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Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana bill extinguishes easements on vacated rights-of-way after 20 years
Last action · January 8, 2026: First reading: referred to Committee on Local GovernmentSponsor: Robert Morris
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What This Bill Proposed
Indiana House Bill 1396 voids certain s and s on vacated local roadways twenty years after their vacation, beginning July 1, 2026. This automatic expiration does not apply to easements granted in writing by the underlying landowner.
Property owners and utility or access right holders face a strict twenty-year sunset on unwritten s tied to abandoned public roadways, altering long-term land access and property title clearances across the state.
- Indiana legislative bills are considered during sessions of the General Assembly, with statutes codified under the Indiana Code. 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.
Property Owners
Property owners gain cleared land titles as unwritten easements and encumbrances on vacated rights-of-way are automatically extinguished after twenty years.
Easement Holders
Holders of unwritten easements or encumbrances on vacated rights-of-way lose their claims and associated rights on the twentieth anniversary of the vacation.
Key Facts
- Extinguishes easements or encumbrances on or within a vacated right-of-way on the twentieth anniversary of the vacation.
- Extinguishes all rights relating to or in reliance on such extinguished easements or encumbrances.
- Exempts any easement or encumbrance that was granted in writing by the owner of the land previously constituting the right-of-way.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do easements on abandoned roadways get extinguished under this bill?
Are all easements on abandoned roadways automatically wiped out after 20 years?
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 · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Jan 8, 2026HouseIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Local Government
- Jan 8, 2026HouseAuthored by Representative Morris
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
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 35)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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