Black lawmakers in Indiana are introducing multiple housing bills to enhance homeownership accessibility for all Hoosiers statewide.

State Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, and chair of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, said that each year the cohort selects a theme and issue they want to tackle collectively. 

“It’s not a secret that housing is an issue,” he said. “We have a lot of issues and needs in terms of people that want to get into housing that are running into roadblocks.”

The Black caucus includes 14 of the Indiana General Assembly’s 150 legislators. These lawmakers represent the state’s most diverse communities in Gary, Northwest Indiana and the Indianapolis metropolitan area.  

State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, said they function not only as a Black legislative group, but also as an urban legislative caucus.

“We all experienced the same type of issues in our district when it comes to blight or crime or economic development,” she said. “So we’re able to work together and do things that are not just good for Gary or Indianapolis, but good for all urban areas in the state of Indiana.”

Here’s a look at some of the housing bills introduced by the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus this year:

  • State Rep. Renee Pack, D-Indianapolis, authored House Bill 1087 to expand Indiana’s fair housing law by banning discrimination based on income source, military status and veteran status. The current law forbids people from refusing to rent or sell to Hoosiers because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin. This bill would broaden those protections, making it unlawful to deny housing to individuals using rental vouchers under the Section 8 program or any other rental assistance or subsidies from non-governmental organizations.
  • House Bill 1112, authored by state Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, looks to ban discrimination in home appraisals. The bill also proposes the creation of a fair housing practices fund to offer financial assistance for down payments, closing costs, and restitution to victims of discriminatory appraisal practices.
  • House Bill 1271, authored by Hatcher, would create a pathway for people who purchase abandoned properties to have complete ownership just 30 days after the acquisition.

“The reason behind the bill is because, in Gary, we have approximately 6,000 to 7,000 abandoned residential properties,” Hatcher said. “And we think that six months to a year on abandoned property is not responsive and deters investors or just everyday home buyers from buying property in tax or commissioners’ sales.”

  • House Bill 1176, authored by Harris, would establish a housing down payment assistance fund and proposes a tax of 50% on the fair market value of each single-family residence acquired by hedge funds. It would also limit the number of single-family residences that hedge funds can own.

“We have a lot of issues and needs in terms of people that want to get into housing that are running into roadblocks,” Harris said. “One of those roadblocks is having big companies, corporations, hedge funds that are buying up houses, buying up neighborhoods, and really taking that American dream away from a lot of people that want to pursue it.” 

At the Indiana statehouse, Black lawmakers are introducing multiple bills, including housing reform, in the new session of the General Assembly. (Michael Conroy/Associated Press)

Other legislation proposed by Indiana’s Black lawmakers

  • State Sen. Jean Breaux, D-Indianapolis, and state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, both authored bills to establish Juneteenth as an official state holiday.
  • State Rep. Vanessa Summers, D-Indianapolis, introduced a bill prohibiting discrimination based on hair texture and protective hairstyles. Protective hairstyles include braids, locks, twists and other tightly curled or coiled styles.
  • Smith authored a bill allowing school corporations to create policies concerning the removal and re-entry of disruptive students from classrooms. The bill empowers principals, teachers, or school staff members to immediately remove a student for violating school policy.