An Indiana Senate bill that would let counties dissolve their solid waste management districts cleared a committee Monday and now moves to the full Senate for a vote.
The measure, authored by Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, passed in the Environmental Affairs Committee on a 6-3 party-line vote, with Republicans voting in support. Brown has said she supports recycling but thinks cities, counties and the private sector can provide it more efficiently than districts.
Sen. John Broden, D-South Bend, cast one of the “no” votes. He said the 1990 law that required counties to form the districts was “ingenious” in how it allowed counties flexibility in the way boards that run the districts are composed. St. Joseph County's district board includes area mayors and county elected leaders.