ALEC Policy Champions: Indiana Rep. Gregory Steuerwald, Sen. Cyndi Carrasco, Sen. Eric Koch, and Sen. Chris Garten End Judicial Deference in the Hoosier State
HB 1003 helps restore balance between the branches of government in Indiana by ending deference to government agencies by the state court system.
ALEC is proud to recognize Indiana State Representative Gregory Steuerwald, Senator Cyndi Carrasco, Senator Eric Koch, and Senate Majority Floor Leader Chris Garten as ALEC Policy Champions for their success ending judicial deference in Indiana. Rep. Steuerwald introduced HB 1003 in the House, and it was sponsored in the Senate by Majority Floor Leader Garten, Sen. Carrasco, and Sen. Koch (who was also recognized as an ALEC Policy Champion for his work protecting Indiana from central bank digital currencies). Governor Eric Holcomb signed the bill into law on March 13th.
HB 1003 helps restore balance between the branches of government in Indiana by ending deference to government agencies by the state court system. Known as judicial deference, this practice previously required state courts to accept agency interpretations of statute, unless the agency interpretation was arbitrary or contradictory to enacted legislation. While agency staff can have considerable expertise on specific subjects, requiring courts to acquiesce to unelected bureaucrats effectively tilted the scales of justice away from citizen challenges in court decisions.
Now, as the bill states, the Indiana “court shall decide all questions of law, including any interpretation of a federal or state constitutional provision, state statute, or agency rule, without deference to any previous interpretation made by the agency.” In other words, Indiana judges are free to determine cases based on the merits of the arguments and evidence, rather than who is making them. Eleven other states have also implemented full judicial deference reform, and ALEC highlighted it in our Essential Policy Solutions for 2024.
A couple months after Indiana’s reform, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturned federal judicial deference (known as Chevron deference). Now, federal judges may not to automatically defer to agency interpretations of statute.
Congratulations to Rep. Steuerwald, Sen. Carrasco, Sen. Koch, and Majority Floor Leader Garten on their success in protecting government checks and balances by ending judicial deference in Indiana.