The Indiana House, on Monday, passed a bill that would shape how nuclear facilities receive permits, and it now moves onto Gov. Mike Braun’s desk.
The bill passed in a 64-28 vote. Braun is expected to sign the legislation into law.
State Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, authored Senate Bill 258, which would make changes to the Indiana Code about how the Indiana Department of Environmental Management issues permits to nuclear facilities. Changes include repealing a prohibition from constructing or operating a nuclear facility without an IDEM permit and repealing the authorization for the commissioner to conduct a public hearing on the environmental effects.
The legislation would also require a nuclear facility operator to file an environmental feasibility report to IDEM, according to the Indiana General Assembly website. Before its House approval, the Indiana Senate passed the bill in a 36-9 vote in late January.
State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, sponsored the bill and showed his support on the House floor Monday. Soliday believes the bill is something that “should’ve been done years ago,” but nuclear reactor certification activity slowed down.
The federal government maintains exclusive authority over radiological safety in the construction of nuclear power facilities under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, Koch previously told the Indiana Senate. The U.S. Supreme Court has also upheld the belief that the federal government maintains complete control of the safety and nuclear aspects of energy generation, he added. The court ruled that state laws that infringed on federal power — even if enacted because of safety concerns — would conflict with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s duties.
“Unfortunately, in Indiana, we have a number of statutes in place that seem to give IDEM the authority to certify a nuclear reactor,” Soliday said. “What this does is parse those out.”
Soliday said that during the Indiana House Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications Committee meeting, multiple people had concerns that this would mean fewer public hearings. He doesn’t believe that would happen because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would also have hearings.
State Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, opposed the bill on Monday as well as when he heard it in committee.
“I think that rather than this legislation, which seems to have us basically completely back out of this area,” Pierce said, “we would be better served to have legislation that says what is the maximum amount of involvement and protection that we can give our citizens that fits within the preemption requirement.”
Braun has been dedicated to bringing nuclear power to the state. In November 2025, Braun announced that First American Nuclear would bring its headquarters, manufacturing facilities and an energy park to Indiana, according to Post-Tribune archives.
First American Nuclear is dedicated to building small modular reactors, or SMRs, which are advanced nuclear reactors that have about one-third the generating capacity of traditional nuclear reactors, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
A First American Nuclear spokesperson told the Post-Tribune in November that the company is looking for sites for its corporate headquarters, manufacturing facility and energy park, but none have been decided yet. Construction for the manufacturing and energy park sites is expected to start in 2028.
