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Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana Senate Bill 237 Restricts State Environmental Regulators on PFAS Risk Values
Last action · January 8, 2026: First reading: referred to Committee on Environmental AffairsSponsor: Scott Baldwin
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What This Bill Proposed
Indiana Senate Bill 237 prohibits the Department of Environmental Management from basing regulatory decisions primarily on unpromulgated federal risk values for , effective July 1, 2026. The legislation defines PFAS and state-prioritized PFAS chemicals, orders the department to avoid federal risk values at or below natural background levels, and directs agency duties toward state-prioritized substances.
The measure alters how state environmental regulators evaluate chemical contamination, preventing the use of certain unformalized federal benchmarks while requiring the department to prioritize specific fluorinated substances in research, testing, and cleanup standards.
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.
Department of Environmental Management
The department is prohibited from using certain unpromulgated federal risk values and is directed to focus its duties on state-prioritized PFAS chemicals.
Key Facts
- Defines 'decision' to include standards, permits, enforcement actions, and cleanup levels starting July 1, 2026.
- Defines 'PFAS chemicals' as non-polymeric perfluoroalkyl or saturated polyfluoroalkyl substances that are persistent and bioaccumulative.
- Defines 'state prioritized PFAS chemicals' to include specific fluorinated substances containing at least two fully fluorinated sequential carbon atoms and regulated by the EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
- Explicitly includes Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and their salts in the prioritized definition, while excluding gases or substances that become gases in use.
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- Prohibits the department from basing decisions primarily on federal risk values not promulgated through federal rulemaking, including IRIS assessments.
- Instructs the department to avoid federal risk values that are at or below background concentrations in air, water, soil, or sediment.
- Requires the department to focus on state-prioritized PFAS chemicals during research, outreach, testing, and risk communication.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Senate Bill 237 do regarding PFAS chemicals?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Jan 8, 2026SenateIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Environmental Affairs
- Jan 8, 2026SenateAuthored by Senator Baldwin
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
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Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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