Laporte County

Microsoft — City of LaPorte, Radius Industrial Park. $1B, 489 acres, 245,000 sq ft. Up to 200 jobs by 2032. Announced Jun 3, 2024 by Gov. Holcomb. IEDC: 35-year sales tax credit (min $1B eligible capital), up to 45 years total. Approved 2024. Preparing for spring 2026 groundbreaking. LaPorte County Commissioner has publicly taken stance against data centers (Dec 2025). Status: APPROVED, pre-construction.

HB 1405 (2019), signed May 5, 2019 by Gov. Eric Holcomb as Public Law 256. Codified at IC 6-1.1-10-44 (property tax exemption for enterprise IT equipment) and IC 6-2.5-15 (sales tax exemption for data center equipment). Created Indiana's data center tax incentive framework: sales tax exemptions on equipment and electricity, plus business personal property tax exemptions for qualifying data centers. Note: IC 6-1.1-12.3 (originally cited in some analyses) has been repealed; the active property tax provision is IC 6-1.1-10-44, as amended by P.L.256-2019, SEC.1.

HB 1405/P.L. 256 exempts: (1) Sales tax on data center equipment purchases — servers, storage, networking, cooling, backup power (IC 6-2.5-15-11); (2) Sales tax on electricity consumed by qualifying data centers; (3) Business personal property tax on enterprise IT equipment (IC 6-1.1-10-44) — duration set by local agreement between designating body and eligible business; (4) Sales tax certificate duration: 25 years (or 50 years if investment >= $750M) per IC 6-2.5-15-14. Qualifying thresholds are population-tiered (IC 6-2.5-15-10): $150M in counties >100K population, $100M in counties 50K-100K, $25M in counties <=50K. Investment must be met by 5th anniversary of certificate.

Microsoft — LaPorte City Common Council, unanimous (Jun 3, 2024):
YES: Julie West (Ward 1), Karyl Machek-Feikes (Ward 2), Drew Buchanan (Ward 3), Roger Galloway (Ward 4), Laura Konieczny (Ward 5), Paul Vincent (At-Large), Tim Franke (At-Large).
ALL STILL IN OFFICE. Contact via cityoflaporte.com.

LaPorte Common Council also voted (Apr 13, 2026) to annex ~1,000 additional acres in Pleasant Township for data center expansion. Exact vote count for annexation not published. Union members packed City Hall in support; LaPorte County Commissioner Joe Haney expressed concern about lack of communication (county learned of annexation via public notice).

NOTE: Microsoft subsequently changed its tax position — new agreement (Mar 2026) has Microsoft paying taxes in full, with 15% going to school corporation for 20 years, replacing the original 40-year personal property tax exemption.

NO LOCAL TAX ABATEMENT GRANTED YET — project in planning stage.

LaPorte County has convened a data center working group to develop plans for potential projects. At least one developer is exploring a project in unincorporated LaPorte County ("Project Maize" — $832M investment target by 2034).

Commissioner Connie Gramarossa confirmed the working group is focused on industrial parks. No abatement petition has been filed with the LaPorte County Council.

STATE LEVEL: Would qualify for IEDC data center sales tax exemption if investment meets thresholds. IEDC indicated Project Maize is in LaPorte County.

Tax abatement in Indiana requires designation as Economic Revitalization Area + fiscal body approval. A development agreement specifying deduction amount and time period would be required. Companies typically request 100% enterprise IT deduction on personal property for 20-30 years (per DMA tax advisors).

NO — project still in planning/working group stage.

LaPorte County's data center working group is still developing plans. No formal project petition has been filed, so no community enhancement agreement exists.

Any future CEA would be negotiated as part of the abatement approval process.

N/A — project in planning stage, no enhancement payment exists (see Q62).

N/A — project in planning stage. No payments exist.

N/A — project in planning stage. No job commitments made.
Project Maize ($832M) is the identified project but no formal petition or employment commitments have been filed with LaPorte County.

N/A — project in planning stage. No tax terms established.

Primary authors: Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso, HD 4) — still in office as of 2026; Sen. Jim Buck (R-Kokomo, SD 21); Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso, SD 5); Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle, SD 19); Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Salem, HD 47) — now U.S. Representative IN-9; Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper, SD 48); Sen. Lonnie Randolph (D-East Chicago, SD 2) — Lake County. Co-authors: Rep. Earl Harris Sr. (D-East Chicago, HD 2) — Lake County; Rep. Todd Huston (R-Fishers, HD 37); Rep. Carolyn Jackson (D-Hammond, HD 1) — Lake County; Rep. Matthew Lehman (R-Berne, HD 79); Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie, HD 20) — LaPorte County. Note: 3 of 12 sponsors represent Lake County districts.

House initial passage: 95-1 (Feb 19, 2019). Senate passage: 46-0 (Mar 25, 2019). Conference committee report adopted: House 82-8 (Apr 18, 2019), Senate 44-0 (Apr 18, 2019). Signed by Governor: May 5, 2019. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in all votes.

Microsoft — City of LaPorte. (1) LaPorte City Council — voted unanimously (Jun 3, 2024) to approve 50-year data center tax exemption agreement. Microsoft receives ~$2.4M/year (~30% of annual tax savings), split between city Redevelopment Commission and LaPorte Community School Corporation. (2) IEDC committed 35-year sales tax credit at state level (announced same day). (3) LaPorte Common Council — voted (Apr 13, 2026) to annex ~1,000 additional acres of farmland in Pleasant Township for data center expansion (from 6 to 17 buildings). Exact vote count for annexation not published. Union members packed City Hall in support; LaPorte County Commissioner Joe Haney expressed concern about lack of communication (county learned of annexation via public notice, not direct outreach).

Microsoft — LaPorte City Common Council, unanimous (Jun 3, 2024):
YES: Julie West (Ward 1), Karyl Machek-Feikes (Ward 2), Drew Buchanan (Ward 3), Roger Galloway (Ward 4), Laura Konieczny (Ward 5), Paul Vincent (At-Large), Tim Franke (At-Large).
ALL STILL IN OFFICE. Contact via cityoflaporte.com.

LaPorte Common Council also voted (Apr 13, 2026) to annex ~1,000 additional acres in Pleasant Township for data center expansion. Exact vote count for annexation not published. Union members packed City Hall in support; LaPorte County Commissioner Joe Haney expressed concern about lack of communication (county learned of annexation via public notice).

NOTE: Microsoft subsequently changed its tax position — new agreement (Mar 2026) has Microsoft paying taxes in full, with 15% going to school corporation for 20 years, replacing the original 40-year personal property tax exemption.

Microsoft — LaPorte Common Council:

(1) ORIGINAL APPROVAL, Jun 3, 2024:
Approved unanimously. The announcement was coordinated with Governor Holcomb (IEDC press release Jun 4, 2024). Public testimony details for the original vote not detailed in available reporting — the approval appears to have been relatively uncontested at the time.

(2) ANNEXATION HEARING, Apr 13, 2026:
YES, extensive public testimony. "A sea of orange spilled outside of the packed city council chambers" (WSBT) — union members (IOUE Local 150) crowded City Hall in support. Residents also spoke against. Goot Logwood (D1 council candidate) criticized NDA between city and Microsoft: "That is one of the biggest issues is the lack of transparency." LaPorte County Commissioner Joe Haney expressed concern about lack of communication — the county learned of annexation via public notice.
Sentiment: MIXED — union labor strongly for, residents split, county officials frustrated by process.

PARTIAL — agendas available, recordings not confirmed.
LaPorte city website: cityoflaporte.com
Jun 3, 2024 council meeting (Microsoft $1B approval): agenda available through city clerk. Minutes prepared per standard procedure.
Apr 13, 2026 council meeting (annexation hearing): held at City Hall, packed chambers. WSBT, ABC57, and WNDU provided video news coverage.

LaPorte County Commissioner Joe Haney noted the county learned of the annexation "via public notice" — indicating documents were posted but not proactively shared with the county.

NOTE: The NDA between the city and Microsoft limits what information is publicly available about the deal terms, separate from meeting minutes.

TWO SEPARATE STATUTES, TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS:

PROPERTY TAX (IC 6-1.1-10-44): NO clawback mechanism. The statute authorizes a local "designating body" (county or municipality) to enter an agreement granting a property tax exemption. The eligible business must invest $25M+ and pay wages at 125% of county average (Sec. 44(b)(3)-(4)). However, the statute contains NO enforcement, recapture, or penalty provision if these conditions are later unmet. The only protection would be terms negotiated into the local agreement itself — the statute does not require any.

SALES TAX (IC 6-2.5-15): LIMITED enforcement via noncompliance assessment. Section 15 requires an agreement with IEDC including annual reporting of taxes not paid. Section 18 provides: if IEDC determines a company is noncompliant with the agreement or chapter requirements, IEDC notifies the Dept. of Revenue, which MAY impose an assessment up to the total taxes exempted plus interest and penalties. The trigger is failing to meet the "qualified data center" definition (Sec. 10) — i.e., not reaching the investment threshold by the 5th anniversary.

CRITICAL OMISSIONS: Neither statute requires job creation targets, community benefit commitments, water use limits, renewable energy use, or any ongoing performance metrics beyond the initial investment threshold. There are no wage requirements in the sales tax statute. The property tax statute has a 125% county average wage requirement but no mechanism to enforce it after the exemption is granted. The first economic impact study (Sec. 20) is not due until 2030 — 11 years after the law passed.

2026 session reform bills: (1) HB 1210 (Rep. Ed Soliday, R) — PASSED, weakened. Original: data centers pay fair share of electricity costs. Senate version: $5M/year savings to ratepayers. Final (after private meetings with industry): 1% electricity savings, capped at $350K/year. Signed into law. (2) HB 1333 (Rep. Beau Baird, R) — DIED. Would have protected farmland from data center conversion by requiring agricultural zoning protections. (3) HB 1245 (Rep. Matt Pierce, D) — DIED. Would have required IURC to study data center electricity impacts on ratepayers. (4) SB 257 (Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown) — DIED. Would have protected residential ratepayers from bearing data center infrastructure costs. (5) SB 79 (Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis) — status unclear. Would require data centers to disclose water and electricity consumption. (6) HB 1043 — Would require DNR water consumption permit for large data centers. 2025 session: HB 1007 — ENACTED. Requires data centers to commit to paying 80% of generation costs for electricity. Pattern: 5 of 6 reform bills in 2026 died. The one that passed (HB 1210) was weakened from $5M/year to $350K/year in closed-door meetings.

No. Indiana does NOT require state-level environmental impact review for data center projects. There is no state EIS/EIR process equivalent to NEPA for private data center construction. Permits required: IDEM air permits for diesel backup generators (Title V or minor source); NPDES water discharge permits; stormwater permits. These are standard industrial permits, not data-center-specific review. Local ordinances are filling the void: Lake County (Aug 2025) adopted a data center ordinance requiring noise limits, setbacks, energy efficiency plans, water management plans, and decommission plans. Kosciusko County (Feb 2025) classified data centers as "exceptional use" requiring special permits. These are LOCAL responses to the absence of state-level requirements.

No. Indiana does NOT require data centers to report water consumption or use renewable energy. No existing statute or regulation mandates either. SB 79 (2026, Sen. J.D. Ford, D) would have required water and electricity consumption disclosure — status unclear/likely died. HB 1043 (2026) would have required a DNR water consumption permit for facilities using large volumes — status unclear/likely died. For context: IU Environmental Resilience Institute reports US data centers consumed 17.4 billion gallons of water in 2023, expected to double by 2028. A single hyperscale campus requires 200+ acres, 100+ MW of power (equivalent to 80,000 homes), and millions of gallons of water annually for cooling. Indiana is projected to need 426 TWh of data center electricity by 2030 — "more electricity than all 6.8 million Hoosier households today" (IU ERI).

UTILITY: NIPSCO or Indiana Michigan Power (depends on project location).

Project Maize ($832M) is in planning stage. No utility interconnection or rate filing has been made for this project. LaPorte County working group is still developing site plans.

N/A — project in planning stage. No water consumption data.

N/A — no approval vote has occurred.

N/A — no approval vote has occurred. Project is in working group stage.

LAPORTE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS / WORKING GROUP:
- Project is in working group / planning stage
- No formal public hearings have been scheduled
- Contact: LaPorte County Commissioners, 555 Michigan Ave, LaPorte, IN 46350

When a formal proposal is filed, the Plan Commission will hold public hearings where residents can testify.

== ALL LEVELS ==
Project is in working group/planning stage. NOW is the time to set conditions BEFORE approval, not after.

== LOCAL (LaPorte County Commissioners / Working Group) ==
1. DEMAND UPFRONT TERMS: Require developer to disclose investment amount, water/energy demand, job projections, and proposed tax terms BEFORE any zoning vote.
2. NEGOTIATE CEA FIRST: Do not approve zoning without a binding CEA.
3. LEARN FROM OTHER COUNTIES: St. Joseph (7.2% CEA-to-foregone ratio), Morgan (anonymous approval, no CEA), Clinton (3-0 rejection).

== PLAN COMMISSION ==
1. REQUIRE COMPREHENSIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENT before any rezoning hearing.

== STATE LEGISLATURE ==
1. Same statewide asks: IC 6-1.1-10-44 reform, pre-approval disclosure, rate impact assessment.

== UTILITY COMMISSION (IURC) ==
1. Pre-assess grid capacity for LaPorte County before committing to large load.