INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Reforms to the way cities and towns can annex land passed the Indiana General Assembly in the final minutes of its 2015 legislative session.

Senate Bill 330 passed the state House by a vote of 87-0 and the Senate, 43-6, last week. It will give landowners the chance to stop forced annexation through petition rather than an expensive court process beginning July 1, provided Gov. Mike Pence signs the bill.

The bill contains significant reforms despite “stiff opposition” from mayors across the state and much compromise, said Katrina Hall, director of state government relations for Indiana Farm Bureau (IFB). It provides that if 65 percent of landowners sign a remonstrance petition, they can stop their land from being annexed by a municipality. Further, any farmland annexed will not pay city or town taxes if it is assessed as farmland.

IFB fought hard for passage of the bill and considers it an “outstanding victory,” said Hall.

“Farm Bureau members made hundreds of contacts on this and other IFB priorities that really made an impact. The landowners who had been impacted by annexation provided compelling testimony about the numerous unfair practices that cities and towns have been using,” she said.

The IFB, however, was not satisfied with a provision in the bill for cities and towns that are pursuing an economic development project, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2017. The project would have to begin within 12 months and finish within 36 months of annexation.

Calling the provision a “loophole,” IFB leaders will be working with state leaders to study the matter further, Hall said.

State Sen. Phil Boots (R-Crawfordsville), who authored the bill, said following its initial passage in the Senate that Indiana is one of only a few states that still uses forced annexation.

“Annexation has been an issue ever since I’ve been here. It’s not fair to the public. Those want to challenge an ordinance must file a remonstrance (with the court). I say they should have a say on the front end, not the back end,” he said.

IFB thanked legislators who worked hard during a “contentious” session.

“We must thank the bill author, Senator Phil Boots, for his leadership and commitment to getting a bill passed, in spite of stiff opposition from mayors across the state. This bill should make a dent in the broad annexations that include thousands of acres of farmland,” Hall said.

Prior to the final vote to pass S.B. 330, IFB President Don Villwock wrote a letter to media outlets expressing his opinion on the state’s annexation laws. “Indiana Farm Bureau and its members are not opposed to annexation when it is voluntary. However, the forced annexation process that Indiana currently allows is heavily weighted in favor of cities and towns,” he stated.

“It’s just too hard, too time-consuming and too expensive for ordinary citizens to fight off an annexation. No citizen should be forced to go to court to protect his ordinary everyday rights as a landowner. That is simply not fair.”