The Crawfordsville | Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce welcomed the community to another State Legislative Breakfast this past Saturday. About 60 county residents joined six legislators in Crawfordsville Middle School to discuss various bills of interest. Dave Long was one of the participants. He had a chance to talk with two of the legislators following the event: State Senator Spencer Deery and Representative Matt Commons, both Republicans.
One such bill discussed was House Bill 1002, which according to Sen. Deery, is “an attempt to curb rising electricity costs”.
According to a report from the Joint Economic Committee Minority (JEC), Indiana has seen a 16.3% increase in annual spending for electricity between 2024 and 2025. Some of the factors causing electric bills to climb range from aging infrastructure to the rise of data centers. Meta, the company that operates Facebook, has recently announced the construction of one its own data centers in nearby Lebanon.
Affordable housing was another topic of discussion from the morning. Home prices in Indiana alone have seen an increase by 48% between 2020 and 2024. Meanwhile, wages in the state have remained lower compared to the national average. Rep. Commons says that House Bill 1001 could remedy house pricing.
The next event involving legislature will be the City/County Legislative Lunch on Thursday, March 12 at noon in the HHSB Success Center. It’ll feature a panel consisting of Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton; City Councilor Andy Biddle; County Commissioner Dan Guard; and County Councilor David Hunt. Cost of attendance is $10 for Chamber members and $15 for non-members. Pre-registration is required. Click or tap here to register.