IBLC: Emissions deregulation will hurt Hoosiers across the board

On Sept. 14, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would be rolling back Obama and Biden-era regulations which required coal and gas power plants to capture 90% of climate-altering pollution by 2032. The previous administration estimated that these regulations would prevent 1,200 premature deaths, 360,000 cases of asthma and 57,000 lost workdays. Today, Gov. Mike Braun was joined by a representative of the EPA to announce Indiana will happily oblige these rollbacks.

State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago), chair of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus (IBLC), issued the following statement on behalf of the IBLC:

"Gov. Braun alleges these deregulations will save billions of dollars in energy production. Even if that is the case, what we save on energy production we will have to spend in healthcare mitigating the harms of this disastrous decision. Hoosiers simply cannot afford any measures that would further jeopardize our health and our environment. Indiana is already one of the most polluted state in the nation. We are 36th in the nation for health care outcomes – in part due to our high rates of heart disease, cancer and diabetes – and have the tenth highest per-person healthcare costs in the nation. Gov. Braun cannot claim this move is about 'affordability' when our healthcare costs are bound to skyrocket as a result. It is reprehensible for the Braun administration to jeopardize public health in order to potentially lower utility bills when there are better paths toward affordability that won’t make our state sicker.

"This decision will hurt Hoosiers across the board but will disproportionally impact Black Hoosiers and low-income Hoosiers. A 2026 report found that Black Americans are more likely than their white counterparts to live near coal plants. In 2023, the World Resources Institute found that 45% of Americans living within 30 miles of a coal or energy plant are 'disadvantaged' economically. There are countless ways to lower utility rates without sacrificing the health of our vulnerable neighbors. This is a careless approach from Gov. Braun, and Hoosiers will pay the price."

Novak calls for closure of expensive coal plants, condemns deregulation push

On Sept. 11, a ruling was handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that effectively allows for the closure of a coal plant in Michigan that had previously been forced to stay open by a federal order. The case was brought to the Court of Appeals after the order was challenged by the Michigan attorney general's office. The full ruling can be found here.

Two coal plants in Indiana are currently being forced to stay open under similar federal orders.

On Sept. 14, the Environmental Protection Agency announced they would be rolling back regulations that required coal and gas power plants to capture 90% of climate-altering pollution by 2032. These regulations were projected to save thousands of lives in the coming years and save Americans $120 billion in health-related costs through 2047.

State Rep. Randy Novak (D-Michigan City) issued the following statement:

"I would strongly encourage the Indiana attorney general to challenge the federal order keeping the costly and inefficient coal plants in Indiana open. Just last month, NIPSCO filed a request with regulators to collect $38 million from ratepayers in return for complying with the federal order that forced them to keep the Schahfer plant open. A recent estimate showed that NIPSCO customers may be paying up to $174,000 a day to offset the cost associated with the plant. This isn't about politics, it's about what is best for the people digging through their wallets every month to pay their power bill.

"These new deregulation pushes are ludicrous. Instead of holding utility companies' feet to the fire, the Trump and Braun administrations are bailing them out and allowing them to cut costs by endangering the environment and our public health. Now is the time to expect more from companies like NIPSCO, not less.

"If we were trying to cut the price of toys, we wouldn't let kids play with scissors just because they are cheaper to make. Jeopardizing people's health and safety while imposing losses on utility companies that are passed on to Hoosiers is a ridiculous way to try and lower costs for consumers."

Burton Issues Statement on Utility Emissions Deregulation

On Sept. 14, the Environmental Protection Agency announced they would be rolling back Obama and Biden-era regulations that required coal and gas power plants to capture 90% of climate-altering pollution by 2032. The previous administration estimated that these regulations would prevent 1,200 premature deaths, 360,000 cases of asthma and 57,000 lost workdays. This policy change is expected to be the subject of intense legal scrutiny.

State Rep. Alex Burton (D-Evansville) issued the following statement:

"At every level, we’re seeing government choose shortcuts over solutions that actually improve people’s quality of life. I understand that families are concerned about energy costs. But making electricity more affordable should never mean accepting a sicker population as the price of doing business.

"Hoosiers already face real barriers to accessing affordable healthcare. The last thing we should be doing is weakening environmental protections that help prevent illness in the first place. When we allow more pollution into our communities, we risk increasing the health problems that families are already struggling to afford and manage.

"We should be pursuing energy policies that lower costs and protect public health. We can invest in reliable, affordable energy without making clean air and the health of Hoosiers negotiable. That is what responsible leadership looks like. Simply rolling back protections and hoping the consequences don’t reach our communities is not."

Pryor comments on AES rate rehearing, urges the IURC to do the right thing

‍Yesterday, Sept. 2, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) voted to reconsider AES Indiana’s rate increase case. This decision signals the IURC's potential willingness to reverse its June approval of the rate increase. 

State Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis) released the following statement: 

“In June, the IURC had a chance to stand up to corporate interests, stand by ratepayers and do the right thing. Unfortunately, they did nothing of the sort. This is an opportunity to correct that mistake. 

“Before the upcoming rate increase, AES was already getting excessive profits. The only reason this increase was proposed to begin with was to enrich AES shareholders and make the company look more profitable ahead of the BlackRock acquisition.

“It is unacceptable for AES to put more of a squeeze on ratepayers who are already struggling to make ends meet. That’s why I’m strongly urging the IURC to put people over profits and deny AES’s rate hike request.” 

Novak presents former Coolsprings Fire Chief with the Circle of Corydon

On Aug. 16, State Rep. Randy Novak (D-Michigan City) presented the Circle of Corydon award to Mick Pawlik. Pawlik was the chief of the Coolspring Township Volunteer Fire Department for over 30 years. The Circle of Corydon is one of the highest honors the State of Indiana awards to citizens.

Novak issued the following statement:

"I know firsthand the amount of hard work that our first responders put in every day to keep our communities safe. However, Mick's service to his community goes far beyond being a fire chief. He is the type of guy that would give you the shirt off his back, even if he's never met you before in his life. Having known him personally for almost 50 years, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mick has dedicated his life to improving the condition of others. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who is more deserving of the Circle of Corydon.

"I was honored to present this award on behalf of myself, Sen. Mike Bohacek and Rep. Jim Pressel, who nominated Chief Pawlik. I appreciate the governor choosing to recognize such an admirable public servant."

Hamilton calls on FSSA, Braun to pause Medicaid disenrollments for Hoosiers in disaster zones

State Rep. Carey Hamilton (D-Indianapolis) is echoing calls from fellow House Democrats for the FSSA and Gov. Mike Braun to ensure Hoosiers in disaster-affected areas of the state can keep their Medicaid coverage and in-home care in the wake of severe weather.

On Aug. 11, multiple parts of the state were hit by a derecho and historic flooding, killing at least seven Hoosiers and displacing more than 1,000. President Trump declared a federal major disaster declaration for 21 counties on Aug. 25. In Northwest Indiana, the storms caused the largest power outage in NIPSCO's history. Tens of thousands of residents in that area remained without power for nearly two weeks. Indianapolis residents also faced significant flood damage.

Hamilton is joining other House Democrats in calling on the state to take three specific actions for residents in the affected counties.

• Pause procedural Medicaid terminations. Direct FSSA to suspend disenrollments for beneficiaries in disaster-declared counties who cannot complete a renewal or return requested paperwork because of the storm, so no eligible Hoosier loses coverage over a form that was washed away, a notice that never arrived or lack of access to the virtual FSSA Benefits Portal.

• Extend deadlines for waiver level-of-care assessments. Extend the deadlines for level-of-care assessments and reassessments under Indiana's Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers, and allow them to be completed by phone or video, so seniors, people with disabilities and medically fragile Hoosiers do not lose in-home service.

• Use every available tool to do it. Move now on the steps the state can take on its own, and pursue federal flexibilities, including an 1135 waiver and a disaster relief state plan amendment, that make these protections airtight.

"Throughout the state, many Hoosiers are rebuilding their homes, replacing the groceries – and maybe medication – they lost during the power outage, and settling back into their normal routines," Hamilton said. "In the wake of historic flooding and severe storms, it's not shocking that paperwork might get lost, or that a person simply trying to survive in their home might miss a deadline for returning paperwork. We need to be looking out for one another, and these action items are just a few steps to ensure that vulnerable Hoosiers don't lose vital care because of these storms and flooding."

‍ ‍

Harris calls on FSSA, Braun to pause Medicaid disenrollments for Hoosiers in disaster zones

‍State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago) is calling on the FSSA and Gov. Mike Braun to ensure Hoosiers in disaster-affected areas of the state can keep their Medicaid coverage and in-home care in the wake of severe weather.

On Aug. 11, multiple parts of the state were hit by a derecho and historic flooding, killing at least seven Hoosiers and displacing more than 1,000. President Trump declared a federal major disaster declaration for 21 counties on Aug. 15. In Northwest Indiana, the storms caused the largest power outage in NIPSCO's history. Tens of thousands of residents in that area remained without power for nearly two weeks.

Harris is joining other House Democrats in calling on the state to take three specific actions for residents in the affected counties:

• Pause procedural Medicaid terminations. Direct FSSA to suspend disenrollments for beneficiaries in disaster-declared counties who cannot complete a renewal or return requested paperwork because of the storm, so no eligible Hoosier loses coverage over a form that was washed away, a notice that never arrived or lack of access to the virtual FSSA Benefits Portal.

• Extend deadlines for waiver level-of-care assessments. Extend the deadlines for level-of-care assessments and reassessments under Indiana's Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers, and allow them to be completed by phone or video, so seniors, people with disabilities and medically fragile Hoosiers do not lose in-home service.

• Use every available tool to do it. Move now on the steps the state can take on its own, and pursue federal flexibilities, including an 1135 waiver and a disaster relief state plan amendment, that make these protections airtight.

"Two weeks after these storms rolled through Northwest Indiana, many of us are just getting back to some sense of normalcy," Harris said. "It's cruel to even consider kicking an eligible person off of Medicaid or to remove in-home care after what many of our neighbors have been through. Since Aug. 11, many Hoosiers have simply been trying to survive in their homes. People have lost food and medication, and some have had thousands of dollars' worth of damage impact their homes. It's hard to blame them if they forgot — or simply lost — paperwork in the wake of this disaster. The least we can do as a state is ensure vulnerable Hoosiers don't lose yet another necessity as a result of these storms." 

Burton issues notice to constituents struggling to navigate Medicaid changes

During the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation that creates sweeping changes to Indiana's Medicaid program eligibility requirements. Many of these requirements for the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

Recent news investigations have highlighted stories of Hoosiers on the Home and Community Based Services Medicaid waiver who have faced greatly reduced hours and reductions in services after the implementation of a new level-of-care assessment tool earlier this year.

State Rep. Alex Burton (D-Evansville) issued the following statement:

"Around the state, more and more Hoosiers are experiencing difficulties with the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) and the Medicaid programs they depend on for healthcare. In Evansville, around one in four residents is enrolled in Medicaid. As changes to these programs are rolled out in the coming months, I strongly encourage anyone facing difficulties to reach out to my office.

"Too often, lawmakers in Indianapolis forget that while they are working out the numbers and logistics of Medicaid cuts, they are making reckless decisions that are detrimental to the well-being of our most vulnerable neighbors. We must use every available tool to give families stability, direction and grace as they navigate these programs. We cannot sit back and allow our fellow Hoosiers to slip through the cracks."

Burton's constituents can reach out to his office at h77@iga.in.gov for assistance with navigating FSSA and Medicaid. While legislators cannot influence the order in which cases are addressed by FSSA, they can make sure the agency is aware of the case and that it hasn't been forgotten.

Moseley calls on NIPSCO to credit customers for days without power

In the wake of the NIPSCO outage that left many Porter County residents without power for two weeks, State Rep. Chuck Moseley (D-Portage) is calling on NIPSCO to provide customers with a 100% credit for every day they went without power, applied to their next bill. This includes delivery charges and fixed fees.

"The people of the 10th House District have sent a message loud and clear to NIPSCO: They expect a 100% credit for every day they went without service due to the lack of planning by NIPSCO. NIPSCO didn't create the storm, but the ratepayers of the 10th District believe NIPSCO helped create the chaos.

"Stop being responsible to the shareholders. Start being responsible to the ratepayers and stop treating us like an ATM.

"Thank you to our hard-working NIPSCO linemen of USW Local 12775 and Local 13796 for their hard work, dedication and commitment to their customers in their efforts to restore service throughout the NIPSCO territory affected by the storm."

Novak calls for public hearings, legislative action on utility regulation

Today, Aug. 26, Northwest Indiana's Democratic House delegation, joined by the ranking minority member of the House Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications Committee, called on Speaker Todd Huston to direct the General Assembly to investigate NIPSCO's response to the Aug. 11 derecho that left hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers without electricity — thousands for more than two weeks. The full letter is attached.

State Rep. Randy Novak (D-Michigan City) issued the following statement:

"While I welcome the governor's call for an investigation into NIPSCO's mishandling of the recent widespread power outage, the General Assembly needs to prioritize legislation regulating utilities. We are calling for public hearings that will help the legislature gather information on what needs to be done to rein in these monopolies like NIPSCO that have failed in their duty to their customers. This will allow us to come back to the Statehouse in January with a better perspective on how to prevent future outages and extreme rate hikes. NIPSCO owes its customers answers after the total mess we have been through.

"The governor can hire and fire as many regulators as he wants, but a revolving door is not going to solve our problems with utility companies. The bottom line is that the IURC is beholden to the rules set for it by the General Assembly. If we want to see real change with how our utilities are regulated, the legislature needs to take action. Utility companies like NIPSCO have to be held to a higher standard.

"During the 2027 regular session, I think that all members of the General Assembly need to take a long hard look at the pain that rising, expensive utility bills are causing their constituents. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting legislation that gives Hoosiers real relief."

Northwest Indiana lawmakers call for legislative investigation into NIPSCO’s storm response

Northwest Indiana's Democratic House delegation, joined by the ranking minority member of the House Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications Committee, today called on Speaker Todd Huston to direct the General Assembly to investigate NIPSCO's response to the Aug. 11 derecho that left hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers without electricity — thousands for more than two weeks.

In a letter sent to the Speaker, Chair of the Legislative Council, the lawmakers urged the Personnel Subcommittee of the Legislative Council to assign the topic to the Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications interim study committee under SECTION 2 of Legislative Council Resolution 26-01, and to hold public hearings in the affected communities of Northwest Indiana.

The delegation specifically asked that the study committee (1) take public testimony in the Region rather than only at the Statehouse, so that members hear directly from residents and small businesses who went without power, and (2) require NIPSCO to appear before the committee for questioning.

“Northwest Indiana residents have endured more than two weeks without electric service,” the lawmakers wrote. “Those residents are frustrated that despite paying ever-higher rates to NIPSCO, the utility struggled to restore service while Illinois utilities restored service within four days of the disaster.”

Reports have circulated of out-of-state line crews providing aid who described the emergency response as poorly coordinated.

The House Democrats cited the General Assembly's independent responsibility to examine what went wrong and to be prepared to file legislation when the session convenes in January.

“The General Assembly has a responsibility to perform its own independent, public investigation of NIPSCO’s response to ensure it is prepared to introduce any necessary legislation during the upcoming legislative session,” the letter stated. “We should be acting with a sense of urgency to ensure any shortcomings in the response to this natural disaster are not suffered again by Northwest Indiana or any region of our state.”

A copy of the letter is available here.

Signed by: State Reps. Carolyn Jackson (HD 1-Hammond), Earl Harris Jr. (HD 2-East Chicago), Ragen Hatcher (HD 3-Gary), Randy Novak (HD 9-Michigan City), Chuck Moseley (HD 10-Portage), Mike Andrade (HD 12-Munster), Vernon G. Smith (HD 14-Gary), and Matt Pierce (HD 61-Bloomington), ranking member of the House Committee on Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications.

Garcia Wilburn calls on Braun, FSSA to protect Hoosiers’ Medicaid coverage in disaster-struck counties

Today, State Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn (D-Fishers) called on the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) and Gov. Mike Braun to take immediate steps to keep disaster-affected Hoosiers from losing their Medicaid coverage and in-home care during the recovery from this month's disaster.

Beginning Aug. 11, a derecho with at least two tornadoes and historic flooding swept across Indiana, killing at least seven Hoosiers and displacing more than 1,000. On Aug. 15, President Trump approved a federal Emergency Declaration covering 53 counties. In Northwest Indiana, the storms caused the largest power outage in NIPSCO's history. Ten thousand households remain without electricity nearly two weeks later.

Garcia Wilburn, a member of the House Committee on Public Health, is asking the state to take three specific actions for residents in the affected counties:

• Pause procedural Medicaid terminations. Direct FSSA to suspend disenrollments for beneficiaries in disaster-declared counties who cannot complete a renewal or return requested paperwork because of the storm, so no eligible Hoosier loses coverage over a form that washed away, a notice that never arrived or lack of access to the virtual FSSA Benefits Portal.

• Extend deadlines for waiver level-of-care assessments. Extend the deadlines for level-of-care assessments and reassessments under Indiana's Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers, and allow them to be completed by phone or video, so seniors, people with disabilities and medically fragile Hoosiers do not lose in-home services.

• Use every available tool to do it. Move now on the steps the state can take on its own, and pursue federal flexibilities, including an 1135 waiver and a disaster relief state plan amendment, that make these protections airtight.

"FSSA's communication problems with Medicaid beneficiaries were making headlines before this storm ever hit," Garcia Wilburn said. "Now we have families who lost everything in the water, and the state is still asking them for paperwork. We should be helping these Hoosiers hold onto their coverage, not letting a deadline finish what the flood started.

"In Hamilton County, Muncie and across the flood zone, people are pulling water out of their homes and searching for whatever documents they have left. Nobody should lose their health coverage because a renewal notice is at the bottom of a flooded basement. FSSA has the authority to pause these terminations, and it should do it today.

"You can't ask someone in Gary or Munster who has been without power for nearly two weeks to answer a notice they never got, on a portal they can't log into. For seniors and people with disabilities who depend on in-home care, a missed deadline means losing life-sustaining services."

Indiana used these exact tools during the COVID-19 emergency, when FSSA allowed waiver level-of-care determinations to be done by phone and extended annual reassessment deadlines by six months so people would not lose their in-home care. Other states have paused Medicaid redeterminations for residents of disaster-hit counties after hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes, and federal rules specifically allow states to do so when a natural disaster makes it impossible for people to respond.

Garcia Wilburn also pointed to a step the Braun administration has already taken for the same disaster victims: On Aug. 17, the Indiana Department of Insurance called for a 60-day moratorium on insurance companies canceling any policies of Hoosiers directly affected by the storms, along with a suspension of late-payment penalties.

“The governor has already made sure families won't lose their insurance because a bill came due in the middle of a flood,” Garcia Wilburn said. “Their Medicaid deserves the same protection. Gov. Braun has declared the emergency and secured the federal declaration. Directing FSSA to protect coverage is the natural next step, and it's one he can take now.”