Senate Enrolled Act 270
The 2026 Township Merger Law
Senate Enrolled Act 270 became law on March 5, 2026. The law puts every township in Indiana on a point system, and a township that scores four or more points must merge with another township by January 1, 2029. The board elected this November will serve through the whole period in which the law is applied.
What the law does
Every township gets a score. The Department of Local Government Finance will compile data on each township and assign points under ten criteria set out in the act, covering matters such as township assistance, fire protection, the filing of required financial reports, timely adoption of a budget, and whether township offices were contested or left vacant. The Department must post the results, county by county and ranked from most points to fewest, by December 31, 2026.
Four points or more means a merger. A township with at least four points is a “designated township.” A township with three or fewer is a “recipient township.” Each designated township must merge with at least one recipient township in the same county, and the merged territory must be contiguous. A designated township that lies almost entirely inside a city or town (at least 80 percent of its boundary and at least 51 percent of its population) instead reorganizes into that municipality.
The county decides the pairings. By August 1, 2027, the county commissioners must hold a public meeting of all the township trustees in the county to discuss the mergers. By October 1, 2027, the commissioners must adopt a resolution naming which townships will merge, taking into account the wishes of the townships involved. After the mergers, a county must still have at least two townships.
The recipient township leads the new one. When a merger takes effect, the trustee of the recipient township becomes the trustee of the new township, and the recipient township’s board, plus one member from each merging township, becomes its board, until new officers are elected township-wide in the 2030 general election.
There is one chance to challenge a score. By March 31, 2027, a township assigned four or more points may petition the Department to correct its point total, on the grounds that the total is wrong or that a disaster made compliance impossible. The Department rules by June 30, 2027, and its decision is final.
What it means for Cedar Creek Township
Cedar Creek Township’s score has not been published. Whatever it turns out to be, the board elected on November 3 will serve through the years in which this law is applied: the scoring this December, any petition next spring, the county’s decisions in 2027, and the mergers that take effect in 2029. The key dates are set out below. Some townships in our area, including some that border Cedar Creek Township, may well have to merge.
The way to keep Cedar Creek Township is to run it well. A township that holds regular public meetings, scheduled in advance, with agendas published beforehand; that keeps its books and records open on a public website; that files every report on time; and that livestreams its meetings and posts them to YouTube, makes the best case for its own future. That is what good government looks like, and it is what Rob is running on.
Key dates
Department of Local Government Finance posts the point totals for every township.
Deadline for a designated township to petition for a correction of its score. The Department rules by June 30, 2027.
County commissioners must hold a public meeting of all township trustees in the county to discuss mergers.
County commissioners must adopt a resolution naming the townships that will merge.
Merging townships submit their resolutions and the new township’s proposed 2029 budget and tax levy to the Department.
All mergers must be in effect. The recipient township’s trustee and board lead the new township.
Voters of each merged township elect a new trustee and three-member board at large.
Read the law
- Senate Enrolled Act 270 — the act as passed, 30 pages. The merger law is Section 9 (new Indiana Code chapter 36-6-1.7), pages 16–24.
PDFOfficial copy at iga.in.gov - Fiscal Impact Statement — the Legislative Services Agency’s summary of the bill and its costs, 6 pages. A readable plain-language overview.
PDFOfficial copy at iga.in.gov
Senate Enrolled Act 270, Second Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2026), authored by Sen. Niemeyer and sponsored by Rep. Slager. Scoring: IC 36-6-1.7-8 and -9 (act pp. 17–20). Petitions: IC 36-6-1.7-10 to -12 (pp. 20). Mergers and county decisions: IC 36-6-1.7-13 to -19 (pp. 20–22). Interim government and 2030 election: IC 36-6-1.7-21 and -23 (pp. 22–23). Reorganization into a municipality: IC 36-1.5-4.1 (pp. 2–14). Effective dates and sponsors: Fiscal Impact Statement, LS 7084, pp. 1–2. Indiana has about 1,000 townships (Fiscal Impact Statement, p. 4).