Indiana GOP Moves to Cut “Redundant” Boards and Commissions
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana House Republicans are moving forward with their 2026 legislative priorities, focusing on a mix of cost-cutting measures and deregulation intended to streamline state operations.
At the heart of the agenda is a push to make the government more efficient while giving local schools more flexibility. One of the top priorities this session is House Bill 1003, which seeks to reduce the number of state government boards and commissions. The legislation targets groups that are considered redundant, inactive, or overlapping in their duties.
State Representative Steve Bartels of Eckerty, who authored the bill, says the proposal is the result of years of evaluation. “This is a product of over 3 years of work. the intent here is to increase government efficiency and effectiveness, and we can accomplish that through eliminating, sunsetting dozens of redundant, inactive boards and commissions,” Bartels said.
By merging and restructuring these entities, Bartels believes the state can better manage taxpayer funds and avoid administrative waste.
Republicans are also taking aim at the state’s education code with House Bill 1004. the bill builds on a law passed last year that successfully removed more than 35,000 words of “outdated and duplicate” text from Indiana’s education statutes.
State Representative Bob Behning of Indianapolis, the author of the bill, expects this year’s legislation to trim several thousand more words from the books. The goal, he says, is to return more control to local school districts.
“This legislation improves indiana’s education framework by removing restrictive, redundant and unnecessary statutory requirements across state and local education entities,” Behning said. “The goal is to really get out of the way and let educators do what they do best and reduce the amount of regulations that we have.”
The caucus argues that by reducing bureaucracy and “red tape,” taxpayer dollars will be used more effectively across all levels of government. For schools specifically, leaders hope the reduction in paperwork allows educators to focus more on student outcomes rather than compliance.
Hoosiers interested in following the progress of these bills can find more information and watch live sessions at https://iga.in.gov.
