HB 1417 Indiana House · 2026 Regular Session

Causes of action and damages.

HB 1417 establishes a commission to study tort reform and limits civil lawsuits related to public nuisances, such as environmental harm or neighborhood disturbances. It directly affects communities and businesses that could face or file such lawsuits, potentially reducing legal challenges over shared community issues. The bill creates a formal process for the commission to review and recommend changes to civil lawsuit rules. This legislation passed the Senate with 61 votes in favor and 34 against.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 8, 2026 Last action Feb 19, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced House Bill (H) → House Bill (S) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was significantly rewritten to remove protections for Transportation Network Companies (like Uber and Lyft) and instead focus on limiting public nuisance lawsuits and capping attorney fees. The new version clarifies that local laws cannot be overridden by this bill and sets a $100,000 cap on legal fees if a plaintiff rejects a settlement offer.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from protecting TNC drivers from liability and limiting nuisance suits to primarily regulating public nuisance actions and attorney fee awards.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed the provision that prohibited riders from suing Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) for injuries caused by drivers or during rides.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the public nuisance rules to allow local administrative codes to remain in effect unless they conflict with the bill's specific provisions.

FISCAL

Added a cap of $100,000 on attorney fees, costs, and expenses if a recipient rejects a qualified settlement offer and receives a less favorable judgment.

DEFINITION

Reorganized the definitions of 'public nuisance' and 'unlawful condition' and added new rules limiting the number of lawsuits that can be filed against the same defendant.

Floor votes · House Feb 2, 2026

How they voted

61–33

Passed · 5 other

Total votes 99

Feb 2, 2026

D Democratic29

28 Nay 1

96% Nay

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican69

60 Yea 5 Nay 4

86% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third reading: passed; Roll Call 187: yeas 61, nays 34

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Amended

Amendment #1 (Campbell) motion withdrawn voice vote

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

lower

3 primary · 3 co-sponsors