KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Indiana

HB1077 • 2026

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning natural and cultural resources.

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning natural and cultural resources.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Representative Dave Heine
Last action
2026-01-05
Official status
Introduced House Bill (H)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Indiana Boating Safety Rules

This bill requires people being towed by motorboats to wear life jackets, boat operators on inland lakes to drive counter-clockwise, prohibits towing anything except distressed boats between sunset and sunrise, and mandates the use of red or orange safety flags when someone is in the water.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires a person towed by a motorboat to wear a personal flotation device (life jacket).
  • Provides that a person operating a boat on an inland lake shall operate the vessel in a counter-clockwise fashion.
  • Establishes that a person operating a boat between sunset and sunrise may not tow anything other than a distressed boat.
  • Requires a person on a boat to use a red or orange safety flag when a person being towed enters the water.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who operate motorboats on Indiana's inland lakes
  • Individuals being towed by motorboats

Terms To Know

Personal Flotation Device (PFD)
A life jacket that helps keep a person floating in water.
Counter-clockwise
Moving to the left, opposite of clockwise direction.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify penalties for breaking these rules.
  • It is unclear how this will be enforced or who will check compliance.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-05 House

    Authored by Representative Heine

  2. 2026-01-05 House

    Coauthored by Representative Abbott

  3. 2026-01-05 House

    First reading: referred to Committee on Natural Resources

Official Summary Text

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning natural and cultural resources.
Boating issues.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning natural and cultural resources.

Boating issues.

Requires a person towed by a motorboat to wear a personal flotation device. Provides that a person operating a boat on an inland lake shall operate the vessel in a counter-clockwise fashion. Establishes that a person operating a boat between sunset and sunrise may not tow anything other than a distressed boat. Requires a person on a boat to use a red or orange safety flag when a person being towed enters the water.