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The Indiana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Oct. 30 regarding the state’s 2019 annexation law and the City of Bloomington’s opinion that the law violates both the federal and state constitutions’ contract clauses.
At 10 a.m., the justices will hear arguments for the case City of Bloomington v. Catherine Smith, 24A-PL-1775.
In 2019, the Indiana General Assembly passed statutes that retroactively cancelled most annexation remonstrance waivers in the state.
At the time, remonstration waivers were signed by property owners around Bloomington that stated they could purchase sewer services from Bloomington utilities in exchange for not remonstrating against a future annexation of their property into the city, according to the Bloomington Chronicle.
But when the city of Bloomington tried to annex seven areas, Monroe County Auditor Catherine Smith applied the 2019 act to nullify those waivers.
The city sued, claiming the law violated contract clauses under the U.S. and state constitutions.
The state intervened and the Monroe Circuit Court granted summary judgment to the state, finding that a political subdivision cannot bring a contract clause claim against the state.
In February, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision.
Now, the state’s high court has accepted jurisdiction over the case.
According to the Bloomington Chronicle, annexation has been a recurring issue in the city for several years.
In 2017, former Bloomington mayor John Hamilton attempted an annexation to add several thousand acres and residents to the city, but a budget bill signed by former Governor Eric Holcomb included a provision that halted the city’s process.
In December 2020, the state supreme court ruled in favor of the city’s challenge to the law.
Oral arguments will also be held the same day at 9 a.m. in the case of Frank T. Wike, et al. v. Grandview Solar Project, LLC, Town of Grandview, Indiana Board of Zoning Appeals, Town of Grandview, Indiana Town Council, and Town of Grandview, Indiana Zoning Administrator, 24A-PL-1867, which involves a special exception granted to a company to build a solar farm in Grandview, Indiana.
Hearings for both cases will be held in the Supreme Court Courtroom at the statehouse.
Oral arguments may be viewed online.
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