Eric Koch

State Senator R-Bedford, District 44 (Brown, Jackson, Lawrence, Orange, & part of Monroe Counties)
 

Coal Bailout

March 26, 2023

If you wonder why Indiana is facing a “rate affordability crisis”— why your rates are going through the roof — look no further than the utility lobby and the corruptive power of big campaign contributions.

In 2020 our legislature passed a bill to discourage electric utility companies from retiring their expensive coal-fired power plants. This law now enables those companies to cover their skyrocketing operating costs simply by raising utility rates (Indianapolis Star, 2022). The bill’s sponsors included Rep. Edmond Soliday (R-Valparaiso) and Sen Eric Koch (R-Bedford). Soliday received $39,000 from the Energy & Natural Resources sector, Koch, $40,700.

New energy bills that favor coal over more cost-effective choices are passing through this 2023 Indiana legislature with some of the same players. 

Additional Resources

Follow the Money

Aptly called “dark money,” its name comes from Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that declared unconstitutional a century of campaign finance regulations. In response, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff and others of the 118th Congress have introduced a joint resolution to amend the Constitution.

This Democracy for All Amendment would empower Congress and the states to regulate campaign financing. Please let our 9th District Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Salem) know of your strong support for bringing this proposal to debate on the House floor.

Contact Congresswoman Erin Houchin and let her know where you stand!

Utility Ratepayer Costs

September 19, 2023

Why does our small state rank so high — 12th— in utility ratepayer costs?  Why have those costs jumped so high in the last two decades? 

Largely because of sweetheart utility deals engineered by the likes of State Senator Eric Koch (R-Bedford, District 44), working in the shadows. 

Koch (pronounced cook) is an effective, important politician. A lawyer by training, his judicial and legislative specialty is utilities (coal, natural gas, electricity). Over the years (a representative 2002-2016 and senator 2016-2024) his campaign funding has rocketed from $13,900 to $107,350 thanks mostly to utility interests, all while running in a safe district.

  • Koch’s vote in 2019 for SB442 and again in 2023 for SB451 allows the Wabash Valley Resources to store dangerous carbon dioxide waste beneath private property without the owner’s consent as well as making taxpayers liable for any consequent problems. This carbon capture and sequestration pilot project will be the largest in the U.S.
  • Koch’s vote in 2019 for SB471 makes the trespass of even one member of a group on a dam a felony with a fine of $10,000 and 2½ years imprisonment for the entire group.
  • As Chair of the House Utilities Committee, Koch pushed for HB1321 in 2015 to keep local governments from regulating or prohibiting “oil and gas exploration, development or production activities.”  It was only because of the environmental groups’ FOIA suit and the ensuing publicity about Koch’s possible conflict of interest that the bill was pulled.
  • Koch’s vote in 2013 for SB271 shifted to taxpayers the financial risk of unproven technology, even while under construction, small nuclear reactors to generate electricity.

Additional Resources

Learn more about Eric Koch and his votes on recent legislation.

Follow the Money

Whose interests does Koch represent? His legislative history reveals a steady devotion to utilities and indifference to the environment and ratepayer costs.

He will run for this seat again in 2024. Your vote is your voice.