1. (a) As used in this section, "department" refers to the department of natural resources created by IC 14-9-1-1 .
2. (b) As used in this section, "utility" means a person, however organized, that provides utility service to customers in Indiana. The term includes an agent acting on behalf of the person to accept and process payments from customers.

3. (c) As used in this section, "utility service" means:

   1. (1) electric;
   2. (2) natural gas;
   3. (3) water; or

   4. (4) wastewater;

      service that is provided at retail.

4. (d) A utility shall accept the following methods of payment from the department for utility service provided to a property owned by the department:

   1. (1) An electronic funds transfer, including by wire or Automated Clearing House (ACH).
   2. (2) A payment by credit card or debit card, if the payment amount does not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

5. (e) A utility may not limit or restrict the:

   1. (1) dollar amount to less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) with respect to a payment that is made by either:

      1. (A) an electric funds transfer, including by wire or Automated Clearinghouse (ACH); or
      2. (B) a credit card or debit card; or

   2. (2) number of allowable payment transactions for a singular invoice to less than five (5) transactions, by either:

      1. (A) an electric funds transfer, including by wire or Automated Clearinghouse (ACH); or
      2. (B) a credit card or debit card.

6. (f) With respect to any singular property owned by the department, the department may request a consolidated bill for the property from a utility that provides utility service to the property. A utility that receives a request from the department under this subsection shall provide the department with a singular invoice for the entire property, regardless of the number of:

   1. (1) meters;
   2. (2) connections; or

   3. (3) buildings or structures served;

      on the property, as applicable. However, if the utility is unable to provide one (1) invoice for the property because of billing limitations or other operational constraints, the utility shall consolidate billing for the property to the greatest extent possible and issue the fewest number of invoices necessary.

As added by P.L.161-2026, SEC.1.