HB 1268 Indiana House · 2026 Regular Session

Indiana defense matters.

Summary

Adds one voting member to the Indiana defense task force (task force) appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate and one voting member to the task force appointed by the speaker of the house. Adds the adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard or the adjutant general's designee as a nonvoting member of the task force. Provides that, on or before May 1, 2026, and each May 1 thereafter, the task force shall submit a report to the Indiana economic development corporation's office of defense development and the budget committee. Provides that the report shall identify the task force's identified priorities for expenditures for the following state fiscal year. Provides that on or before August 1, 2027, and each August 1 thereafter, the corporation's office of defense development shall submit a report to the task force and the budget committee that details expenditures from amounts appropriated to the corporation's office of defense development for priorities identified by the task force for the previous state fiscal year. Provides that, beginning with the 2026-2027 state fiscal year, and each state fiscal year thereafter, the corporation's office of defense development shall consider and incorporate, to the extent practicable, the task force's identified priorities for expenditures when the corporation's office of defense development formulates its annual budget. Provides that the IEDC and an operating partner shall administer the federal Unmanned Aircraft System Test Site program Indiana.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 6, 2026 Signed Mar 4, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

House Bill (H) → House Bill (S) · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to update dates and expand the list of sponsors, while significantly changing how defense funding is managed. The most important change is the removal of specific dollar amounts and the requirement for the corporation to get approval before spending funds. Instead, the bill now requires the task force to submit annual priority reports, and the corporation must incorporate those priorities into its budget formulation.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from a strict, approval-based funding mechanism with fixed amounts to a reporting and planning mechanism where the corporation considers task force priorities when creating its budget.

TIMELINE

The bill's effective date was changed from July 1, 2025 (retroactive) to 'upon passage,' and the expiration date was removed.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for the Indiana economic development corporation to consult with and receive approval from the task force before obligating or expending funds was removed.

New requirements were added for the task force to submit annual reports identifying priorities for expenditures to the corporation and the budget committee.

New requirements were added for the corporation to submit annual reports detailing expenditures against task force priorities and to incorporate those priorities into its annual budget formulation.

FISCAL

Specific funding amounts of $782,446 for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27 were removed from the text.

SCOPE

The list of bill sponsors was updated to include DeLaney.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 24, 2026 · House Feb 2, 2026

How they voted

46–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 49

Feb 24, 2026

D Democratic9

7 Yea 2

77% Yea

R Republican40

39 Yea 1

97% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 4, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor

executive

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the President Pro Tempore

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the President of the Senate

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by the Speaker

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the House; Roll Call 408: yeas 94, nays 1

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the Senate; Roll Call 317: yeas 48, nays 0

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Introduced

House dissented from Senate amendments

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Third reading: passed; Roll Call 247: yeas 47, nays 0

upper

Feb 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

Amendment #1 (Goode) prevailed; voice vote

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee report: do pass, adopted

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third reading: passed; Roll Call 178: yeas 85, nays 0

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Committee

Recommitted to Committee on Ways and Means pursuant to House Rule 126.3

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

lower

3 primary · 13 co-sponsors