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Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana House Bill 1315 dissolves qualifying small and urban townships and transfers powers to counties or municipalities by 2028
Last action · February 5, 2026: First reading: referred to Committee on Local GovernmentSponsors: Alaina Shonkwiler and 5 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Indiana House Bill 1315 requires qualifying townships with populations under 6,700 or heavily urbanized areas to dissolve and transfer their powers, duties, and property to a designated municipality or county by January 1, 2028. Townships must adopt a resolution by June 1, 2026, naming their designated reorganization unit, or default to county reorganization. Townships operating fire departments are exempt from dissolution.
- Indiana townships are historical local government units that traditionally provide poor relief (township assistance), fire protection, and cemetery maintenance. context
- The Government Modernization Act provides statutory frameworks for local government restructuring and consolidation in Indiana. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Township Trustees
Elected terms of office for township trustees end on December 31, 2027, and their powers and duties transfer to the executive of the designated unit.
Township Residents
Municipalities and Counties
Designated units must absorb dissolved township assets, liabilities, and service delivery responsibilities, including establishing service districts and tax levies.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which townships are required to dissolve under House Bill 1315?
What happens to a township's fire protection services if the township is dissolved?
Who decides which city or county takes over a dissolving township?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the House · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
13 actions- Feb 5, 2026SenateIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Local Government
- Feb 3, 2026HouseReferred to the Senate
- Feb 2, 2026HouseSenate sponsors: Senators Garten, Johnson T
- Feb 2, 2026HouseFloorThird reading: passed; Roll Call 194: yeas 55, nays 44
- Jan 29, 2026HouseAmendment #2 (Shonkwiler) prevailed; voice vote
- Jan 29, 2026HouseFloorSecond reading: amended, ordered engrossed
Show 7 earlier actions
- Jan 27, 2026HouseFloorCommittee report: amend do pass, adopted
- Jan 13, 2026HouseRecommitted to Committee on Ways and Means pursuant to House Rule 126.3
- Jan 13, 2026HouseFloorCommittee report: amend do pass, adopted
- Jan 12, 2026HouseRepresentative Miller D added as coauthor
- Jan 6, 2026HouseIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Local Government
- Jan 6, 2026HouseCoauthored by Representatives May, Lauer
- Jan 6, 2026HouseAuthored by Representative Shonkwiler
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 1 more sponsor
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Local Government Consolidation
The bill shifts away from voluntary township mergers by establishing a hard deadline (January 1, 2028) for the automatic dissolution and absorption of qualifying small and urban townships.
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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