Indiana’s 247 New Laws Take Effect July 1—Higher Speed Limits, $2 Cigarette Tax, and More Explained

Indiana residents are waking up to a very different rulebook this holiday weekend. Beginning Tuesday, July 1 2025, more than a dozen major state laws—signed during Governor Mike Braun’s first legislative session—officially take effect, reshaping everything from property taxes and Medicaid eligibility to cigarette prices and college sports participation. New tax and pocketbook changes • Property-tax cap: Annual residential property-tax bills can now rise by no more than 2.5 percent, a move lawmakers say will soften soaring assessments while local governments warn of funding gaps for schools and public safety. • Cigarette levy triples: The per-pack tax jumps from about $1 to $3, catapulting Indiana from one of the Midwest’s cheapest states for smokers to one of the costliest. State analysts project an extra $480 million a year for public-health programs. • Pharmacy benefit reforms: Senate Enrolled Act 3 forces pharmacy-benefit administrators to disclose pricing formulas and bans “spread” pricing that can inflate prescription costs at the counter. Health-care shake-ups • Medicaid tightening: Enrollment in the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) is now capped, re-eligibility checks happen more often, and advertising aimed at signing up new beneficiaries is barred. Disability advocates fear interruptions for seniors and families with medically fragile children. • Hospital cost transparency: Non-profit hospital systems must share detailed spending data and submit to a two-year state study after lawmakers scrapped an outright rate cap. Law-and-order pivots • Mandatory ICE cooperation: Every county sheriff must sign an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to honor immigration detainers, ending a patchwork of local policies. • Charity bail ban for violent charges: Non-profits can no longer post bail for defendants accused of violent felonies, a measure supporters say prevents repeat offenses while critics call it an attack on presumption of innocence. • Fairer police lineups: New lineup protocols require double-blind administration and standardized witness instructions to curb wrongful identifications. Culture-war flashpoints • DEI rollback: State colleges and agencies are barred from offering jobs, scholarships or programs based on race, sex, or related “personal characteristics.” Supporters claim a merit focus; opponents predict recruitment declines for under-represented groups. • Transgender athlete restrictions: Transgender women are now prohibited from competing on women’s college teams, extending the 2022 K-12 ban to higher education. • Obscene-performance ban: Government entities that fund or host performances deemed “solely about sex” without artistic or political value face civil lawsuits. Food & farming • Temporary lab-grown meat ban: Sales of cultivated meat are illegal for at least two years and, afterward, must carry a “this is an imitation meat product” label—making Indiana the first farm-belt state to halt the emerging protein technology. Elections & education • Student IDs no longer valid voter ID: College students must present an Indiana driver’s license, state ID, U.S. passport, or military ID at the polls; a federal lawsuit is already pending. • Partisan school-board races: Candidates must declare a party, ending non-partisan ballots and injecting Republican-Democrat labels into more than 290 local boards statewide. Public-safety carve-out • Expanded Lifeline Law: Both the underage caller and the intoxicated friend are now immune from minor-alcohol prosecution when 911 is called—aiming to reduce alcohol-poisoning deaths on campuses and at summer festivals. Why it matters now The July 1 rollout coincides with peak Fourth-of-July travel, shopping, and fireworks celebrations, meaning Hoosiers will feel the tax hikes at convenience-store registers, see new voting-ID posters at county fairs, and encounter stricter fireworks-hour enforcement backed by revised penalties. Businesses should audit advertising strategies—especially cannabis-adjacent billboards—while hospitals scramble to meet new reporting deadlines before the next legislative budget review. What’s next Several measures already face court challenges, and an Indiana–Illinois Border Commission will study the feasibility of welcoming adjoining Illinois counties dissatisfied with Chicago-centric governance. Recommendations are due to lawmakers by December 31 2026. Bottom line Whether you’re lighting sparklers, paying this month’s mortgage, or preparing fall semester tuition, Indiana’s legal landscape just shifted under your feet. Staying informed—and, where necessary, adjusting compliance policies—will be key as the state tests some of the nation’s most sweeping mid-year reforms.