Rep. Tony Cook

Adds a superior court in Hamilton County.

Recognizing January 11th as Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

To designate 2021 as "Indiana's Year of the Trails."

Requires a governing body, charter school, or accredited nonpublic school seeking to purchase a school bus or special purpose bus to request information concerning the cost of purchasing a school bus or special purpose bus equipped with 3-point lap and shoulder safety belts. Requires the governing body, charter school, or accredited nonpublic school to hold a public hearing on the costs and benefits of purchasing a school bus or special purpose bus with 3-point lap and shoulder safety belts before voting on whether to purchase a school bus or special purpose bus equipped with 3-point lap and shoulder safety belts. Allows a school corporation or charter school to use a portion of a grant from the safe schools fund or the secured school fund toward purchasing or equipping school buses and special purpose buses with safety equipment. Allows an accredited nonpublic school to use a grant from the safe schools fund for purchasing or equipping school buses and special purpose buses with safety equipment. Requires each occupant of a school bus or special purpose bus that has a 3-point lap and shoulder safety belt to have the 3-point lap and shoulder safety belt properly fastened about the occupant's body at all times when the bus is in motion. Provides for an exception to the laws concerning other types of passenger restraint systems.

Requires the department of natural resources (department), before January 1, 2022, to designate at least one undivided area comprising at least 10% of each state forest as an old forest area. Provides that, wherever possible, the size of a designated old forest area must be at least 500 acres. Sets forth certain purposes to guide the department in designating the old forest areas. Prohibits the department from conducting or allowing timber management in the old forest areas. Requires the department to produce and keep on file maps and legal descriptions of the designated old forest areas. Provides that the designation of the old forest areas may not affect hunting, fishing, and other recreational uses of the state forests, the maintenance of access roads in the state forests, or rights of access through the state forests.

Provides for an adjusted gross income tax credit for donations to a public school foundation. Provides that the maximum individual taxpayer credit is $1,000 in the case of a single return or $2,000 in the case of a joint return. Provides that the maximum corporate taxpayer credit is the greater of 10% of the corporation's total adjusted gross income tax liability or $10,000.

Provides that if a redevelopment commission outside Marion County wishes to establish a TIF area after June 30, 2021, a school corporation that is located wholly or partly within the proposed TIF area may elect whether to participate in the TIF area. Provides that for TIF areas established after June 30, 2021, a school corporation that elects to participate in a proposed TIF is bound by the terms of the TIF area until the TIF area expires. Provides that except for property tax proceeds transferred to a school corporation, a public school, including a charter school, or a nonpublic school, allocated property tax proceeds may be expended for projects located outside an allocation area only if the redevelopment commission adopts a declaratory resolution that finds that the expenditures: (1) will directly benefit the allocation area; or (2) will result in the creation or retention of jobs in the private sector. Adds various requirements related to expenditures under contracts between redevelopment commissions and providers of educational and training programs to establish programs designed to prepare individuals to participate in the competitive and global economy.

Provides a tax exemption from adjusted gross income for an individual who is at least 78 years of age and has served in the military during a time of war.

Makes appropriations from the state general fund to the department of natural resources for the recreational trail maintenance fund to be used for the next level trails program for fiscal years beginning July 1, 2021, and July 1, 2022.

Amends the statute concerning distributed electricity generation as follows: (1) Defines a "public use customer" of an electricity supplier as a customer that is: (A) a school corporation; or (B) a local unit. (2) Provides that an electricity supplier's net metering tariff must be made and remain available to customers until the earlier of: (A) January 1 of the first calendar year after the calendar year in which the aggregate amount of net metering facility nameplate capacity under the electricity supplier's net metering tariff equals at least 3% (versus 1.5% under current law) of the electricity supplier's most recent summer peak load; or (B) July 1, 2024 (versus July 1, 2022, under current law). (3) Provides that before July 1, 2021, an electricity supplier shall amend its net metering tariff, or file a new net metering tariff with the utility regulatory commission (IURC), to do the following: (A) Establish as the allowed limit on the aggregate amount of net metering facility nameplate capacity under the tariff an amount equal to at least three percent (3%) of the electricity supplier's most recent summer peak load. (B) Allow a public use customer that: (i) operates a net metering facility on a premises that the public use customer owns or controls before the installation of the net metering facility; and (ii) is billed by the electricity supplier for electricity measured at more than one meter; to choose to be billed or credited for the difference between the kilowatt hours delivered by the electricity supplier as measured by any one or more of those meters, not to exceed three, and the kilowatt hours generated and delivered to the electricity supplier by the net metering facility. (4) Provides that before July 1, 2021, the IURC shall make similar amendments to its net metering rules. (5) Specifies that any repairs, updates, or upgrades to portions of a net metering facility that do not increase the nameplate capacity of the net metering facility are not considered a replacement of the net metering facility for purposes of certain provisions providing for the extended availability of an electricity supplier's net metering tariff for customers that install a net metering facility before certain specified deadlines. (6) Specifies that net metering customers must comply with certain safety, performance, and reliability standards with which customers that produce distributed generation must comply. (7) Specifies that a net metering customer has certain rights regarding the installation and ownership of a net metering facility that a customer that produces distributed generation has with respect to the installation and ownership of distributed generation equipment. (8) Adds a noncode provision staying the implementation of a rate for the procurement of excess distributed generation for which an electricity supplier has applied or received approval from the IURC under current law, until such time as the conditions for the expiration of the electricity supplier's net metering tariff, as set forth in the bill, apply to the electricity supplier.