Indiana Legislative Session Wraps

Gov. Braun says Hoosiers win on affordability, jobs, wages, public safety and education.

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INDIANAPOLIS - Today, Governor Mike Braun shared victories from the legislative session for his 2026 agenda focused on kitchen table issues that matter for Hoosier families: affordability, jobs and wages, public safety, and education. 

"This session, we delivered meaningful results for Hoosiers - protecting children from harmful social media content, strengthening public safety by revoking CDLs from illegal aliens, addressing rising utility costs, and establishing the framework for a new stadium in Northwest Indiana to name a few. I’m proud of what we accomplished and look forward to continuing our work to make life more affordable for Hoosier families, grow our economy, and keep our communities safe.” -  Governor Mike Braun

In a short legislative session, Governor Braun delivered major victories on his biggest priorities: making life more affordable by lowering energy rates and protecting ratepayers, laying the groundwork for new jobs and higher wages for Hoosier workers, cracking down on crime and illegal immigration so families can live and drive in safe communities, and giving parents the power to protect their kids from the harms of Big Tech social media companies.

Governor Braun shared the following Freedom and Opportunity highlights from the 2026 legislative session:

Affordability

Lower Energy Rates

Governor Braun has taken decisive action to lower utility costs and protect ratepayers, including appointing a strong advocate for consumers in the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and new ratepayer-focused commissioners on the IURC.

This session, he worked closely with the House to get a package of solutions - HEA 1002 - across the finish line to modernize how Indiana regulates electric utilities. Rather than the current system which guarantees a return on equity for operations and capital investments which comes at the expense of ratepayers and incentivizes over-investing, performance based ratemaking forces utilities to have skin in the game, as their return on equity is no longer guaranteed. Instead, through Performance Incentive Mechanisms, the utility must meet certain benchmarks for affordability and reliability.

Reform Healthcare and Lower Prices

• HEA 1271, part of Governor Braun’s agenda regarding medical debt, requires hospitals to provide patients with a written notice of payment assistance programs, and requires hospitals to attempt to connect patients to this program before they start the collections process.
• SEA 225 stops hospitals from pursuing medical debt unless they are fully compliant with statutory requirements regarding financial assistance, charity care, and transparency.

Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Making Government More Efficient

In 2025, Governor Braun began his work streamlining the state government to work more efficiently, accountably, and with lower overhead. In 2026, SEA 277 made historic progress on streamlining and modernizing the state’s environmental regulations. SEA 179 and HEA 1368 let the state, instead of the federal government, handle reviews of some highway and other projects, making the process faster, cheaper, and more efficient.

Jobs & Wages

Securing New Jobs and Investments

In addition to securing higher Real GDP and wage growth than the national average and surrounding states, bringing thousands of new jobs to the state, and leading innovative programs to help Hoosiers get promotions and raises at work with Power Up Indiana, Governor Braun worked with legislative leaders to lead on a package to attract $2 billion of revitalizing investment to the Hammond area with the creation of the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority.

Embracing the Unique Strengths of Indiana’s Region

HEA 1406 grants IEDC statutory authority to focus more of its efforts on regional economic development, adding legislative progress to Governor Braun’s economic development strategy embracing the unique strengths of Indiana’s regions and ensuring investment benefits all four corners of the state.

Public Safety

Keeping Hoosiers Safe by Getting Tough on Crime & Illegal Immigration

The FAIRNESS Act, supported by Governor Braun, passed this legislative session, making clear that Indiana is not a safe harbor for illegal immigration and gives law enforcement the tools they need to enforce our laws.

SEA 76 expands penalties for entities that intentionally undermine federal immigration work and empowers the Attorney General to sue non-compliant jurisdictions. 

Protecting Hoosier Highways from Illegal Immigrants with CDLs

Building upon Governor Braun’s work with DHS and ICE with Operation Midway Blitz to remove illegal aliens driving trucks from Indiana’s roadways, Governor Braun called for the legislature to bolster Indiana’s code to ensure CDLs issued to individuals who no longer have legal status are revoked, and to give him the tools to keep our roadways safe.

That bill is HEA 1200, which directs the BMV to revoke nondomiciled CDLs if the BMV receives credible information (including from federal agencies) that the individual no longer has the legal status or documentation that allowed them to get the CDL or poses a risk to public safety. It also directs the BMV to consult with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to identify individuals that this applies to.

Addressing Homelessness with Compassion and Order

Gov. Braun worked hard to bring back a bill from the 2025 legislative session to connect homeless people with the essential services to help get them back on their feet.

SEA 285 bans public camping, with a focus on diversionary measures that connect homeless Hoosiers into social service networks to help them break addiction, stay safe, and get back on their feet. As homelessness continues to be a problem nationwide, Governor Braun is delivering innovative actions to work toward a solution.

Cracking Down on Child Predators

Building on the success of Governor Braun’s crackdown on child predators with the Indiana State Police, HEA 1303 raises the penalty for child exploitation and possession of child sex abuse material, and also creates a new penalty for distributing that content.

Education

Giving Parents Tools to Protect Kids from Big Tech

Governor Braun fought to keep social media safeguards for kids in a bill this session, and won a major victory for parents’ rights to protect their kids from Big Tech and the harms of social media on developing minds

HEA 1408 empowers parents to protect their children (under 16) from social media in Indiana with three new tools:

• PARENTAL CONSENT: Big Tech social media providers must screen users for age and require parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use their platforms
• SPECIAL UNDER-16 ACCOUNTS: If the child’s parents approve, they’ll receive a special under-16 account with safeguards to protect the child from direct messages from strangers or being seen in strangers’ search results, plus removing harmful and addictive features
• PARENT ACCOUNTS: Big Tech social media companies must provide a parallel “parent account” to monitor their kids’ usage. Parents can see time spent, set time limits, set "blackout" windows during the day, and monitor their child's activity on the account.

Limiting Cell Phone Distractions in the Classroom

SEA 78 expands in-school cell phone bans to be full-day ("bell to bell"). This not only reinforces student focus in the classroom, but also social presence in the lunchroom, hallway, or study hall.

State Sen. Randy Maxwell (R-Guilford) made the following statement regarding the conclusion of the 2026 legislative session

"The General Assembly wrapped up the 2026 legislative session today. We accomplished a lot for our state this year, including passing legislation to crack down on health care fraud.

"I also championed legislation to cut down on government waste and supported bills to address immigration and boost housing affordability for Hoosiers.

"As we enter the interim, I will continue working with my fellow lawmakers and constituents to pursue legislation that will benefit not only Senate District 43, but our whole state."