geological, environmental,
educational, scenic, or scientific value.
(b) When establishing a submerged lands preserve, the
department shall consider whether creating the preserve is
necessary to:
(1) protect either abandoned property possessing historical or
recreational value; or
(2) protect significant underwater geological or
environmental features.
(c) Each submerged lands preserve established must encompass
the designated submerged land area and extend upward to include
the surface of the water.
(d) Within each submerged lands preserve established, the
department shall govern access to and use of the submerged lands
preserve, including regulating or prohibiting the alteration,
destruction, or removal of abandoned property, features, or
formations within a preserve.
(e) The department may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to
implement this chapter.
Sec. 3. If a nature preserve dedicated under IC 14-31-1 includes
abandoned property, the department shall reclassify the nature
preserve as a submerged lands preserve.
SECTION 8. [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025] (a) IC 6-3.1-22-15(b)
and IC 6-3.1-22-15(c), both as added by this act, apply to credits
first awardable after March 9, 2025.
(b) This SECTION expires July 1, 2028.
SECTION 9. [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025] (a) The legislative
council is urged to assign to an appropriate interim study
committee the topic of studying the economic value of public land
for recreation in Indiana.
(b) The study described in subsection (a) must include all of the
following:
(1) The direct and indirect economic impacts of public
recreational lands on local and regional economies.
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(2) Tourism, employment, and small business development
associated with recreational use of public lands.
(3) The value of ecosystem services and health benefits
provided through recreational access to public lands.
(4) Best practices from other states in valuing public land
used for outdoor recreation.
(c) This SECTION expires December 31, 2025.
HEA 1616 — Concur Speaker of the House of Representatives
President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Governor of the State of Indiana
Date: Time:
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