A QPQ Tracker study · Indiana · 2023–2026
Indiana: who paid for the data centers and what the state decided
Utility money dominates Indiana and the data center companies are absent from the state record. Duke Energy Indiana’s treasury gave $501,800, NiSource’s PAC $285,500, CenterPoint’s PAC $193,157, Duke’s PAC $189,500 and AEP’s PAC $175,350. Gov. Mike Braun took $51,000 from the payer set.
HB 1210 set what a data center pays its host community. The Senate version was about $5M a year on the largest projects. The conference committee settled at not more than 1% of the unpaid sales tax on the data center’s electricity, about $350,000 a year. The Data Center Coalition and company lobbyists worked the conference. Braun signed it on March 12, 2026.
Five roll calls are loaded. The author took $7,250 from the payer set, the Senate sponsor $4,150, the conferees between $8,500 and $13,000.
Who paid
Each company's direct giving from its treasury and employee PAC, as filed in Indiana. Executives' personal cheques, super PAC spending and lobbying are different kinds of money and are not added here.
| Payer | Class | Direct giving in Indiana | Filings (every state the payer files in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Energy | Utility | $691,300 | 2 filer rows → |
| NiSource / NIPSCO | Utility | $290,500 | |
| CenterPoint Energy | Utility | $198,557 | |
| AEP | Utility | $190,550 | 6 filer rows →
|
| Lifeline Data Centers | Data center operator | $5,000 | Filings and recipients → |
Who took it
The Indiana officeholders and candidates who received the most from the payer set, and what each did on the state's data center measures: the votes they cast, the bills they authored, the orders they signed. A yea is a vote for the measure as titled.
1 measure voted on
- Not votingNot votingHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 measure voted on
- NayYeaYeaHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 action on a measure
- shapedHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 measure voted on
- NayYeaYeaHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 measure voted on
- YeaYeaHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 measure voted on
- YeaYeaHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 measure voted on
- Not votingYeaYeaHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 measure voted on
- YeaYeaHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 measure voted on
- YeaYeaHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 measure voted on
- NayYeaYeaHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 measure voted on · 1 action on a measure
- advocated forHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
- Not votingYeaYeaHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
1 measure voted on
- YeaYeaHEA 1210: local payment of not more than 1% of a data center's electricity sales-tax exemptionEnacted
The 12 largest recipients of any kind, committees included
| # | Recipient | Kind | From the payer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | House Republican Campaign Committee (Indiana) | PAC or committee | $134,850 |
| 2 | SENATE MAJORITY CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (SMCC) | PAC or committee | $103,007 |
| 3 | Todd Michael Huston | person | $87,350 |
| 4 | Rodric D Bray | person | $81,750 |
| 5 | INDIANA VICTORY COMMITTEE (Indiana) | PAC or committee | $75,000 |
| 6 | Mike Braun | person | $51,000 |
| 7 | INDIANA ENERGY ASSOCIATION PAC | PAC or committee | $50,000 |
| 8 | Indiana Republican State Committee, Inc | PAC or committee | $42,000 |
| 9 | Eric Allan Koch | person | $38,100 |
| 10 | Philip Kelly Giaquinta | person | $35,050 |
| 11 | Ed Soliday | person | $33,100 |
| 12 | Indiana Democratic State Central Committee | PAC or committee | $31,500 |
What they decided
Every Indiana bill, regulator's order, executive action and election the study tracks, with its result, its recorded vote and the people and companies on the record for it. Each links to the official document.
Indiana1 measure
- BillEnactedMar 12, 2026House last roll 91–3 among 100 loaded members, Feb 27, 2026Senate last roll 48–0 among 50 loaded members, Feb 27, 2026350 votes loadedHarold Slager advocated for; Craig Snow (Indiana) advocated for; Cherrish Pryor advocated for; Lonnie Randolph advocated for; Ryan Mishler advocated for; Scott Baldwin advocated for
How to read this page
The money is corporate-treasury and employee-PAC giving reported in Indiana’s own filing system, the Election Division bulk files, from January 2023 to the latest filing loaded (883 contributions, January 2023 to June 2026). Transfers between a politician’s own committees, conduit memo lines and gifts from the opposing side are left out. Executives’ personal cheques, super PAC spending, 527 transfers and lobbying are different kinds of money. The report keeps them apart, and the written part of this page names them as such. Nothing on this page adds across kinds.
The votes are the legislature’s own roll calls, loaded for the members the study follows. A yea is a vote for the measure as titled. The measures are the bills, commission orders, executive actions and elections the study identified; each links to its official record.
Every payer total was reconciled against the payer’s own reports where the state publishes them. The checks are in the report’s verification log. Figures on this page were last recomputed on October 31, 2026. Correlation is not proof of causation; the record shows what was paid and what was decided.