State Sen. Phil Boots
Town overreach Senate bill advances
The Senate bill that would repeal the authority for a city or town to exercise certain powers outside of its corporate boundaries passed third reading last week.
Senators approved the bill 39-8 on Thursday. It now goes to the House for consideration.
“All this bill really does is refer to representative government,” said Sen. Phil Boots (R-Crawfordsville) who authored the bill. “The premise behind the bill is if I don’t get to vote for you or the board that represents me — if I don’t have a say in that board — you shouldn’t be able to tell me what to do with my property and my life, etc.”
Boots introduced the bill after elected officials from Darlington and Alamo adopted ordinances regulating wind farms in an effort to eliminate its development. The ordinances were based on a state law that allowed towns to make such regulations within a four-mile radius of their respective town boundaries if public health, safety and welfare were a concern.
Should the bill become law, the ordinances adopted by Darlington and Alamo would still remain in effect. The bill that passed third reading last week states that the change would not void an ordinance or resolution adopted by a municipality prior to January 1, 2019.
The City of Crawfordsville’s two-mile jurisdictional area for zoning would also remain in effect. The proposed bill would require municipals to gain approval from the county legislative body for comprehensive plans adopted after June 30.
Here is a link to SB 535 http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2019/bills/senate/535