The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana bill requires new and renovated drive-throughs to install safety bypass lanes by 2027
Last action · December 8, 2025: First reading: referred to Committee on Homeland Security and TransportationSponsor: J.D. Ford
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
Indiana Senate Bill 75 requires certain drive-through facilities constructed or renovated after December 31, 2026, to include a separate next to drive-through lanes for emergency vehicle access and vehicle exits. The bill directs the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission to adopt implementation rules and sets an effective date of July 1, 2026.
Property owners building or majorly renovating drive-through restaurants, banks, or pharmacies after 2026 must dedicate at least ten feet of unobstructed width for emergency s, while existing facilities lacking physical space are granted exemptions.
- The Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission is an Indiana state body responsible for adopting and maintaining statewide building, fire, and safety codes. 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.
Owners of drive-through facilities
Property owners undertaking new construction or major renovations after December 31, 2026, must include a 10-foot-wide bypass lane meeting specific design and signage standards.
Public safety vehicle operators
Emergency personnel gain dedicated access space to drive alongside vehicles trapped or stalled in drive-through lanes during medical or safety incidents.
Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission
The commission is tasked with adopting administrative rules to implement the chapter and reviewing orders regarding exemption denials.
Key Facts
- Applies to new construction or major renovations, expansion, or redevelopment of permanent buildings or parking areas occurring after December 31, 2026.
- Applies specifically to drive-through financial institutions, drive-through pharmacies, and drive-through restaurants.
- Requires an adjacent bypass lane at least ten (10) feet wide without obstructions that allows vehicles to exit and public safety vehicles to drive alongside vehicles in the queue.
- Bypass lanes must include clear, visible signage and be designed not to obstruct pedestrian pathways, fire lanes, or accessible parking spaces.
Show all 9 facts
- Exempts drive-through facilities built prior to January 1, 2027, that lack physical space and where compliance would force business closure or relocation.
- Exempts drive-through facilities where the drive-through lane passes through the physical permanent structure.
- Allows aggrieved persons to petition for review of a denied exemption within thirty (30) days under IC 4-21.5-3-7.
- Clarifies that the chapter does not exempt facilities from the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Requires the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission to adopt necessary administrative rules under IC 4-22-2.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which types of businesses are affected by this drive-through legislation?
Are older drive-through facilities required to remodel and add a bypass lane?
What are the physical dimensions required for the bypass lane?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Dec 8, 2025SenateIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Homeland Security and Transportation
- Dec 8, 2025SenateAuthored by Senator Ford J.D.
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 45)
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools