The Indiana Outdoor Management Alliance (formerly Green Industry Alliance until 2021) began in 2004 in response to a proposed law that would have placed onerous and unreasonable restrictions on pesticide application.  Several trade associations, including the Indiana Professional Lawn and Landscape Association, the Indiana Nursery and Landscape Association, and the Indianapolis Landscape Association pooled resources to form what is today IOMA.  That same year, IOMA chose The Corydon Group (TCG) to represent them and their associations as the alliance’s governmental affairs consulting firm.  Working together IOMA is the voice for the nursery, landscaping, irrigation, groundwater, and greenhouse industries.  Over the last two decades,  IOMA, through its partnership with The Corydon Group, has successfully worked to pass legislation and promulgate rules to enhance, grow and defend our industries, contractors, and employees.  IOMA and its members are now a well-known organization with several key members of the Indiana General Assembly – many of whom make it a point to attend IOMA’s legislative luncheon at the Statehouse every January. 

2007

• SENATE ENROLLED ACT 357 - Sale of nursery stock and wildflower seeds is now a law that prevents the state nursery (operated through the Indiana Department of Corrections) from selling seedlings outside of the state and directly competing with private nurseries.
• IOMA actively engaged with the legislators who authored and sponsored the bill, testified in legislative hearings, and served as subject matter experts.

2008

• HOUSE BILL 1059 – Fertilizer and Pesticide Law, if allowed to become law, would have imposed burdensome regulations and stiff penalties against commercial fertilizer applicators.
• Working with TCG, IOMA convinced the leaders of the committee of jurisdiction not to hear the bill, killing it before it could gain any additional traction.
• HOUSE BILL 1024 – Renewal of Consumer Contracts, if allowed to become law, would have prohibited contracts from containing automatic renewal clauses, created an accounting burden, and likely led to lost revenue.
• IOMA working with other business and trade industry groups, engaged with the leader on the committee of jurisdiction not to hear the bill, killing it before it gained any traction.
• SENATE BILL 355 – Illegal Alien Matters, would have made several changes to the law regarding employers and undocumented workers. 
• IOMA worked with other business and trade organizations to amend the bill's burdensome, vague, and punitive language.  Ultimately, the House and Senate couldn’t find a compromise, and the bill died, but because of IOMA, our industries had a seat at the table, and our concerns were noted.
• SENATE ENROLLED ACT 302 – Health Professions and Occupations updated the law related to occupational licenses, including landscape architects, and streamlined the renewal process.
• IOMA represented our industries in support of the legislation.
• SENATE ENROLLED ACT 190 – Title 15 Recodification, updated Indiana’s agriculture and animal laws.  The act preempted local units from regulating the use or storage of fertilizer or pesticide through a local ordinance.  The law ensures consistency across the state regarding fertilizer and pesticide regulations.
• IOMA advocated and provided support for the legislation.

2011

• SENATE ENROLLED ACT 590 – Illegal Immigration Matters became law after undergoing a lengthy process to remove costly requirements on all Hoosier businesses.
• IOMA represented our industries and advocated for the changes that ultimately comprised the final legislation and eventual law.

2012

• HOUSE BILL 1096 – Plumbing Matters would have limited individuals who could connect to residential water distribution systems.  If it had become law, the bill would have added the cost of hiring a certified plumber to connect sprinkler and irrigation systems.
• IOMA advocated against the bill, which the committee of jurisdiction chose not to hear, thereby killing the bill.
• House Enrolled Act 1129 – State Chemist Issues, updated the Indiana Code to comply with the federal regulations.
• IOMA engaged to ensure that the updated code wasn’t any more stringent than the federal law required.

2012-2013

• Due to record drought conditions, The City of Indianapolis, at the request of its water provider, Citizens Energy Group, was considering water-usage restrictions in Marion County.  These restrictions would have caused significant business interruptions for many IOMA members.  A working group of IOMA members, and the professionals at The Corydon Group worked with City leadership, and the leadership at Citizens, to find acceptable compromise language that recognized the need for water conservation while not being an undue burden on small businesses and economic development.    

2014

• SENATE BILL 177 – Sale of Seedlings and Wildflower Seeds, would have allowed the state forestry division of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to sell what it determined to be excess nursery and wildflower stock to out-of-state individuals—competing directly with private nurseries.
• IOMA worked in the Senate to make the bill less harmful, limiting to whom the state nursery could sell, and when the bill moved to the House, we worked with the chairman of the committee of jurisdiction and the sponsor to ultimately kill the bill.

2015

• SENATE BILL 498 – DNR Sale of Nursery Stock and Wildflower Seeds, would have allowed the Department of Natural Resources to sell or distribute some of what it determined was excess wildflower seeds and nursery stock to certain persons who live outside Indiana—competing with private nurseries.
• The Senate passed the bill, and IOMA worked with House leadership to kill the bill.

2020

• HOUSE BILL 1119 – Regulation of Pesticide Use and Application, was written with the help of an agricultural industry trade group without input from other stakeholders, including IOMA.  The bill would have raised the penalties for violations related to “adverse effects” from application to a non-target site by an applicator.  The bill further added private applicators and the application of pesticides for hire, application of pesticides to golf courses, and application of pesticides to school property to the list of those who could be fined under the new structure. 
• IOMA worked with the Senate Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, who agreed not to hear the bill to give IOMA and other stakeholders time to voice concerns and have input.  She convened an interim study committee later that year, where members representing IOMA testified and helped draft the language for the preliminary draft.
• Pandemic Essential Status – During the height of the Corona Virus Pandemic, when states identified essential industries, IOMA worked with the Governor’s office to ensure that lawn and landscape companies could work uninterrupted and get the state to recognize there was little risk of exposure to the virus for outside workers.  Our industry continued to work through the pandemic while the industry in the states around us could not work.

2021

• SENATE ENROLLED ACT 227 – Enforcement of Pesticide Violations clarified “adverse effect” and narrowed its scope.  It also provided the State Chemist Office with the discretion to issue fines and required the office to issue a warning before imposing a fine.  Finally, it ensured the fines weren’t excessive and allowed the applicators to cure or mitigate violations.
• IOMA engaged and was invited to be part of a working group that wrote the language.  The final bill passed with the input and to the satisfaction of all interested parties.
• IOMA worked with the Office of the Indiana State Chemist to review and refine the fine structure to reflect the differences between the agricultural industry and our industry.

2022

• Rule #22-266 – Revision to 355 IAC 4, updated pesticide application rules to conform to new federal rules.  Additionally, the rule provides an option for an applicator to complete a training course in lieu of a test.  The change is intended to give lawn and landscape companies more opportunities to retain employees.
• IOMA engaged with the Office of the State Chemist and the State Office of Management and Budget to find compromise language that would be effective by the first of the year in 2023.  IOMA worked with the Indiana Attorney General’s and Governor’s Office to ensure that each process step was completed within the timeline.

2023

• TRANSITION FROM GAS TO ELECTRIC-POWERED LAWN AND GARDEN EQUIPMENT – in February 2023, the Bloomington Common Council’s Climate Action and Resilience Committee indicated it would take stakeholder input regarding an ordinance to require residents and businesses operating in Bloomington to transition from using gas-power to electric equipment.
• IOMA responded to a questionnaire and provided written comments with more information.  The committee chose to table the issue for now.
• HOUSE ENROLLED ACT 1623 – Administrative Law made several statutory changes to the administrative rulemaking process.  The intent of the bill was to streamline and simplify the process by which agencies propose and adopt rules.  It also was intended to provide more opportunities for public input in the process, including optional additional hearings and providing remote access. 
• A state senator approached IOMA and informed them he intended to impose additional restrictions on the state chemist’s office and its ability to regulate and make rules regarding the use of general-use pesticides.  IOMA worked with the senator to ensure that the industry wasn’t impacted.  The final proposal provided the industry with many benefits, including requiring the state chemist to get legislative approval to expand the restriction related to Dicamba and our use of it.  The law puts limits on fees, fines, and civil penalties.  It also requires agencies to consider the impact on small businesses and to conduct an analysis before proposing a rule.
• HOUSE BILL 1530 – Pesticide Regulation, if adopted, would have required the State Department of Health to determine a maximum level (in terms of safety for the public health of all, including the vulnerable subpopulations) that isn’t less stringent than levels established by the EPA, for perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluoroctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), fluoropolymers made without the use of PFOA (including those with the trademark name Gen X), can be present in a water system.  IOMA spoke with the Chairman of the Environmental Affairs Committee and convinced him not to hear the bill, and it died without any further discussion.